An Act Regarding the Use of Seizure and Forfeitures by Law Enforcement
Sec. 1. 15 MRSA §5825, as corrected by RR 2017, c. 1, §9, is amended to read:
§ 5825. Records
The records must be open to inspection by all federal and state officers responsible for enforcing federal and state drug control laws and to the Commissioner of Public Safety. Persons making final disposition or destruction of the property under court order shall report, under oath, to the court the exact circumstances of the disposition or destruction.
(1) Personnel costs for law enforcement and prosecutors and any attorney's fees awarded to any party;
(2) Costs related to substance use, crime and gang prevention programs;
(3) Victim reparations;
(4) Investigation costs, including witness protection, informant fees and controlled buys;
(5) Salaries, overtime and benefits of agency personnel and office costs for supplies, postage and printing;
(6) Professional services, including auditing, court reporting, expert witness fees and membership fees paid to trade associations; and
(7) Capital expenditures for vehicles, firearms, equipment, computers and furniture;
Sec. 2. 15 MRSA §5826, sub-§9 is enacted to read:
(1) From whom it received the property;
(2) Under what authority it held, received or disposed of the property;
(3) To whom it delivered the property;
(4) The date and manner of destruction or disposition of the property; and
(5) The exact kinds, quantities and forms of the property.
The records must be open to inspection by all federal and state officers responsible for enforcing federal and state drug control laws and to the Commissioner of Public Safety. Persons making final disposition or destruction of the property under court order shall report, under oath, to the court the exact circumstances of the disposition or destruction.
(1) All information required by paragraph A;
(2) The name of the law enforcement agency or lead agency of the multijurisdictional task force that seized the property;
(3) The date of the seizure, acquisition and transfer or disposal of the property;
(4) If the property is a motor vehicle, the make, model, year and serial number;
(5) The place of seizure or acquisition of the property, including, if the property was seized during a traffic stop on an interstate highway or state highway, the direction of the traffic flow;
(6) The value of the property;
(7) The criminal offense alleged that led to the seizure and any crime prosecuted, including the criminal case number, the crime charged and the court, and whether the case concluded with a conviction or, if no conviction occurred, a statement of the disposition of the charge or whether charges were dropped or no charges were brought;
(8) If seizure or forfeiture was contested, the case number, type of proceeding, description of disposition, including disposition by agreement of the parties, date of final order and court;
(9) The total costs or an estimate of total costs to the law enforcement agency or lead agency of a multijurisdictional task force to seize, store, sell or dispose of the property, including:
(a) Personnel costs for law enforcement and prosecutors and any attorney's fees awarded to any party;
(b) Costs related to substance use, crime and gang prevention programs;
(c) Victim reparations;
(d) Investigation costs, including witness protection, informant fees and controlled buys;
(e) Salaries, overtime and benefits of agency personnel and office costs for supplies, postage and printing;
(f) Professional services, including auditing, court reporting, expert witness fees and membership fees paid to trade associations; and
(g) Capital expenditures for vehicles, firearms, equipment, computers and furniture;
(10) If the property was retained by a law enforcement agency or the lead agency of a multijurisdictional task force, the purpose for which the seized and forfeited property was used by that agency; and
(11) The total value of seized and forfeited property held by the law enforcement agency or the lead agency of a multijurisdictional task force at the end of the reporting period.
summary
This bill requires the establishment of a record and case tracking system and detailed reporting to the Commissioner of Public Safety when a law enforcement agency seizes, holds or disposes of property as a result of civil forfeiture provisions of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 15, section 5821 and the criminal forfeiture provisions of Title 15, section 5826. The bill provides that reported information is public information and for public access to that information through a website and mandates reports to the Legislature, Attorney General and Governor. The bill provides rulemaking for the Commissioner of Public Safety and auditing by the State Auditor, with a report from the State Auditor to the Commissioner of Public Safety. The provisions apply to law enforcement agencies, which are defined to include fire departments, that seize, hold or dispose of property as a result of an investigation and arrest carried out in cooperation with a federal law enforcement agency.