Bill Text - HB1192 (2020)

Relative to forfeiture of seized personal property.


Revision: April 10, 2020, 12:31 p.m.

HB 1192-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE

 

11Mar2020... 0411h

2020 SESSION

20-2270

04/10

 

HOUSE BILL 1192-FN

 

AN ACT relative to forfeiture of seized personal property.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. Sylvia, Belk. 6; Rep. Edwards, Rock. 4; Rep. McGuire, Merr. 29

 

COMMITTEE: Judiciary

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill limits the ability of a state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency to transfer personal property to a federal agency for federal forfeiture proceedings.

 

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

11Mar2020... 0411h 20-2270

04/10

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty

 

AN ACT relative to forfeiture of seized personal property.

 

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

 

1  Forfeiture of Items Used in Connection With Drug Offense.  Amend RSA 318-B:17-b, II(e) to read as follows:

(e)  The department of justice shall, within 60 days of the seizure, file a petition in the superior court having jurisdiction under this section.  If no such petition is filed within 60 days of the seizure, the items or property interest seized shall be released or returned to the owners.

2  Forfeiture of Items Used in Connection With Drug Offense.  Amend RSA 318-B:17-b, IV(d) to read as follows:

(d)  At least 30 days prior to the hearing scheduled pursuant to subparagraph (c), the state shall identify the criminal proceedings which were brought against the party under this chapter and which arose from the transaction underlying the forfeiture proceedings.  At the request of any party to the forfeiture proceeding, the court [may] shall grant a continuance until the final resolution of any such criminal proceedings which were brought against a party under this chapter and which arose from the transaction which gave rise to the forfeiture proceeding.  No asset forfeiture [may be maintained] petition shall be filed against a person's interest in property if that person [has been found not guilty of the underlying felonious charge] was not charged with or convicted of an underlying criminal offense under this chapter. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a court’s issuance of an order of forfeiture under RSA 617:1-a, including the requirement of a criminal conviction before the issuance of such order.

3  New Section; Controlled Drug Act; Limiting Federal Forfeiture Litigation Relating to Personal Property.  Amend RSA 318-B by inserting after section 17-f the following new section:

318-B:17-g  Limiting Federal Forfeiture Litigation Relating to Personal Property.

I.  No state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency or prosecuting authority shall enter into an agreement to transfer seized property to a federal agency directly, indirectly, by adoption, through an intergovernmental joint taskforce or by other means for the purposes of forfeiture litigation, unless the seized property includes United States currency in excess of $100,000.

II.  All state, county, or municipal law enforcement agencies shall transfer seized property to the appropriate state, county, or municipal prosecuting authority for forfeiture litigation under this chapter, unless the seized property includes United States currency in excess of $100,000.  If seized property includes United States currency in excess of $100,000, the state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency may transfer the seized property to a federal agency for forfeiture litigation under federal law.

III.  Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict a state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency from collaborating with a federal agency to seize contraband or property that the law enforcement agency has probable cause to believe is the proceeds or instruments of a crime through an intergovernmental joint taskforce.

4  New Section; Forfeitures of Personal Property; Limiting Federal Forfeiture Litigation Relating to Personal Property.  Amend RSA 617 by inserting after section 12 the following new section:

617:13  Limiting Federal Forfeiture Litigation Relating to Personal Property.

I.  No state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency or prosecuting authority shall enter into an agreement to transfer seized property to a federal agency directly, indirectly, by adoption, through an intergovernmental joint taskforce or by other means for the purposes of forfeiture litigation, unless the seized property includes United States currency in excess of $100,000.

II.  All state, county, or municipal law enforcement agencies shall transfer seized property to the appropriate state, county, or municipal prosecuting authority for forfeiture litigation under this chapter, unless the seized property includes United States currency in excess of $100,000.  If seized property includes United States currency in excess of $100,000, the state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency may transfer the seized property to a federal agency for forfeiture litigation under federal law.

III.  Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict a state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency from collaborating with a federal agency to seize contraband or property that the law enforcement agency has probable cause to believe is the proceeds or instruments of a crime through an intergovernmental joint taskforce.

5  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect January 1, 2021.

 

LBAO

20-2270

Amended 4/7/20

 

HB 1192-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE (AMENDMENT #2020-0411h)

 

AN ACT relative to forfeiture of seized personal property.

 

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

 

 

 

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2022

FY 2023

   Appropriation

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Funding Source:

  [ X ] General            [    ] Education            [    ] Highway           [    ] Other

 

 

 

 

 

METHODOLOGY:

This bill limits the ability of a state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency to transfer personal property to a federal agency for federal forfeiture proceedings.  The Department of Justice indicates this bill would prohibit the filing of a forfeiture proceeding unless and until a person is charged with a criminal offense.  The Department assumes the bill would increase the work the Department’s drug unit prosecutors need to do in supervising and monitoring underlying drug investigations and criminal prosecutions to ascertain when charges are filed.  These changes would place additional duties upon the drug unit prosecutors.  It is not clear how many additional forfeiture cases would result from this bill.  Therefore, the fiscal impact to the Department is indeterminable.

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Justice