Alabama Passes Asset Forfeiture Accountability Bill - Sebastian Rucci

On Monday, June 10, 2019, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed a bill into law, SB 191 which now imposes strict reporting requirements for all asset forfeiture cases in the state. The Tenth Amendment Center reports that this “legislation takes the first step that could lead to substantive reforms, including closing a federal loophole that allows police to bypass more strict state asset forfeiture laws.”

Alabama’s newly signed law requires law enforcement agencies in the state to write up detailed reports on every forfeiture carried out in the state. Mike Maharrey notes what this bill entails:

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The new law requires Alabama law enforcement agencies to submit detailed reports on every forfeiture in the state, including information on whether there were any arrests in connection with the seizure, the disposition of cases, and how asset forfeiture proceeds were disbursed.

On top of that, this law also addresses asset forfeiture cases that involve the feds:

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The legislation specifically directs the Criminal Justice Information Center Commission to establish rules for reporting asset forfeiture cases in cooperation with the federal government and when an Alabama law enforcement agency receives equitable sharing proceeds from a federal forfeiture case.

This bill was unanimously passed in both chambers of the Alabama State Legislature, receiving a 33-0 vote in the Senate and a 102-0 vote in the House. Although the passage of SB 191 doesn’t directly reform Alabama’s asset forfeiture laws, it does serve as a building block for future reforms. Through its increase in transparency, SB 191 enables Alabamians to witness what civil asset forfeiture entails. Such transparency can serve as a catalyst for future change.

The specific provision which requires documented reports of all cases handled by the federal government could lead to the closing of the “equitable sharing” loophole. Under equitable sharing, state and local police can circumvent strict state asset forfeiture laws in a large number of cases. Law enforcement agencies can bypass strict state forfeiture laws just by declaring they are federal in nature.

Not only do law enforcement agencies kick these policies off to the feds, but they’re able to get fat proceeds from these seizures. Civil asset forfeiture, a practice that raked $4 billion in seizures in 2014, is a racket and corrupt law enforcement agencies will do what it takes to maintain it.

Alabama’s recent forfeiture law is a good start, but future legislation should focus on tightening up Alabama’s forfeiture laws and closing the equitable sharing loophole.

Additional Reading:
How a Young Joe Biden Became the Architect of the Government’s Asset Forfeiture Program | Report: Government Seizes Billions in Private Property, but Citizens Have Little Recourse | Colocation Mergers: Antitrust Laws and Market Competition for Data Centers | State Officials Squander Millions in Asset Forfeiture Funds | Mitigating Legal Risks Through Robust Data Center Contracts | Service Outages & Liability: What Data Center Operators Need to Know | Boston police bought spy tech with a pot of money hidden from the public | Civil Asset Forfeiture: Undue Process | Another State Ends Civil Asset Forfeiture! | Ending Government’s Civil Asset Forfeiture Theft of Property One State at a Time | Data Center Decommissioning: Contracts, Security, and Environmental Stewardship | Decommissioning Outdated Cooling Systems: Environmental Permits and Recycling | Motion to Suppress in CAFRA Forfeiture Cases | Are law enforcement agencies abusing civil asset forfeiture? | Loophole Lets Missouri Cops Keep Millions in Forfeiture Funds (and Away from Schools) | Sen. Rand Paul on Health Care and Civil Asset Forfeiture (7-20-17) | Op-Ed: Weak reforms allow Arkansas police to patrol for cash | Rethinking Tier IV: Real-World Availability vs. Economic Viability for Data Centers | GDPR vs. CCPA: Comparing Data Center Obligations in Europe and California | Colocation vs. Cloud: Hybrid Approaches Gain Ground | $3 Million Federal Court Settlement: Philadelphia Agrees to End Civil Forfeiture | Cops Seized $8,000 From Her and Never Charged Her With a Crime | American Forfeiture Law: Property Owners Meet the Prosecutor | Seizure of Bitcoin for Civil Asset Forfeiture

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