HB 26-1250

House Bill 26-1250 in Colorado updates civil asset forfeiture laws. It now requires a criminal conviction before property can be seized from someone involved in illegal activities, except under specific circumstances where clear evidence links the property to crimes. The bill also establishes a fund to provide legal defense for people who cannot afford it when facing civil asset forfeiture proceedings and changes how funds from forfeited assets are distributed, allocating some of these funds back into the new defense fund. This bill has been signed into law, meaning its provisions will now be enforced in Colorado's legal system.

Official Summary

The bill clarifies an existing requirement for the criminal conviction of an owner by requiring that one or more criminal charges must be brought as a prerequisite to any nuisance abatement or forfeiture proceeding.     Existing law provides an exception to the conviction requirement for noninnocent owners who are not subject to criminal charges that no criminal conviction is necessary of the nonowner criminal defendant if the plaintiff proves its case by clear and convincing evidence that the property subject to the forfeiture proceeding is traceable proceeds of the charged offense or related criminal activity . The bill repeals clarifies this exception to first require a conviction of the nonowner criminal defendant before the noninnocent owner's property may be forfeited , while retaining other various exceptions that allow forfeiture actions to proceed against the interest of a claimant.     The bill establishes a right for indigent civil asset forfeiture defendants to access forfeiture defense counsel and creates a procedure for the appointment of forfeiture defense counsel in nuisance abatement and forfeiture proceedings. The bill creates a forfeiture counsel defense fund (fund) , in the care of the state court administrator (administrator) , to pay for appointed forfeiture defense counsel who are authorized to represent persons against whom a nuisance abatement or forfeiture proceeding has been filed in connection with criminal charges. The fund is capped at $500,000, and starting in state fiscal year 2027-28, no general fund money is allowed to finance the fund. The bill instructs the administrator to enter into a contract for services with a private contractor who regularly provides legal services for indigent clients or litigants to provide a legal defense to a civil asset forfeiture proceeding. The private contractor is subject to certain reporting requirements.     The bill transfers $1.1 million any unexpended and unencumbered money from the law enforcement community services grant program fund to the forfeiture counsel defense fund.     The bill alters the disposition of property and proceeds ordered forfeited in a nuisance abatement or forfeiture action. Currently, forfeited property and proceeds are applied first toward restitution and cost recovery for a list of stakeholders, and 50% of the remainder is granted to the local governmental body with authority over the seizing agency, 25% of the remainder is granted to the local behavioral health administrative services organization, and 25% of the remainder is granted to the law enforcement community services grant program fund. The bill amends the disposition of the remainder so that 50% is granted to the local governmental body with authority over the seizing agency, 25% is granted to the forfeiture counsel defense fund, and 25% is granted to the law enforcement community services grant program fund local behavioral health administrative services organization.     The bill appropriates $1.1 million $556,750 to the judicial department from the forfeiture counsel defense fund and $55,000 to the department of local affairs for civil asset forfeiture portal administration.(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

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