House Bill 1410

AN ACT TO CREATE THE ASSET FORFEITURE TRANSPARENCY ACT; TO REQUIRE THE COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO MAINTAIN A SEARCHABLE PUBLIC WEBSITE THAT INCLUDES INFORMATION RELATED TO THE SEIZURE AND FORFEITURE OF PROPERTY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Sections 1 through 3 of this act shall be known and may be cited as the "Asset Forfeiture Transparency Act."

SECTION 2. The Legislature finds that:

(a) Under state and federal forfeiture laws, state law enforcement agencies can seize money, vehicles and other property, have them sold, and use the proceeds to fund agency budgets;

(b) It is the responsibility of state legislators to monitor forfeiture;

(c) It is necessary to provide legislators with the information necessary for basic oversight of members of law enforcement agencies who seize and forfeit private property under state and federal forfeiture laws.

SECTION 3. (1) This section shall apply to any property seized under the laws of this state or under federal law when a law enforcement agency of this state cooperates with a federal agency to engage in seizure and forfeiture.

(2) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall establish and maintain a searchable public website that includes the following information from closed cases involving property, other than currency, seized by a state, county or city law enforcement agency under federal and state law:

(a) The name of the law enforcement agency that seized the property;

(b) A description of each seized property, other than currency including the make and model; provided, however, that such details shall not be required when publishing them would compromise an ongoing investigation;

(d) The estimated value of the seized property;

(e) Whether the suspect was charged with a crime;

(f) The criminal offense alleged to have been committed that led to the property's seizure;

(g) Whether the criminal offense is under federal or state law;

(h) A description of the case's resolution, such as dropped charges, acquittal, plea agreement, jury conviction or other;

(i) Whether the forfeiture litigation was completed under civil or criminal procedures;

(j) The date of the sale, if the property was sold;

(k) Selling expenses associated with the property's sale;

(l) The total net proceeds received from the property's sale;

(m) The proceeds received by the law enforcement agency from the property's sale;

(n) If the property was retained, the purpose for which it was used, however, such details shall not be required when publishing them would compromise an ongoing investigation;

(o) The date of the destruction if the property was destroyed; and

(p) The date of the return of the property if the property was returned to an owner or interest holder, by the law enforcement agency, prosecuting authority or by court order.

(3) The Commissioner shall establish and maintain a searchable public website that includes the following information from closed cases involving currency seized by a state, county or city law enforcement agency under federal and state law:

(a) The name of the law enforcement agency that seized the currency;

(b) The amount of currency seized;

(d) Whether the suspect was charged with a crime;

(e) The criminal offense alleged to have been committed that led to the currency's seizure;

(f) Whether the criminal offense is under federal or state law;

(g) A description of the case's resolution, such as dropped charges, acquittal, plea agreement, jury conviction or other;

(h) Whether the forfeiture litigation was completed under civil or criminal procedures; and

(i) The date of the return of the currency if the currency was returned to an owner or interest holder, by the seizing law enforcement agency, prosecuting authority of by court order.

(5) The law enforcement agency that seizes property shall update Commissioner's website with the information required under subsections (2) and (3) of this section at the end of the second month following each seizure of property. The commander of a multijurisdictional task force may appoint one agency to report its seizures.

(6) The Department of Public Safety shall adopt rules that are necessary to implement this section.

(7) The Department of Public Safety may recoup its costs under this section by charging a fee to the law enforcement agency filing a report. The court may order that a portion of the forfeiture proceeds be used to pay any fees imposed by the Department of Public Safety.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2016.