Bill
Number: H.B. 2477
Burges
Floor Amendment
Reference
to: House engrossed bill
Amendment
drafted by: Leg Council
FLOOR
AMENDMENT EXPLANATION
1. Permits county boards of supervisors to
retain outside counsel to approve, review or ratify county
attorneys' use of county RICO Fund monies.
2. Allows the RICO Funds to be used for
costs related to the proposed reports, audits, reviews and approvals.
3. Modifies the reporting requirement by
removing impermissible expenditures, adding vehicle maintenance and
making clarifying changes.
4. Limits the proposed higher standard of
proof in the RICO statute to the specified types of forfeitures.
5. Specifies that the prohibition on
transferring seized property to a federal agency:
a)
applies to
investigations that did not involve a federal agency or only involved state law
violations;
b)
does not
apply to seizures of more than $75,000 in joint investigations; and
c)
does not prohibit
specified activities related to joint investigations.
6. Limits the award of treble costs or
damages to situations in which the seizing agency or attorney for the state
intended to cause injury or was grossly negligent.
Page 3, line
43, strike "the preponderance of the
clear and convincing evidence test" insert
"the preponderance of the evidence test, except that the
standard of proof for an order under subsection D, paragraph 6 of this section
is the standard of proof that is applicable for an in personam forfeiture as
set forth in chapter 39 of this title and the standard of proof for an in rem
forfeiture under subsection G of this section is the standard of proof that is
applicable to an in rem forfeiture as set forth in chapter 39 of this title"
Page 5,
between lines 37 and 38, insert:
"4. The costs of the reports, audits and application
approvals that are required by this section."
Page 6, line
4, strike "subsections J and" insert "subsection"
Line 40,
strike "reports that are required by subsections G and"
insert "report that is required by subsection"
Page 7, line
29, strike the first and second "returned"
insert "awarded"
Line 45,
strike "victim reparations" insert "any injured person as defined in section 13‑4301"
Page 8,
strike line 12
Renumber to
conform
Strike line
14
Renumber to
conform
Between
lines 17 and 18, insert:
"13. Vehicle maintenance."
Renumber to
conform
Line 25,
strike "itemized" insert "categorized"
Page 9, line
39, after the period insert "The board of supervisors may
retain outside counsel, if necessary, to approve, review or ratify the county
attorney's use of the monies."
Page 10,
line 4, after "enforcement" insert ", and for the
costs of the reports and application and expenditure reviews and approvals that
are required by this section"
Line 30,
strike "subsections J and" insert "subsection"
Page 11, line
3, strike "reports that are required by subsections G and H"
insert "report that is required by subsection G"
Line 36,
strike the first and second "returned" insert
"awarded"
Page 12,
line 7, strike "victim reparations" insert
"Any injured person as defined in section 13‑4301"
Strike line
19
Renumber to
conform
Strike line
21
Renumber to
conform
Between
lines 24 and 25, insert:
"13. Vehicle maintenance."
Renumber to
conform
Line 32,
strike "itemized" insert "categorized"
Page 14,
line 9, after "agencies" insert "; definition"
Line 19,
strike "subsection" insert "subsections"; after "I"
insert "and J"
Page 15,
strike lines 23 through 33, insert "agency for the purpose
of forfeiture if the property was seized pursuant to an investigation that
either:
1. Did
not involve a federal agency.
2. Involves
a violation of a state law and no violation of a federal law is alleged.
J. Property
that is seized in a joint investigation may not be transferred or referred to a
federal agency for the purpose of forfeiture unless the gross estimated value
of the seized property is more than seventy‑five thousand dollars.
K. This
section does not prohibit:
1. The
federal government or any of its agencies from seizing property, seeking
forfeiture pursuant to federal law and sharing property that is forfeited
pursuant to federal law with a state or local law enforcement agency that
participates in a joint investigation.
2. A
state or local law enforcement agency from participating in a joint
investigation.
L. For
the purposes of this section, "joint investigation" means an
investigation in which a state or local law enforcement agency directly
participates in the investigation or enforcement of a federal criminal law with
a federal agency and the investigation or enforcement results in a seizure."
Page 25,
line 32, after "indictment" insert "and that the seizing agency or attorney for the state intended to
cause injury or was grossly negligent"
Amend title to conform