STATE OF NEW YORK
       ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         6090
 
                              2001-2002 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     March 5, 2001
                                      ___________
 
       Introduced by M. of A. ALFANO -- read once and referred to the Committee
         on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
 
       AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to author-
         izing  a  claiming  authority  to  retain electronic equipment for law
         enforcement purposes
 
         The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
       bly, do enact as follows:
 
    1    Section  1.  The opening paragraph of subdivision 2 of section 1349 of
    2  the civil practice law and rules, as added by chapter 655 of the laws of
    3  1990, is amended to read as follows:
    4    If any other provision of law expressly governs the manner of disposi-
    5  tion of property subject to the judgment or order  of  forfeiture,  that
    6  provision  of  law shall be controlling.  Upon application by a claiming
    7  agent for reimbursement of moneys directly expended by a claiming  agent
    8  in  the underlying criminal investigation for the purchase of contraband
    9  which were converted into a non-monetary form or  which  have  not  been
   10  otherwise  recovered,  the  court  shall  direct such reimbursement from
   11  money forfeited pursuant to this article. Upon application of the claim-
   12  ing agent, the court may direct that any vehicles, electronic equipment,
   13  vessels or aircraft forfeited pursuant to this article  be  retained  by
   14  the claiming agent for law enforcement purposes, unless the court deter-
   15  mines  that  such property is subject to a perfected lien, in which case
   16  the court may not direct that the property be retained unless  all  such
   17  liens  on the property to be retained have been satisfied or pursuant to
   18  the court's order will be satisfied. In the absence of an application by
   19  the claiming agent, the claiming authority may apply  to  the  court  to
   20  retain  such  property  for law enforcement purposes. Upon such applica-
   21  tion, the court may direct that such property be retained by the  claim-
   22  ing  authority for law enforcement purposes, unless the court determines
   23  that such property is subject to a perfected lien. If not  so  retained,
   24  the  judgment  or  order shall direct the claiming authority to sell the
 
        EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD07186-01-1

       A. 6090                             2
 
    1  property in accordance with article fifty-one of this chapter, and  that
    2  the proceeds of such sale and any other moneys realized as a consequence
    3  of any forfeiture pursuant to this article shall be apportioned and paid
    4  in the following descending order of priority:
    5    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 
BILL NUMBER: A6090
 
SPONSOR: Alfano

 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the civil practice law and rules, in
relation to authorizing a claiming authority to retain electronic equip-
ment for law enforcement purposes
 
 
PURPOSE:
 
This bill permits law enforcement officials to retain electronic equip-
ment that has been seized and forfeited, in order to utilize the equip-
ment for law enforcement purposes.
 
 
SUMMARY:
 
This bill amends §  1349 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules ("CPLR") to
add electronic equipment to items such as vehicles, vessels and aircraft
which may be retained by law enforcement entities after forfeiture and
used for law enforcement purposes.
 
 
JUSTIFICATION:
 
Under current law, any vehicle, vessel or aircraft seized and forfeited
as crime proceeds may be retained by the seizing jurisdiction and used
in law enforcement activities. This statutory authority enhances the
ability of law enforcement authorities to combat crime, while at the
same time saving taxpayer dollars by avoiding the need to purchase these
expensive items.
 
Law enforcement officers frequently seize electronic equipment such as
computers, video equipment and fax machines which are superior to the
equipment used by police agencies, and which could be used to help
combat crime. Unfortunately, under current law such electronic equipment
cannot be forfeited, and instead must be auctioned off in accordance
with Article 51 of the CPLR.  The auction process is slow and costly,
and produces only a fraction of the value of the goods, even when the
electronic equipment is in good condition.
 
This legislation addresses this problem by authorizing the forfeiture of
electronic equipment as crime proceeds. This equipment can then be made
available for use by the law enforcement entities, and will avoid the
need to purchase these goods with taxpayer dollars.
 
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
 
This bill was introduced as S. 3869 (Larkin) and A. 9200 (Keane) during
the 1997-98 legislative session, and passed the Senate on January 26,
1999. The bill is also known as S.4847 of 2000.
 
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
 
This bill would have a positive fiscal impact, because it would make
electronic equipment available for use by law enforcement, thereby
saving taxpayer dollars that otherwise would be used to purchase such
equipment.
 
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
 
The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment.