STATE OF NEW YORK
       ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         1967
 
                              2001-2002 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                   January 31, 2001
                                      ___________
 
       Introduced  by  Sens.  LARKIN, VOLKER -- read twice and ordered printed,
         and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
       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

       S. 1967                             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: S1967
 
SPONSOR: LARKIN

 
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.