Pubdate: Sun, 26 Jan 2003 Source: Deseret News (UT) Copyright: 2003 Deseret News Publishing Corp. Contact: http://www.desnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/124 Author: Jennifer Dobner Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture) STATE NOT GETTING FORFEITURE FUNDS Utah's state auditor says there is money missing from state coffers -- funds that should have come to the state treasurer's office through the seizure of property from police investigations of drug crimes. In letters to Utah Senate President Al Mansell and House Speaker Marty Stephens last week, auditor Auston Johnson said that Utah's controversial Utah Uniform Forfeiture Procedures Act (UUFPA), also known as Initiative B, is not being enforced. Under the act, the money -- some $237,999 in cash and property with an undetermined value collected from 28 cases in Salt Lake, Davis and Weber county investigations -- should have gone from the police to the state treasurer and then into the Uniform School Fund. Instead, district judges presiding over drug cases awarded the funds back to the investigating agencies, Johnson's letter says. "It is our recommendation that the Legislature pursue the appropriate course to resolve any conflict that exists and to ensure that Initiative B is enforced, including the transfer of any funds to the state treasurer that were in violation of the UUFPA," Johnson's letter says. County prosecutors David Yocom of Salt Lake, Mel Wilson of Davis and Mark DeCaria of Weber countered Johnson's letter to the legislative leaders with one of their own. They argue that a law passed by the 2001 Legislature altered the asset forfeiture law and is in conflict with UUFPA. Mansell, R-Sandy, was out of town Friday, but Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said the Senate president has asked the Attorney General's Office to sort the matter out. Billed as a way to protect innocent people from having their property seized by police agencies, Initiative B passed by a huge margin during the November election in 2000. For law enforcement agencies, UUFPA meant cutting off hundreds of thousands of dollars in state and federal forfeiture money used to augment drug interdiction efforts. The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office estimates it has lost between $500,000 and $1 million since the initiative became law, deputy Peggy Faulkner said. Shurtleff said he also knew of $3.8 million in federal forfeiture funds earmarked for Utah police but that was prevented from being distributed by the law. Prosecutors say part of the conflict is in the effective date of the two laws. UUFPA became law as of March 1, 2002, and SB168 on July 1 of that same year. A court ruling last summer also complicated the matter when U.S. District Judge Dee Benson struck down portions of UUFPA and ruled forfeitures can be turned over to federal law enforcement agencies by local police. Lawmakers may resolve some of the complexity and ambiguity surrounding forfeiture law this legislative session. Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, said he has been working on legislation that would continue to protect the rights of private citizens while sorting out the issue of collection and distribution of funds. The bill may be ready early next week, he said. "This is the kind of thing that I was worrying about," Valentine said Friday after reading Johnson's letter. "My first impression is this is a result of statutory conflicts, crafty prosecutors and judges who are not fully familiar with the statutes." Although he said he could not yet discuss the details, Valentine said his bill would outline a specific process by which the state could collect forfeiture funds and create a mechanism for distributing those back to law enforcement agencies or programs. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth