Bill Text - SB498 (2018)

(New Title) requiring an annual report detailing activity related to forfeiture of personal property.


Revision: Dec. 20, 2017, 12:51 p.m.

SB 498-FN - AS INTRODUCED

 

 

2018 SESSION

18-2901

04/06

 

SENATE BILL 498-FN

 

AN ACT relative to information on property seized pursuant to a criminal proceeding.

 

SPONSORS: Sen. French, Dist 7; Rep. Hill, Merr. 3; Rep. Plumer, Belk. 6; Rep. Sylvia, Belk. 6

 

COMMITTEE: Judiciary

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill requires the attorney general to establish and maintain a case tracking database and public Internet site to track property seized and forfeited after conviction in a criminal proceeding.

 

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

18-2901

04/06

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eighteen

 

AN ACT relative to information on property seized pursuant to a criminal proceeding.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

1  Purpose.  Under state and federal forfeiture laws, state law enforcement agencies can seize money and other property, have it sold, and use forfeiture proceeds to fund agency budgets.  It is the responsibility of state legislators to monitor seizures and forfeitures.  This bill provides legislators with the information necessary for basic oversight of law enforcement agencies that seize and forfeit property under state and federal laws.

2  New Sections; Forfeitures of Personal Property.  Amend RSA 617 by inserting after section 11 the following new sections:

617:12  Case Tracking; Public Site.  

I.  The attorney general shall establish and maintain an electronic case tracking database that includes the following information about property seized and forfeited subsequent to a criminal conviction under state or federal law or pursuant to an agreement with the federal government:

(a)  Name of the law enforcement agency that seized the property.

(b)  Date of the seizure.

(c)  Type and description of property seized, including serial numbers for currency, and vehicle identification numbers for motor vehicles.

(d)  Place of seizure.

(e)  Estimated value of the seizure.

(f)  Criminal offense alleged that led to the seizure, including whether the offense was a violation of state or federal law.

(g)  Criminal offense for which the suspect was charged, including whether the offense was a violation of state or federal law.

(h)  Criminal case docket number and court in which the case was filed.

(i)  The final disposition of the criminal case.

(j)  If forfeiture is sought under federal law, the reason for proceeding under federal law.

(k)  Forfeiture case docket number and court in which the case was filed.

(l)  The party filing a claim or counterclaim filed.

(m)  Final forfeiture proceedings.

(n)  Date of forfeiture order.

(o)  Whether there was a forfeiture settlement agreement.

(p)  Final disposition of property.

(q)  Date of final disposition of property.

(r)  Value of the property forfeited or if forfeited under federal law, the amount of proceeds received from the federal government.

(s)  Estimate of total costs to the agency to store property in impound lots or evidence rooms, to pay for law enforcement personnel and prosecutors time and expenses to litigate forfeiture cases, and cost to dispose of forfeited property.

(t)  Amount of the attorney fees awarded to property owners.

(u)  If any property was retained by a law enforcement agency, the purpose for which it is used.

II.  The attorney general shall establish and maintain a searchable public Internet site containing information relating to the seizure and forfeiture of property subsequent to a criminal conviction.  The site shall include the following information:

(a)  The total amount of funds expended, in each of the following categories, resulting from property seized, forfeited, and reported in paragraph I:

(1)  Drug abuse, crime, and gang prevention programs.

(2)  Victim compensation.

(3)  Investigation costs, including witness protection, informant fees, and controlled buys.

(4)  Court costs and attorneys' fees.

(5) Salaries, overtime, and benefits, as permitted by law.

(6)  Professional services, including auditing, court reporting, expert witness fees, attorney fees, and membership fees paid to trade associations.

(7)  Travel, meals, entertainment, conferences, training, and continuing education.

(8)  Other operating expenses, including office supplies, postage, and printing.

(9)  Capital expenditures, including vehicles, firearms, equipment, computers, and furniture.

(10)  Other expenditures of forfeiture proceeds.

(b)  The total value of seized and forfeited property held by the agency at the end of the reporting period.

III.  A law enforcement agency that seizes property subject to forfeiture pursuant to this chapter, and any prosecutor who litigates forfeiture proceedings and the related criminal case shall report the information required in paragraph I.  The agency and prosecutor shall post information to the case tracking database and Internet site, based on the information required under paragraph I, no later than 30 days following each seizure of property.  The agency or prosecutor shall update information on the case tracking database and public Internet site as it becomes available.  

IV.  A law enforcement agency that expends forfeiture-related proceeds shall update the attorney general's Internet site with the information required in paragraph II not more than 30 days after the end of the fiscal year.  

V.  If a law enforcement agency fails to file a report within 30 days after the due date and there is no good cause for the late filing as determined by the attorney general, the law enforcement agency shall be subject to a fine of $500 for each instance, or the equivalent of one-quarter of the forfeiture proceeds received by the law enforcement agency in the fiscal year for which the report is due, whichever is greater. In addition, the attorney general shall make no expenditures from the forfeiture fund for the benefit of the agency until the report is filed.

617:13  Report.

I.  The attorney general, no later than 120 days after the close of the fiscal year, shall submit to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, and the governor a written report summarizing activity in the state, for the preceding fiscal year, the type, approximate value, and disposition of the property seized, and the amount of any proceeds received or expended at the state and local levels.  The report shall provide a categorized accounting of all proceeds expended.  Summary data on seizures, forfeitures, and expenditures of forfeiture proceeds shall be provided by the law enforcement agency in disaggregated form to the attorney general.  The aggregate report shall also be made available on the department of justice's public Internet site.

II.  The attorney general may include proposed legislative recommendations to improve policies to ensure that seizures and forfeitures are undertaken and reported in a manner that is fair to crime victims, innocent property owners, secured interest holders, citizens, and law enforcement officers.

617:14  Audit.  The inventory records of seized property and collection and expenditure of forfeiture proceeds shall be subject to an annual audit performed by an independent certified public accountant selected by the attorney general.  No later than 90 days after the end of the fiscal year, the attorney general shall submit to the senate president, the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate clerk, the house clerk, the governor, and the state library, a detailed report of its activities under this chapter, including an inventory of property seized and records of expenditures of forfeiture proceeds.  The report shall include financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

617:15  Fees.  The attorney general may impose a fee on a law enforcement agency to offset the costs of establishing and maintaining the database and public Internet site required in RSA 617:12.  The law enforcement agency may use forfeiture proceeds to pay the costs of compiling and reporting data under this chapter and to pay any fees imposed by the attorney general.

3  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

 

LBAO

18-2901

11/29/17

 

SB 498-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

 

AN ACT relative to information on property seized pursuant to a criminal proceeding.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:      [ X ] State              [ X ] County               [ X ] Local              [    ] None

 

 

 

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2019

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2022

   Appropriation

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Revenue

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

   Expenditures

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Funding Source:

  [ X ] General            [    ] Education            [ X ] Highway           [ X ] Other - Fee Revenue / Turnpike Fund

 

 

 

 

 

COUNTY:

 

 

 

 

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

 

 

 

 

 

LOCAL:

 

 

 

 

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

 

METHODOLOGY:

This bill would require the Department of Justice to develop and maintain a publicly accessible web-based database to track property seized and forfeited after conviction in a criminal proceeding under state and federal law.  

 

The Department of Justice handles all drug forfeitures under state law, but is not involved in, and does not have information related to forfeitures under federal law.  The Department indicates it does not have information on how other law enforcement agencies spend forfeiture funds so it assumes the database would be designed so allow outside agencies to input information.  The Department states it is uncertain how much it would cost to design, create and maintain an interactive web-based database, but anticipates it would cost approximately $40,000 to $50,000.  A more specific cost estimate would require additional time and consultation with the Department of Information Technology.  The bill would allow the Attorney General to impose a fee on law enforcement agencies to offset the cost to establish and maintain the database and website.

 

The Department of Safety indicates additional time and resources in the form of overtime or part-time staffing would be necessary to provide the required information to the database.  The Department cannot project the volume of forfeiture cases or the associated cost to comply with the reporting requirements in a timely manner and avoid the fee for late filing.  The Department assumes the provision allowing the Attorney General to impose fees on participating law enforcement agencies to offset the cost of developing and maintaining the database would increase state, county and local expenditures by an indeterminable amount.  The Department indicates there would be no impact on county or local revenue.

 

The New Hampshire Municipal Association states this bill would require additional work by local law enforcement agencies, which may or may not increase personnel costs.  The bill also includes potential fines to law enforcement agencies for late filing.  The Association does have information which could be used to estimate the impact on local expenditures, but indicates there would be no impact on local revenue.  

 

The New Hampshire Association of Counties believes the bill would increase County Sheriff Department expenditures by an indeterminable amount.

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Departments of Justice and Safety, New Hampshire Municipal Association and New Hampshire Association of Counties