SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (Jan. 28, 2021) – On Tuesday, a Utah Senate committee passed a bill that would reform the state’s asset forfeiture laws and make it more difficult for state and local police to participate in a program that allows them to circumvent tighter state asset forfeiture laws by passing cases off to the […]
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South Carolina Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Bill to End Civil Asset Forfeiture and Opt Out of Federal Program
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Jan. 29, 2021) – On Thursday, a South Carolina House subcommittee held a hearing on a bill that would reform the state’s asset forfeiture laws and prohibit the state from taking a person’s property without a criminal conviction. The proposed law would also opt South Carolina out of a federal program that allows police to bypass more strict state asset forfeiture laws.
A bipartisan coalition of 19 representatives introduced House Bill 3619 (H3619) on Jan 12. The legislation would end civil asset forfeiture in the state and replace it with a criminal process requiring a conviction before prosecutors could proceed with forfeiture proceedings.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Jan 18, 2021) – A bill introduced in the Missouri House would close a loophole allowing state and local police to circumvent stringent state asset forfeiture laws by passing cases off to the federal government.
Rep. Tony Lovasco (R-O’Fallon) filed House Bill 750 (HB750) on Jan. 7. The proposed law would prohibit Missouri law enforcement agencies or prosecutors from entering into agreements to transfer seized property to a federal agency by way of adoption or other means for the purpose of the property’s forfeiture under federal law.
The proposed law would also require any Missouri law enforcement agency participating in a joint task force with federal agencies to transfer responsibility for the seized property to a state prosecutor for forfeiture under state law. Additionally, if a federal agency prohibits the transfer of the property to the state, the law enforcement agency would be fully “prohibited from accepting payment of any kind or distribution o
A bill introduced in the Washington state House would create a process to sue police officers in state court for using excessive force or taking other actions that violate individual rights without the possibility of “qualified immunity” as a defense.