1     
ASSET FORFEITURE TRANSPARENCY AMENDMENTS

2     
2017 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Howard A. Stephenson

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House Sponsor: John Knotwell

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7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill modifies the Forfeiture and Disposition of Property Act regarding reporting
10     requirements.
11     Highlighted Provisions:
12          This bill:
13          ▸     in addition to current reporting requirements, requires that law enforcement
14     agencies reporting on a forfeiture action shall include:
15               •     information on related criminal charges;
16               •     the value of seized property;
17               •     the agency's share of property received from a federal forfeiture case;
18               •     the agency's costs incurred for storage of storing seized property; and
19               •     the legal costs incurred by the prosecuting attorney; and
20          ▸     amends the list of information to be provided regarding a forfeiture, and requires
21     that the information be reported by a law enforcement agency, when:
22               •     transferring disposition of property resulting from a forfeiture matter to the
23     Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice; and
24               •     the law enforcement agency has been awarded any share of property forfeited by
25     the federal government.
26     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
27          None

28     Other Special Clauses:
29          None
30     Utah Code Sections Affected:
31     AMENDS:
32          24-4-118, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 134
33     

34     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
35          Section 1. Section 24-4-118 is amended to read:
36          24-4-118. Forfeiture reporting requirements.
37          (1) On and after January 1, 2016, every state, county, municipal, or other law
38     enforcement agency shall[, when transferring the final disposition of any civil or criminal
39     forfeiture matter to the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice as required under this
40     chapter,] provide all available data described in Subsection (5), along with the transfer of any
41     applicable forfeited property[.]:
42          (a) when transferring the forfeited property resulting from the final disposition of any
43     civil or criminal forfeiture matter to the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice as
44     required under Subsection 24-4-115(5); or
45          (b) when the agency has been awarded any equitable share of property forfeited by the
46     federal government.
47          (2) The Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice shall develop a standardized
48     report format that each agency shall use in reporting the data required under this section.
49          (3) The Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice shall annually, on or before
50     April 30, prepare a summary report of the case data submitted by each agency under Subsection
51     (1) during the prior calendar year.
52          (4) (a) If an agency does not comply with the reporting requirements under this section,
53     the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice shall contact the agency and request that the
54     agency comply with the required reporting provisions.
55          (b) If an agency fails to comply with the reporting requirements under this section
56     within 30 days after receiving the request to comply, the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile
57     Justice shall report the noncompliance to the Utah attorney general, the speaker of the House of
58     Representatives, and the president of the Senate.

59          (5) The data for any civil or criminal forfeiture matter for which final disposition has
60     been made under Subsection (1) shall include:
61          (a) the agency that conducted the seizure;
62          (b) the case number or other identification;
63          (c) the date or dates on which the seizure was conducted;
64          (d) the number of individuals having a known property interest in each seizure of
65     property;
66          (e) the type of property seized;
67          (f) the alleged offense that was the cause for seizure of the property;
68          (g) whether any criminal charges were filed regarding the alleged offense, and if so, the
69     final disposition of each charge, including the conviction, acquittal, or dismissal, or whether
70     action on a charge is pending;
71          [(g)] (h) the type of enforcement action that resulted in the seizure, including an
72     enforcement stop, a search warrant, or an arrest warrant;
73          [(h)] (i) whether the forfeiture procedure was civil or criminal;
74          (j) the value of the property seized, including currency and the estimated market value
75     of any tangible property;
76          [(i)] (k) the final disposition of the matter, including whether final disposition was
77     entered by stipulation of the parties, including the amount of property returned to any claimant,
78     by default, by summary judgment, by jury award, or by guilty plea or verdict in a criminal
79     forfeiture; [and]
80          (l) if the property was forfeited by the federal government, the amount of forfeited
81     money awarded to the agency;
82          (m) the agency's direct costs and expenses for obtaining and maintaining the seized
83     property, as described in Subsection 24-4-115(3)(a);
84          (n) the legal costs and attorney fees paid to the prosecuting attorney, as described in
85     Subsection 24-4-115(3)(b); and
86          [(j)] (o) if the property was transferred to a federal agency or any governmental entity
87     not created under and subject to state law:
88          (i) the date of the transfer;
89          (ii) the name of the federal agency or entity to which the property was transferred;

90          (iii) a reference to which reason under Subsection 24-4-114(1)(a) justified the transfer;
91          (iv) the court or agency where the forfeiture case was heard;
92          (v) the date of the order of transfer of the property; and
93          (vi) the value of the property transferred to the federal agency, including currency and
94     the estimated market value of any tangible property.
95          (6) On and after January 1, 2016, every state, county, municipal, or other law
96     enforcement agency shall annually on or before April 30 submit a report for the prior calendar
97     year to the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice which states:
98          (a) whether the agency received an award from the State Asset Forfeiture Grant
99     Program under Section 24-4-117 and, if so, the following information for each award:
100          (i) the amount of the award;
101          (ii) the date of the award;
102          (iii) how the award was used or is planned to be used; and
103          (iv) a statement signed by both the agency's executive officer or designee and by the
104     agency's legal counsel, that:
105          (A) the agency has complied with all inventory, policy, and reporting requirements
106     under Section 24-4-117; and
107          (B) all awards were used for crime reduction or law enforcement purposes as specified
108     in the application and that the awards were used only upon approval by the agency's legislative
109     body; and
110          (b) whether the agency received any property, money, or other things of value pursuant
111     to federal law as described in Subsection 24-4-114(2) and, if so, the following information for
112     each piece of property, money, or other thing of value:
113          (i) the case number or other case identification;
114          (ii) the value of the award and the property, money, or other things of value received by
115     the agency;
116          (iii) the date of the award;
117          (iv) the identity of any federal agency involved in the forfeiture;
118          (v) how the awarded property has been used or is planned to be used; and
119          (vi) a statement signed by both the agency's executive officer or designee and by the
120     agency's legal counsel, that the agency has only used the award for crime reduction or law

121     enforcement purposes authorized under Section 24-4-117, and that the award was used only
122     upon approval by the agency's legislative body.
123          (7) (a) On or before July 1 of each year, the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile
124     Justice shall submit notice of the annual reports in Subsection (3) and Subsection (6), in
125     electronic format, to:
126          (i) the Utah attorney general;
127          (ii) the speaker of the House of Representatives, for referral to any House standing or
128     interim committees with oversight over law enforcement and criminal justice;
129          (iii) the president of the Senate, for referral to any Senate standing or interim
130     committees with oversight over law enforcement and criminal justice; and
131          (iv) each law enforcement agency.
132          (b) The reports described in Subsection (3) and Subsection (6), as well as the
133     individual case data described in Subsection (1) for the previous calendar year, shall be
134     published on the Utah Open Government website at open.utah.gov on or before July 15 of each
135     year.






Legislative Review Note
Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel