RELATING TO PROPERTY FORFEITURE.

SB1029

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

1029

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO PROPERTY FORFEITURE
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

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SECTION
1
.
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The legislature finds that civil asset
forfeiture frequently leaves innocent citizens deprived of personal property
without having ever been charged or convicted of any crime.
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This amounts to government-sponsored theft.
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The fair administration of justice means
ensuring that not a single innocent individual's personal property is
permanently seized without just cause and conviction, or compensation.

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An
injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and the purpose of this
Act is to end civil asset forfeiture without conviction, which undermines the
fair administration of justice and the rule of law.

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SECTION

2
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Section 712A-5,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (2) to read as
follows:

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"(2)
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Except that:

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(a)
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Real property, or an interest therein,
may be forfeited under the provisions of this chapter only in cases in which
the covered offense is chargeable as a felony offense under state law;

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(b)
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No property shall be forfeited under
this chapter to the extent of an interest of an owner[
, by reason of any act
or omission established by that owner to have been committed or omitted without
the knowledge and consent of that owner;
]
by reason of:

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(i)
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The commission of any covered
offense unless:

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(A)
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The covered offense is chargeable as
a felony offense under state law; and

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(B)
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The owner has been convicted of the
covered offense by a verdict or plea, including a no contest plea or a deferred
acceptance of guilty plea or no contest plea; or

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(ii)
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Any act or omission established by
that owner to have been committed or omitted without the knowledge and consent
of that owner;

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provided
that nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent the seizure of
property before conviction pursuant to section 712A-6.

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(c)
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No conveyance used by any person as a
common carrier in the transaction of a business as a common carrier is subject
to forfeiture under this section unless it appears that the owner or other
person in charge of the conveyance is a consenting party or privy to a
violation of this chapter;

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(d)
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No conveyance is subject to forfeiture
under this section by reason of any act or omission established by the owner
thereof to have been committed or omitted without the owner's knowledge or
consent; and

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(e)
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A forfeiture of a conveyance encumbered
by a bona fide security interest is subject to the interest of the secured
party if the secured party neither had knowledge of nor consented to the act or
omission[
.
]
; and

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(f)
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This chapter shall not apply to the
forfeiture of an animal prior to disposition of criminal charges pursuant to
section 711-1109.2.
"

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SECTION

3
.
�
Section
712A-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (2) to read
as follows:

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"(2)
�
All forfeited property and the sale proceeds
thereof, up to a maximum of three million dollars per year, not previously
transferred pursuant to [
[
]subsection[
]
] (1)(a) of this section, [
shall,
]
after payment of expenses of administration and sale, [
be distributed as
follows:

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(a)
�
One quarter shall be distributed to
the unit or units of state or local government [whose] officers or employees
conducted the investigation and caused the arrest of the person whose property
was forfeited or seizure of the property for forfeiture;

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(b)
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One quarter shall be distributed to
the prosecuting attorney who instituted the action producing the forfeiture;
and

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(c)
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One half shall be deposited into the
criminal forfeiture fund established by this chapter.
]

including
reimbursement for any costs incurred by the department of the attorney general
related to the seizure or storage of seized property, shall be deposited to the
credit of the state general fund.
"

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SECTION 4.
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This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that
were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

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SECTION 5.
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Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.
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New statutory material is underscored.

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SECTION 6.
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This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

AG; Penal
Code; Forfeiture; Civil Assets

Description:

Prohibits
civil asset forfeiture unless the covered offense is a felony for which the
property owner has been convicted.
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Excludes the forfeiture proceedings for an animal pending criminal
charges.
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Requires the Attorney General
to deposit the net proceeds of the forfeited property to the credit of the
state general fund.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.