HF 404 (LSB 2105HH (2) 85)

HOUSE FILE 404

BY  DAWSON

(COMPANION TO SF 152 BY SODDERS)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to procedural requirements in in rem forfeiture proceedings.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 809A.13, subsection 3, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  Only an owner of or an interest holder in the property who has timely filed a proper claim pursuant to section 809A.11 may file an answer in an action in rem. For the purposes of this section, an owner of or interest holder in property who has filed a claim and
 
an answer shall be referred to as a claimant.
EXPLANATION
   This bill relates to procedural requirements in in rem forfeiture proceedings.
   Code section 809A.13 provides that an in rem forfeiture action may be brought by a prosecuting attorney by serving a notice of pending forfeiture on the owner or interested party or by filing a verified complaint of forfeiture in court. In a case where the owner or interested party is served notice of the pending forfeiture, Code section 809A.11 provides that the owner or interested property owner can file, within 30 days after the effective notice date, a claim in the property. No similar notice or claim requirements exist if the in rem forfeiture action is commenced through the filing of a verified complaint. The bill eliminates the procedural limitation that only allows an owner or an interest holder in property that is the subject of an in rem forfeiture action who has been served notice of the pending forfeiture and who has filed a timely claim to file an answer in the action.
   The bill is in response to an Iowa Supreme Court decision filed on April 9, 2010 (In re Young, 780 N.W.2d 726), in which the court held this statutory provision unconstitutional because the plain meaning of the statute precludes an aggrieved property owner or interested party from filing an answer to the state’s in rem forfeiture complaint in violation of state and federal due process guarantees.