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Friday, May 13, 2011

Ind. Gov't. - Governor vetoes forfeiture bill [Updated]

Here is the veto message on SEA 215:

By the authority vested in me as Governor of Indiana, under the provisions of Article 5, Section 14, of the Constitution of the State of Indiana, I do hereby veto Senate Enrolled Act 215, enacted during the regular session of the 117th General Assembly, as violative of the Indiana Constitution, which provides that the proceeds from “all forfeitures” shall go to the Common School fund.

The Indiana Supreme Court, on April 27, reinforced that point, possibly excepting the “limited diversion” of the actual expenses of obtaining those proceeds. Fairness to the General Assembly requires noting that legislators did not have the benefit of the court’s opinion, which was issued in the session’s final days.

This bill would take more than ninety cents of every dollar collected through forfeiture for the “expense of collection” rather than sending it to the Common School fund. That is unwarranted as policy and constitutionally unacceptable in light of the Supreme Court’s recent guidance and the plain language of Article 8, Section 2 of the Indiana Constitution.

For background see this ILB entry from May 8th, which noted:
SEA 215 is awaiting the Governor's action. It would amend the current law to ensure that less than 15% of forfeiture proceeds go to the Common School Fund. Under the current law, arguably all forfeiture amounts, except for law enforcement costs, are to go to the Common School Fund.

And the current law may itself violate Article 8 of the Indiana Constitution, which requires that all forfeiture money to be deposited in the state's Common School Fund.

See also this entry from April 29th.

[Updated at 2:18 PM] Heather Gillers of the Indianapolis Star has posted a brief story that concludes:

An Indianapolis Star investigation earlier this year revealed that prosecutors across the state - and especially in Marion County - have received most if not all of the forfeiture money, relying in part on a legal opinion issued last year by Attorney General Greg Zoeller for justification.

The bill’s author, Sen. Richard Bray, R-Martinsville, said the Supreme Court opinion clearly takes precedent over Zoeller’s. He said he would take another shot at rewriting the state’s forfeiture laws next year.

The Star investigative story was cited in footnote 1 of the the Supreme Court's April 27th decision in Martin Serrano v. State of Indiana. Here is the ILB entry on the Star's Nov. 7, 2010 story.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 13, 2011 10:16 AM
Posted to Indiana Law