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Senate debates civil asset forfeiture overhaul; sponsor moves amendment and asks for more work

Utah State Senate · January 31, 2017
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Senator Thatcher outlined a civil asset forfeiture reform (SB87) proposing notice and procedural protections, expanded recovery of attorneys’ fees, and criminal-charge timeframes for low-value seizures; after questions about burden and timing, the Senate circled the bill for further work.

Senator Thatcher introduced Senate Bill 87, a package of civil asset forfeiture revisions, and described it as a collaborative product of law enforcement, prosecutors and civil-liberties advocates. Thatcher said the bill aims to 'raise the bar' for forfeiture by ensuring that property seized as potentially criminally connected is accompanied by clear instructions on how an owner can contest the seizure and by creating faster procedures to return property to innocent owners.

Thatcher moved Amendment No. 4 under his name, which — as explained on the floor — would require that individuals seized of property receive instructions at the time of seizure…

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