H.F. 251 Section 1. Section 809A.1, Code 2019, is amended by adding 1 the following new subsection: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 3A. “Law enforcement agency” means any 3 police force, multijurisdictional task force, fire department, 4 or other municipal, county, or state agency that has authority 5 under state law or collaborates with a federal agency under 6 federal law to seize and forfeit property. 7 Sec. 2. Section 809A.18A, Code 2019, is amended by striking 8 the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 9 809A.18A Recordkeeping of property seized and forfeited. 10 1. The attorney general shall establish and maintain a 11 case tracking system and searchable public internet site that 12 includes all of the following information about property seized 13 and forfeited under state law and under any agreement with the 14 federal government. 15 a. Name of the law enforcement agency that seized the 16 property or, if seized by a multijurisdictional task force, the 17 name of the lead agency. 18 b. Date of the seizure. 19 c. Type of property seized, including whether it constitutes 20 currency, and if property other than currency, a description of 21 property seized including make, model, year, and serial number, 22 as applicable. 23 d. Place of seizure, including home, business, or traffic 24 stop and, if a traffic stop on an interstate or state highway, 25 the direction of the traffic flow. 26 e. Estimated value of the property seized. 27 f. Criminal offense alleged that led to the seizure, 28 including whether under state or federal law. 29 g. Crime for which defendant was charged, including whether 30 under state or federal law. 31 h. Criminal case number and court in which the case was 32 filed. 33 i. The outcome of defendant’s criminal case: no charge 34 was filed, charges dropped, acquittal, plea agreement, jury 35 -1- LSB 1950HH (3) 88 asf/jh 1/ 6

H.F. 251 conviction, or other. 1 j. If forfeiture is sought under federal law, reason for the 2 federal transfer: adoption or joint task force. If forfeiture 3 is sought under federal law, answers to paragraphs “l” through 4 “r” may not be available readily and may be omitted. 5 k. Forfeiture case number and court in which the case was 6 filed. 7 l. If a property owner filed a claim or counterclaim, state 8 whether the property owner was any of the following: the 9 defendant, innocent owner, joint owner, or third-party owner. 10 m. Whether final forfeiture proceeding was criminal or 11 civil. 12 n. Date of forfeiture order. 13 o. Whether there was a forfeiture settlement agreement. 14 p. Property disposition, including whether the property 15 was returned to owner, partially returned to owner, sold, 16 destroyed, or retained by a law enforcement agency. 17 q. Date of property disposition. 18 r. Value of the property forfeited or if forfeited under 19 federal law, the amount of proceeds received from the federal 20 government. 21 s. Estimate of total costs to the law enforcement agency to 22 do all of the following: 23 (1) Store property in impound lots or evidence rooms. 24 (2) Pay for law enforcement personnel and prosecutors’ time 25 and expenses to litigate forfeiture cases. 26 (3) Sell or dispose of forfeited property. 27 t. Amount of the attorney fees awarded to property owners. 28 u. If any property was retained by a law enforcement agency, 29 the purpose for which it is used. 30 2. The attorney general shall establish and maintain a 31 searchable public internet site that includes all of the 32 following: 33 a. The total amount of funds expended, in each of the 34 following categories, which resulted from property seized, 35 -2- LSB 1950HH (3) 88 asf/jh 2/ 6

H.F. 251 forfeited, and reported in subsection 1: 1 (1) Drug abuse, crime, and gang prevention programs. 2 (2) Victim reparations. 3 (3) Investigation costs, including witness protection, 4 informant fees, and controlled buys. 5 (4) Court costs and attorney fees. 6 (5) Salaries, overtime, and benefits, as permitted by law. 7 (6) Professional outside services, including auditing, 8 court reporting, expert witness fees, outside attorney fees, 9 and membership fees paid to trade associations. 10 (7) Travel, meals, entertainment, conferences, training, 11 and continuing education. 12 (8) Other operating expenses including office supplies, 13 postage, and printing. 14 (9) Capital expenditures including vehicles, firearms, 15 equipment, computers, and furniture. 16 (10) Other expenditures of forfeiture proceeds. 17 b. The total value of seized and forfeited property held by 18 the law enforcement agency at the end of the reporting period. 19 3. Each law enforcement agency that seizes property and 20 prosecutors that litigate related criminal cases and forfeiture 21 proceedings shall provide to the attorney general all the 22 information required under subsection 1, as known, within 23 thirty days following each seizure of property, and within 24 thirty days of the final disposition of the property. The 25 commander of a multijurisdictional task force may appoint one 26 agency to report its seizures. If a law enforcement agency has 27 made no seizures during the previous year, a null report shall 28 be filed by the law enforcement agency specifying that the law 29 enforcement agency did not engage in seizures or forfeitures 30 under this chapter during the reporting period. 31 4. Each law enforcement agency that expends 32 forfeiture-related proceeds shall provide to the attorney 33 general the information required under subsection 2 within 34 thirty days after the end of the fiscal year. The commander 35 -3- LSB 1950HH (3) 88 asf/jh 3/ 6

H.F. 251 of a multijurisdictional task force may appoint one law 1 enforcement agency to report its expenditures. 2 5. The attorney general, one hundred twenty days after 3 the close of the fiscal year, shall submit to the general 4 assembly and governor a written report summarizing forfeiture 5 activity in the state for the preceding fiscal year, the type, 6 approximate value, and disposition of the property seized, and 7 the amount of any proceeds received or expended at the state 8 and local levels. The report shall provide a categorized 9 accounting of all proceeds expended. Summary data on seizures, 10 forfeitures, and expenditures of forfeiture proceeds shall be 11 disaggregated by law enforcement agency. The aggregate report 12 shall also be made available on the attorney general’s internet 13 site. 14 6. The attorney general may include in its aggregate report 15 required by subsection 5 recommendations to improve statutes, 16 rules, and policies to better ensure that seizure, forfeiture, 17 and expenditures are done and reported in a manner that is fair 18 to crime victims, innocent property owners, secured interest 19 holders, citizens, law enforcement, and taxpayers. 20 7. If a law enforcement agency fails to file a report within 21 thirty days after it is due and there is no good cause as 22 determined by the attorney general, the law enforcement agency 23 shall be subject to a civil fine payable to the general revenue 24 fund of five hundred dollars or the equivalent of one-quarter 25 of the forfeiture proceeds received by the agency, whichever 26 is greater. In addition, allocation of forfeited property 27 pursuant to section 809A.17 shall not be conducted until the 28 report is filed. 29 8. The auditor of state shall perform annually a financial 30 audit under the generally accepted government auditing 31 standards of records related to inventory of seized property 32 and expenditures of forfeiture proceeds. A copy of the final 33 audit report shall be submitted to the attorney general no 34 later than ninety days after the end of the fiscal year and 35 -4- LSB 1950HH (3) 88 asf/jh 4/ 6

H.F. 251 shall be made public. 1 9. The attorney general may recoup its costs under this 2 section by charging a fee to each law enforcement agency filing 3 a report. The law enforcement agency may use forfeiture 4 proceeds to pay the costs of compiling and reporting data under 5 this section, and to pay any fees imposed by the attorney 6 general. 7 10. The data and reports compiled and prepared under this 8 section are public information open for inspection under 9 chapter 22. 10 EXPLANATION 11 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 12 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 13 This bill relates to reporting requirements and oversight of 14 law enforcement agencies that seize and forfeit property under 15 state and federal laws. 16 The bill strikes the current Code section in the civil 17 asset forfeiture Code chapter on recordkeeping and replaces it 18 with a new Code section. The bill provides that the attorney 19 general shall establish and maintain a case tracking system 20 and searchable public internet site that includes specified 21 information about property seized and forfeited under state 22 law and under any agreement with the federal government. The 23 bill also provides that the attorney general shall establish 24 and maintain a searchable public internet site that includes 25 the total amount of funds expended in 10 categories which 26 resulted from property seized and forfeited and the total value 27 of seized and forfeited property held by the law enforcement 28 agency at the end of the reporting period. 29 The bill provides monthly reporting requirements for law 30 enforcement agencies and criminal prosecutors for reporting of 31 seizures, which entail providing required information to the 32 attorney general’s internet site. The bill provides that a 33 commander of a multijurisdictional task force may appoint one 34 agency to report seizures. 35 -5- LSB 1950HH (3) 88 asf/jh 5/ 6

H.F. 251 The bill provides that law enforcement agencies that spend 1 forfeiture-related proceeds shall provide required information 2 to the attorney general’s internet site within 30 days after 3 the end of the fiscal year with specified information. The 4 bill provides that a commander of a multijurisdictional task 5 force may appoint one agency to report expenditures. 6 The bill provides that the attorney general must submit a 7 detailed and specified report to the general assembly and the 8 governor 120 days after the close of the fiscal year on the 9 disposition of seized property, forfeitures, and expenditures 10 of forfeiture proceeds. The bill provides that the report 11 may include policy recommendations. The bill provides that 12 the report shall be made available on the attorney general’s 13 internet site. 14 The bill provides penalties if a law enforcement agency 15 fails to file a report within 30 days after it is due. The 16 bill provides for the auditor of state to perform annual 17 audits of records related to inventory of seized property and 18 expenditures of forfeiture proceeds. The bill provides that 19 the report shall be submitted to the attorney general and made 20 public. The bill provides mechanisms for the attorney general 21 to recover its costs under the bill from law enforcement 22 agencies. The bill provides that the bill and the data and 23 reports that it provides for are public information open for 24 inspection under Code chapter 22. 25 -6- LSB 1950HH (3) 88 asf/jh 6/ 6