Lawmakers overturn 2000 forfeiture law

Utah lawmakers overturned a citizen ballot initiative Tuesday, as the House passed a bill that would overhaul the state's forfeiture law and restore what some call the process of "policing for profit."

SB175 overturns portions of state ballot Initiative B, which made it illegal for police to keep the proceeds of properties seized and sold as part of criminal investigations. The House passed the bill on a vote of 46-27. It now goes back the Senate for concurrence on a floor amendment that allows anyone acquitted of a crime to reclaim his or her seized assets.

The passage of SB175 marks the first time legislative staff and state elections director Amy Naccarato could remember that a citizen ballot initiative has been overturned by lawmakers.

"I don't know for sure, but you'd have to go back to the 1960s," Naccarato said. "The only other (initiatives) that made it to the ballot were in 2000. That was English Only and the Uniform Forfeiture Procedures Act (Initiative B)."

The goal of SB175 is to strengthen the rights of property owners by making it harder for police to seize assets, House sponsor Rep. Steve Urquhart said. At the same time, it will free up much needed money to cover the costs of expensive drug interdiction cases.

"Personally, I think there is a drug war going on, and I want our law enforcement to have the ability to fight that war," Urquhart, R-St. George, said.

Urquhart was expected to amend the bill to send federal forfeiture procedure to a legislative interim committee for study, while accessing state and federal money locked up since 2000. He decided against that after discussions broke down with Initiative B supporters.

Tuesday's House vote was a huge victory for police who have worked for three years to change the law. Millions of federal forfeiture dollars diverted by the initiative will now come back to local police. State forfeiture money will go to a dedicated account monitored and distributed by the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice. That money has been going to the Uniform School Fund.

But Utahns for Property Protection (UPP), the group that put Initiative B on the ballot, saw the vote as a sad day for citizens rights, said Janet Jenson, UPP's attorney who drafted the initiative. UPP is opposed to forfeiture not only because its incentive is to fund police work but also because some forfeiture procedures deny citizens due process in law.