SHURTLEFF REWRITING FORFEITURE BILL

Intent on helping police agencies access some $3.8 million in federal
crime-fighting funds, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is hoping that a
fast rewrite will keep an asset forfeiture bill alive at the Legislature.

SB31 was shelved by its sponsor Sen. John Valentine, after the Orem
Republican met with more than 100 forfeiture opponents in American Fork
Saturday.

By Monday, Shurtleff was on Capitol Hill shopping for a new sponsor and
working on amendments to address some citizen concerns.

Specifically, Shurtleff proposes letting the Legislature - not the Attorney
General's Office - hold the purse strings to a law enforcement assistance
fund. Fed by proceeds from the sales of forfeited properties, local police
could then annually apply for grants from the account through the legislature.

"To me the big issue is getting that $3.8 million back into the hands of
our law enforcement which will allow state forfeitures to go forward,"
Shurtleff said.

Just how a local police chief could ask legislators for funds is a detail
still being discussed, Shurtleff said. Attorneys from his office are
working with both federal lawyers and the state's legislative research
office, he said.

"It can be done," Shurtleff said.

Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, said Monday he would consider running the bill
but won't make a decision until after he reads the new version, which could
have been available Tuesday afternoon.

"We're just going to try and get the amendment we need to access the
federal dollars," Hillyard said. "I just feel very strongly that law
enforcement needs more money to fight crime."

Other concerns raised by citizens, such as better protections for innocent
property holders from unlawful searches by police, can be addressed later,
Shurtleff said.

Millions in state and federal funds have been unavailable to Utah police
since forfeiture laws were changed by a ballot initiative. Previously,
property forfeited from convicted criminals - most often from drug crime
investigations - was sold and the proceeds awarded back to the arresting
police agencies. Conducting those investigations in partnerships with the
FBI or DEA, local agencies could also access federal money.

A ballot initiative in 2000, which passed with 69 percent voter approval,
changed the law and diverted the funds to the state treasurer's office for
deposit in the Uniform School Fund.

But an investigation by the state auditor last summer showed that while the
number of forfeiture cases dropped dramatically, the courts still awarded
to the arresting to sheriff's offices in Davis, Salt Lake and Weber
counties. Prosecutors from those counties say that conflicting state
statutes are to blame.

Shurtleff's office has been asked by Sen. President Al Mansell, R-Salt
Lake, to investigate.

Forfeiture opponents say they are not deterred by Shurtleff's machinations.
They plan to continue sending e-mail and making phone calls to legislators
to keep the bill off the table at least this year, said Ken Olafson, a West
Valley salesman who is also a Republican party convention delegate and a
member of the party's central committee.

"Mark Shurtleff just doesn't get it," Olafson said. "We want a citizen's
bill, not a bureaucrat bill, not a Washington gestapo bill." When Valentine
abandoned SB31 last weekend, it was after Olafson requested the senator
work with a citizen committee to address specific items in the bill.
Valentine said he had not considered killing the bill until after hearing
the concerns of constituents.

Meeting organizer Daniel Newby said the citizen movement against a
forfeiture will not be deterred.

"Senator Valentine bowed to the will of the people. When is Mark Shurtleff
going to bow to the will of the people instead of serving the special
interest bureaucrats?" he asked. "We've gotten stronger since his first
attempt to undermine our rights and we'll be ready for the next."

Even if Hillyard agrees to carry a bill, there may not be enough political
will for it to move forward. Valentine said there was little enthusiasm for
addressing the issue among his colleagues. And Sen. Howard Stephenson,
R-Draper, said legislators will be unlikely to cast votes that will move
the law against the grain of a ballot measure that passed by such wide margin.

"(The people) spoke overwhelmingly," Stephenson said. "I think a lot of
legislators will be reluctant to supercede the will of the people.