Washington State House Passes Bill to Reform Asset Forfeiture Laws; First Step to Address Federal Loophole

OLYMPIA, Wash. (Feb 15, 2018) –  On Tuesday, the Washington House overwhelmingly passed a bill that would improve the state’s asset forfeiture laws and set the stage to close a loophole that allows state and local police to circumvent more strict state forfeiture laws by passing cases off to the feds. Rep. Matt Shea (R-Spokane Valley)…

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Washington Committee Passes Bill to Reform Asset Forfeiture Laws; First Step to Address Federal Loophole

OLYMPIA, Wash. (Jan. 29, 2018) –  Last week, a Washington state House committee passed a bill that would improve the state’s asset forfeiture laws and set the stage to close a loophole that allows state and local police to circumvent more strict state forfeiture laws by passing cases off to the feds. Rep. Matt Shea (R-Spokane…

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South Carolina Bill Would Take First Step Toward Closing Federal Asset Forfeiture Loophole

COLUMBIA, S.C. (Dec. 21, 2017) – A bill prefiled in the South Carolina House would reform the state’s asset forfeiture laws to minimize the policing for profit motive and would partially close a loophole that allows state and local police to circumvent more strict state forfeiture laws by passing cases off to the feds. Rep.…

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Missouri Bill Would Close Federal Asset Forfeiture Loophole in Most Cases

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Dec. 8, 2017) – A bill prefiled in the Missouri House would close a loophole in most situations that allows state and local police to circumvent stringent state asset forfeiture laws by passing cases off to the feds. Rep. Shamed Dogan (R-St. Louis) prefiled House Bill 1501 (HB1501) on Dec. 5. The…

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Tenther Tuesday Episode 22: States Pushing Back Against Federal Healthcare, Asset Forfeiture and More

Michael Boldin and Mike Maharrey talk about state efforts nullify federal healthcare schemes and undercut federal asset forfeiture programs. They also go off script a bit and discuss more generally the importance of political decentralization.

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Now In Effect: New Arizona Law Takes on State, Federal Asset Forfeiture

On Tuesday, a new Arizona law reforming the state’s civil asset forfeiture process went into effect. The new law also takes on federal forfeiture programs by banning prosecutors from circumventing state laws by passing cases off to the feds.

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Now in Effect: Colorado Opts Out of Federal Asset Forfeiture Program in Most Situations

"While we'd like to see Colorado and every other state completely opt out of this federal program, an 80-85% reduction in seizures through this federal scheme will be a huge step forward to nullify it in practice and effect."

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Tenther Tuesday Episode 21: The New DOJ Asset Forfeiture Scheme and How to Stop It

Today is the 194th day that the GOP has failed to repeal Obamacare. But we’re discussing a different problem this week. A couple of weeks ago, at the behest of Jeff Sessions, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a directive meant to ramp up asset forfeiture across the country – even in states that require…

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Connecticut Reforms Asset Forfeiture Law, But Federal Loophole Remains

HARTFORD, Conn. (July 19, 2017) – Last week, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy signed a bill into law that significantly reforms the state’s asset forfeiture laws, but fails to close a loophole that allows police to circumvent more strict state laws by passing cases off to the feds. The House Banking Committee Committee introduced House Bill 7146 (HB7146)…

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