Amendment ID: S2944-7-R2

2nd Redraft Amendment 7

Forfeiture Tracking Database

Ms. Rausch, Ms. Edwards and Mr. Tarr move that the proposed new draft be amended by adding the following section:-

“SECTION 4. Said section 47 of said chapter 94C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following 2 subsections:-

(m) The executive office of administration and finance shall establish and maintain a case tracking system and searchable public website that includes the following information about any property seized or forfeited under state law: (i) the name of the law enforcement agency that seized the property; (ii) the date of the seizure; (iii) the type and a description of the property seized, including the make, model and year of any motor vehicle; (iv) the location of the seizure; (v) the estimated value of the property seized; (vi) whether the property seized was transferred to federal government; (vii) the crime charged, if any, related to the property that was seized; (viii) the outcome of any charged crime under clause (vii); (ix) the criminal case number, if charged; (x) the forfeiture case number; (xi) the type of forfeiture proceeding; (xii) whether a property owner who files a claim or counterclaim, if applicable, was suspected of committing a crime, an owner who was not suspected of committing a crime, a lienholder or another party or whether there was no such filing by any party; (xiii) whether there was a forfeiture settlement or consent agreement; (xiv) the date of the forfeiture order; (xv) whether the property was returned to the owner, partially returned to the owner, sold, destroyed or retained by a law enforcement agency or is pending disposition; and (xvi) the total value of property forfeited, including currency and proceeds from the sale of property, excluding the value of contraband. Nothing in this subsection shall require the publication of information in violation of any law or regulation relating to criminal offender record information, personally identifiable information, or any other applicable privacy law, or the publication of information that would compromise the identity or location of a confidential informant. If an agency has made no seizures or forfeitures during the previous year, a null report shall be filed by the agency specifying that it did not engage in seizures or forfeitures during the reporting period. The executive office may adopt rules necessary to implement this subsection.

(n) Annually, not later than January 31, the committee on public counsel services, in collaboration with the trial court of the commonwealth, shall submit an annual report to the senate and house committees on ways and means and the joint committee on the judiciary on the provision of public counsel representation under this section, including, but not limited to, the: (i) total number of cases involving public counsel representation under this section; (ii) number of such cases where the property owner is a criminal defendant represented by public counsel in a related criminal trial; and (iii) number of such cases where the property owner is not a criminal defendant.”.