Civil forfeiture proceedings

AN ACT Relating to seizure and forfeiture procedures and 1
reporting; amending RCW 9.68A.120, 9A.88.150, 9A.83.030, 10.105.010, 2
19.290.230, 46.61.5058, 70.74.400, 77.15.070, and 38.42.020; 3
reenacting and amending RCW 69.50.505; adding a new chapter to Title 4
7 RCW; creating a new section; prescribing penalties; and providing 5
an effective date. 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. This chapter provides standard procedures 8
governing civil asset forfeiture and is applicable to laws of this 9
state that authorize civil forfeiture of property and that indicate 10
the provisions of this chapter apply.11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1)(a) Except with respect to contraband 12
items, which shall be seized and summarily forfeited, proceedings for 13
forfeiture are deemed commenced by the seizure. The agency under 14
whose authority the seizure was made shall cause notice to be served 15
within 15 days following the seizure on the owner of the property 16
seized and the person in charge thereof and any person having any 17
known right or interest therein, including any community property 18
interest, of the seizure and intended forfeiture of the seized 19
property. Service of notice of seizure must be made according to the 20
H-0611.2
HOUSE BILL 1440
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Goodman, Hackney, Peterson, and Ormsby
Read first time 01/21/25. Referred to Committee on Civil Rights &
Judiciary.
p. 1 HB 1440
rules of civil procedure, except that service by mail shall be by 1
certified mail, return receipt requested. However, a default judgment 2
with respect to real property may not be obtained against a party who 3
is served by substituted service absent an affidavit stating that a 4
good faith effort has been made to ascertain if the defaulted party 5
is incarcerated within the state, and that there is no present basis 6
to believe that the party is incarcerated within the state. Notice of 7
seizure in the case of property subject to a security interest that 8
has been perfected by filing a financing statement in accordance with 9
chapter 62A.9A RCW, or a certificate of title, must be made by 10
service upon the secured party or the secured party's assignee at the 11
address shown on the financing statement or the certificate of title.12
(b) The notice must include information indicating that if the 13
property owner or other person claiming a right or interest in the 14
property contests the forfeiture, the person has the right to move 15
the matter to a court of competent jurisdiction, and if the person 16
substantially prevails in a forfeiture proceeding, the person is 17
entitled to reimbursement for reasonable attorneys' fees.18
(2) If no person notifies the seizing agency in writing of the 19
person's claim of ownership or right to possession of an item seized 20
within 60 days of the service of notice from the seizing agency in 21
the case of personal property and 120 days in the case of real 22
property, the item seized is deemed forfeited. The community property 23
interest in real property of a person whose spouse or domestic 24
partner committed a violation giving rise to seizure of the real 25
property may not be forfeited if the person did not participate in 26
the violation. 27
(3) If any person notifies the seizing agency in writing of the 28
person's claim of ownership or right to possession of an item seized 29
within 60 days of the service of notice from the seizing agency in 30
the case of personal property and 120 days in the case of real 31
property, the person or persons must be afforded a reasonable 32
opportunity to be heard as to the claim or right. The notice of claim 33
may be served by any method authorized by law or court rule 34
including, but not limited to, service by first-class mail. Service 35
by mail is deemed complete upon mailing within the 60-day period 36
following service of the notice of seizure in the case of personal 37
property and within the 120-day period following service of the 38
notice of seizure in the case of real property. 39
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(4) The hearing must be before the chief law enforcement officer 1
of the seizing agency or the chief law enforcement officer's 2
designee, except that where the seizing agency is a state agency as 3
defined in RCW 34.12.020(4), the hearing must be before the chief law 4
enforcement officer of the seizing agency or an administrative law 5
judge appointed under chapter 34.12 RCW. Such a hearing and any 6
appeal therefrom must be under Title 34 RCW. 7
(5) Any person asserting a claim or right may remove the matter 8
to a court of competent jurisdiction. Removal of any matter involving 9
personal property may only be accomplished according to the rules of 10
civil procedure. The person seeking removal of the matter must serve 11
process against the state, county, political subdivision, or 12
municipality that operates the seizing agency, and any other party of 13
interest, in accordance with RCW 4.28.080 or 4.92.020, within 45 days 14
after the person seeking removal has notified the seizing agency of 15
the person's claim of ownership or right to possession. The court to 16
which the matter is to be removed must be the district court when the 17
aggregate value of personal property is within the jurisdictional 18
limit set forth in RCW 3.66.020. 19
(6)(a) Whether the matter is heard under Title 34 RCW pursuant to 20
subsection (4) of this section or removed to court pursuant to 21
subsection (5) of this section, the burden of proof is upon the 22
seizing agency to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, that 23
the property is subject to forfeiture. 24
(b) No personal property may be forfeited to the extent of the 25
interest of an owner, by reason of any act or omission committed or 26
omitted without the owner's knowledge or consent; 27
(c) No real property may be forfeited to the extent of the 28
interest of an owner, by reason of any act or omission committed or 29
omitted without the owner's knowledge or consent. 30
(d) A forfeiture of real property encumbered by a bona fide 31
security interest is subject to the interest of the secured party if 32
the secured party, at the time the security interest was created, 33
neither had knowledge of nor consented to the act or omission.34
(7) The seizing agency shall promptly return seized items, in the 35
same or substantially similar condition as when they were seized, to 36
the claimant upon a determination by the administrative law judge or 37
court that the claimant is the present lawful owner or is lawfully 38
entitled to possession thereof. 39
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(8) In any proceeding to forfeit property under this chapter, 1
where the claimant substantially prevails, the claimant is entitled 2
to reasonable attorneys' fees reasonably incurred by the claimant.3
(9) The protections afforded by the service members' civil relief 4
act, chapter 38.42 RCW, are applicable to proceedings under this 5
chapter. 6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) Upon the entry of an order of 7
forfeiture of real property, the court shall forward a copy of the 8
order to the assessor of the county in which the property is located. 9
Orders for the forfeiture of real property shall be entered by the 10
superior court, subject to court rules. Such an order shall be filed 11
by the seizing agency in the county auditor's records in the county 12
in which the real property is located.13
(2)(a) A landlord may assert a claim against proceeds from the 14
sale of assets seized and forfeited only if: 15
(i) An employee, agent, or officer of the seizing agency, while 16
acting in his or her official capacity, directly caused damage to the 17
complaining landlord's property while executing a search of a 18
tenant's residence; and 19
(ii) The landlord has applied any funds remaining in the tenant's 20
deposit, to which the landlord has a right under chapter 59.18 RCW, 21
to cover the damage directly caused by the employee, agent, or 22
officer of the seizing agency prior to asserting a claim under the 23
provisions of this section; 24
(A) Only if the funds applied under (a)(ii) of this subsection 25
are insufficient to satisfy the damage directly caused by the 26
employee, agent, or officer of the seizing agency, may the landlord 27
seek compensation for the damage by filing a claim against the 28
governmental entity under whose authority the seizing agency operates 29
within 30 days after the search; 30
(B) Only if the governmental entity denies or fails to respond to 31
the landlord's claim within 60 days of the date of filing, may the 32
landlord collect damages under this subsection by filing within 30 33
days of denial or the expiration of the 60-day period, whichever 34
occurs first, a claim with the seizing agency. The seizing agency 35
must notify the landlord of the status of the claim by the end of the 36
30-day period. Nothing in this section requires the claim to be paid 37
by the end of the 60-day or 30-day period. 38
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(b) For any claim filed under (a)(ii) of this subsection, the 1
seizing agency shall pay the claim unless the agency provides 2
substantial proof that the landlord either: 3
(i) Knew or consented to actions of the tenant in violation of 4
this chapter or the chapter pursuant to which the seizure was made; 5
or 6
(ii) Failed to respond to a notification of the illegal activity, 7
provided by a law enforcement agency under RCW 59.18.075, within 8
seven days of receipt of notification of the illegal activity.9
(3) The landlord's claim for damages under subsection (2) of this 10
section may not include a claim for loss of business and is limited 11
to: 12
(a) Damage to tangible property and clean-up costs;13
(b) The lesser of the cost of repair or fair market value of the 14
damage directly caused by the employee, agent, or officer of the 15
seizing agency; 16
(c) The proceeds from the sale of the specific tenant's property 17
seized and forfeited; and 18
(d) The proceeds available after the seizing law enforcement 19
agency satisfies any bona fide security interest in the tenant's 20
property and costs related to sale of the tenant's property.21
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) of this section do not limit any 22
other rights a landlord may have against a tenant to collect for 23
damages. However, if a seizing agency satisfies a landlord's claim 24
under subsection (2) of this section, the rights the landlord has 25
against the tenant for damages directly caused by an employee, agent, 26
or officer of the seizing agency under the terms of the landlord and 27
tenant's contract are subrogated to the seizing agency.28
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. When property is forfeited under this 29
chapter, the seizing agency may, after satisfying any court-ordered 30
restitution:31
(1) Retain it for official use or upon application by any law 32
enforcement agency of this state release such property to such agency 33
to be used in enforcement; 34
(2) Sell that which is not required to be destroyed by law and 35
which is not harmful to the public; 36
(3) Request the appropriate sheriff or director of public safety 37
to take custody of the property and remove it for disposition in 38
accordance with law; 39
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(4) Forward it to an appropriate entity, such as the drug 1
enforcement administration, for disposition; or 2
(5) Take any other action allowed by statute. 3
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) This section is applicable to all 4
seizures by seizing agencies, regardless of whether the seizure is:5
(a) Pursuant to this chapter; 6
(b) Pursuant to any other section in the Revised Code of 7
Washington that authorizes seizure; or 8
(c) Conducted in collaboration with a federal agency under 9
federal law. 10
(2) For purposes of this section, "seizing agency" means any 11
police force, multijurisdictional task force, fire department, or 12
other municipal, county, or state agency that has authority under 13
state law or collaborates with a federal agency under federal law to 14
seize property. 15
(3) For purposes of this section, "seizing agency" does not 16
include a state child support agency under Title IV-D of the Social 17
Security Act (49 Stat. 620; 42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.).18
(4)(a) The seizing agency must keep a record, about property 19
seized and forfeited under state law and any agreement with any 20
federal agency, of each forfeiture indicating: 21
(i) The name of the seizing agency; 22
(ii) Date of seizure; 23
(iii) Type of property seized; 24
(iv) Description of the property including make, model, year, and 25
serial number; 26
(v) Street address or description of the location where the 27
seizure occurred; 28
(vi) Whether the seizure was adopted by the federal government, 29
part of a joint task force with the federal government, or other 30
arrangement with the federal government; 31
(vii) Whether the forfeiture was contested by a suspect, innocent 32
owner claimant, joint owner, or other property owner;33
(viii) Disposition of the property through the forfeiture 34
process, such as returned to suspect, returned to a joint owner or 35
third-party owner, sold, destroyed, or retained by a law enforcement 36
agency; 37
(ix) Date of disposition of the property; 38
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(x) Whether the forfeiture was resolved by way of a default, 1
contested hearing or agreed disposition or settlement;2
(xi) Value of the property forfeited; and 3
(xii) The net proceeds retained by the law enforcement agency 4
that seized the property. 5
(b) Annually, on a date specified by the Washington state patrol, 6
the seizing agency shall file a report, that includes all of the 7
records in (a) of this subsection, to the Washington state patrol. 8
The Washington state patrol must establish and maintain a searchable 9
public web site that includes all of the records in (a) of this 10
subsection. The annual report need not include a record of forfeited 11
property that is still being held for use as evidence during the 12
investigation or prosecution of a case or during the appeal from a 13
conviction. The commander of a multijurisdictional task force may 14
appoint one agency to report its seizures. If an agency has made no 15
seizures during the previous year, a null report must be filed by the 16
agency specifying that it did not engage in seizures or forfeitures 17
during the reporting period. 18
(c) By March 1st each year, the seizing agency shall file with 19
the Washington state patrol a report that summarizes the agency's 20
expenditures from the sum of the net proceeds of all seized and 21
forfeited property during the previous calendar year. The report must 22
be posted and made available on the web site created in this 23
subsection (4). The report must use the following categories to 24
summarize expenditures and values: 25
(i) Abuse, crime, and gang prevention programs;26
(ii) Witness protection, informant fees, and controlled buys;27
(iii) Salaries, overtime, and benefits; 28
(iv) Professional outside services, including auditing, court 29
reporting, expert witnesses, outside attorneys' fees, and membership 30
fees paid to trade associations; 31
(v) Travel, meals, conferences, training, and continuing 32
education seminars; 33
(vi) Capital expenditures including vehicles, firearms, 34
equipment, computers, and furniture; 35
(vii) Other expenditures of forfeiture proceeds; and36
(viii) The total value of forfeited property held by the agency 37
at the end of the reporting period. 38
(5) One hundred twenty days after the close of each fiscal year, 39
the Washington state patrol shall submit to the speaker of the house 40
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of representatives, president of the senate, attorney general, and 1
governor a written report summarizing forfeiture activity in the 2
state for the preceding fiscal year; the type, approximate value, and 3
disposition of the property seized; and the amount of any proceeds 4
received or expended at the state and local levels. The report must 5
provide a categorized accounting of all proceeds expended. Summary 6
data on seizures, forfeitures, and expenditures of forfeiture 7
proceeds must be disaggregated by agency. The aggregate report must 8
be made available on the state treasurer's web site.9
(6) The Washington state patrol may include in the aggregate 10
report required by subsection (5) of this section recommendations to 11
improve statutes, rules, and policies to facilitate seizure, 12
forfeiture, and expenditure processes and reporting that are fair to 13
crime victims, innocent property owners, secured interest holders, 14
citizens, law enforcement, and taxpayers. 15
(7) If a seizing agency fails to file a report within 30 days 16
after it is due, without good cause as determined by the Washington 17
state patrol, the Washington state patrol shall provide a written 18
warning to the seizing agency. If a seizing agency fails to file the 19
report within 30 days after it is due for a second time, the agency 20
is subject to a civil penalty payable to the state general fund of 21
$500 or the equivalent of one-quarter of the forfeiture proceeds 22
received by the agency during the reporting period, whichever is 23
greater. 24
(8) The data and reports compiled and prepared under this chapter 25
are public information under chapter 42.56 RCW. 26
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1)(a)(i) Except as provided in (a)(ii) of 27
this subsection, by January 31st of each year, each seizing agency 28
shall remit to the Washington state patrol an amount equal to 10 29
percent of the net proceeds of any property forfeited during the 30
preceding calendar year. Money remitted shall be deposited in the 31
state general fund unless otherwise provided in statute.32
(ii) By January 31st of each year, each seizing agency shall 33
remit to the state an amount equal to 10 percent of the net proceeds 34
of any property forfeited under RCW 10.105.010 and 46.61.5058 during 35
the preceding calendar year for deposit into the behavioral health 36
loan repayment program account created in RCW 28B.115.135 through 37
June 30, 2027, and into the state general fund thereafter.38
p. 8 HB 1440
(b) The net proceeds of forfeited property is the value of the 1
forfeitable interest in the property after deducting the cost of 2
satisfying any bona fide security interest to which the property is 3
subject at the time of seizure; and in the case of sold property, 4
after deducting the cost of sale, including reasonable fees or 5
commissions paid to independent selling agents, and the cost of any 6
valid landlord's claim for damages under section 3 of this act.7
(c) The value of sold forfeited property is the sale price. The 8
value of retained forfeited property is the fair market value of the 9
property at the time of seizure, determined when possible by 10
reference to an applicable commonly used index, such as the index 11
used by the department of licensing for valuation of motor vehicles. 12
A seizing agency may use, but need not use, an independent qualified 13
appraiser to determine the value of retained property. If an 14
appraiser is used, the value of the property appraised is net of the 15
cost of the appraisal. The value of destroyed property and retained 16
firearms or illegal property is zero. 17
(2) Forfeited property and net proceeds not required to be paid 18
to the state shall be retained by the seizing agency exclusively for 19
the expansion and improvement of related enforcement activities. 20
Money retained under this section may not be used to supplant 21
preexisting funding sources. 22
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The Washington state patrol may adopt 23
rules necessary to implement this chapter.24
Sec. 8. RCW 9.68A.120 and 2022 c 162 s 4 are each amended to 25
read as follows: 26
The following are subject to seizure and forfeiture:27
(1) All visual or printed matter that depicts a minor engaged in 28
sexually explicit conduct. 29
(2) All raw materials, equipment, and other tangible personal 30
property of any kind used or intended to be used to manufacture or 31
process any visual or printed matter that depicts a minor engaged in 32
sexually explicit conduct, and all conveyances, including aircraft, 33
vehicles, or vessels that are used or intended for use to transport, 34
or in any manner to facilitate the transportation of, visual or 35
printed matter in violation of RCW 9.68A.050 or 9.68A.060, but:36
(a) No conveyance used by any person as a common carrier in the 37
transaction of business as a common carrier is subject to forfeiture 38
p. 9 HB 1440
under this section unless it appears that the owner or other person 1
in charge of the conveyance is a consenting party or privy to a 2
violation of this chapter; 3
(b) No property is subject to forfeiture under this section by 4
reason of any act or omission ((established by the owner of the 5
property to have been )) committed or omitted without the owner's 6
knowledge or consent; 7
(c) A forfeiture of property encumbered by a bona fide security 8
interest is subject to the interest of the secured party if the 9
secured party neither had knowledge of nor consented to the act or 10
omission; and 11
(d) When the owner of a conveyance has been arrested under this 12
chapter the conveyance may not be subject to forfeiture unless it is 13
seized or process is issued for its seizure within ten days of the 14
owner's arrest. 15
(3) All personal property, moneys, negotiable instruments, 16
securities, or other tangible or intangible property furnished or 17
intended to be furnished by any person in exchange for visual or 18
printed matter depicting a minor engaged in sexually explicit 19
conduct, or constituting proceeds traceable to any violation of this 20
chapter. 21
(4) Property subject to forfeiture under this chapter may be 22
seized by any law enforcement officer of this state upon process 23
issued by any superior court having jurisdiction over the property. 24
Seizure without process may be made if: 25
(a) The seizure is incident to an arrest or a search under a 26
search warrant or an inspection under an administrative inspection 27
warrant; 28
(b) The property subject to seizure has been the subject of a 29
prior judgment in favor of the state in a criminal injunction or 30
forfeiture proceeding based upon this chapter; 31
(c) A law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that 32
the property is directly or indirectly dangerous to health or safety; 33
or 34
(d) The law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe 35
that the property was used or is intended to be used in violation of 36
this chapter. 37
(5) In the event of seizure under subsection (4) of this section, 38
proceedings for forfeiture ((shall be deemed commenced by the 39
seizure. The law enforcement agency under whose authority the seizure 40
p. 10 HB 1440
was made shall cause notice to be served within fifteen days 1
following the seizure on the owner of the property seized and the 2
person in charge thereof and any person having any known right or 3
interest therein, of the seizure and intended forfeiture of the 4
seized property. The notice may be served by any method authorized by 5
law or court rule including but not limited to service by certified 6
mail with return receipt requested. Service by mail shall be deemed 7
complete upon mailing within the fifteen day period following the 8
seizure. 9
(6) If no person notifies the seizing law enforcement agency in 10
writing of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession of 11
seized items within forty-five days of the seizure, the item seized 12
shall be deemed forfeited.13
(7) If any person notifies the seizing law enforcement agency in 14
writing of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession of 15
seized items within forty-five days of the seizure, the person or 16
persons shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to be heard as to 17
the claim or right. The hearing shall be before an administrative law 18
judge appointed under chapter 34.12 RCW, except that any person 19
asserting a claim or right may remove the matter to a court of 20
competent jurisdiction if the aggregate value of the article or 21
articles involved is more than five hundred dollars. The hearing 22
before an administrative law judge and any appeal therefrom shall be 23
under Title 34 RCW. In a court hearing between two or more claimants 24
to the article or articles involved, the prevailing party shall be 25
entitled to a judgment for costs and reasonable attorney's fees. The 26
burden of producing evidence shall be upon the person claiming to be 27
the lawful owner or the person claiming to have the lawful right to 28
possession of the seized items. The seizing law enforcement agency 29
shall promptly return the article or articles to the claimant upon a 30
determination by the administrative law judge or court that the 31
claimant is lawfully entitled to possession thereof of the seized 32
items.33
(8) If property is sought to be forfeited on the ground that it 34
constitutes proceeds traceable to a violation of this chapter, the 35
seizing law enforcement agency must prove by a preponderance of the 36
evidence that the property constitutes proceeds traceable to a 37
violation of this chapter.38
(9) When property is forfeited under this chapter the seizing law 39
enforcement agency may:40
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(a) Retain it for official use or upon application by any law 1
enforcement agency of this state release the property to that agency 2
for the exclusive use of enforcing this chapter or chapter 9A.88 RCW;3
(b) Sell that which is not required to be destroyed by law and 4
which is not harmful to the public; or5
(c) Request the appropriate sheriff or director of public safety 6
to take custody of the property and remove it for disposition in 7
accordance with law.8
(10)(a) By January 31st of each year, each seizing agency shall 9
remit to the state an amount equal to ten percent of the net proceeds 10
of any property forfeited during the preceding calendar year. Money 11
remitted shall be deposited in the prostitution prevention and 12
intervention account under RCW 43.63A.740.13
(b) The net proceeds of forfeited property is the value of the 14
forfeitable interest in the property after deducting the cost of 15
satisfying any bona fide security interest to which the property is 16
subject at the time of seizure; and in the case of sold property, 17
after deducting the cost of sale, including reasonable fees or 18
commissions paid to an independent selling agency.19
(c) The value of sold forfeited property is the sale price. The 20
value of retained forfeited property is the fair market value of the 21
property at the time of seizure determined when possible by reference 22
to an applicable commonly used index. A seizing agency may use, but 23
need not use, an independent qualified appraiser to determine the 24
value of retained property. If an appraiser is used, the value of the 25
property appraised is net of the cost of the appraisal. The value of 26
destroyed property and retained firearms or illegal property is zero.27
(11) Forfeited property and net proceeds not required to be 28
remitted to the state under this chapter shall be used for payment of 29
all proper expenses of the investigation leading to the seizure, 30
including any money delivered to the subject of the investigation by 31
the law enforcement agency, and of the proceedings for forfeiture and 32
sale, including expenses of seizure, maintenance of custody, 33
advertising, actual costs of the prosecuting or city attorney, and 34
court costs. Money remaining after payment of these expenses shall be 35
retained by the seizing law enforcement agency for the exclusive use 36
of enforcing the provisions of this chapter or chapter 9A.88 RCW)) 37
are governed by chapter 7.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 38
18 of this act). 39
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Sec. 9. RCW 9A.88.150 and 2022 c 162 s 5 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
(1) The following are subject to seizure and forfeiture and no 3
property right exists in them: 4
(a) Any property or other interest acquired or maintained in 5
violation of RCW 9.68A.100, 9.68A.101, or 9A.88.070 to the extent of 6
the investment of funds, and any appreciation or income attributable 7
to the investment, from a violation of RCW 9.68A.100, 9.68A.101, or 8
9A.88.070; 9
(b) All conveyances, including aircraft, vehicles, or vessels, 10
which are used, or intended for use, in any manner to facilitate a 11
violation of RCW 9.68A.100, 9.68A.101, or 9A.88.070, except that:12
(i) No conveyance used by any person as a common carrier in the 13
transaction of business as a common carrier is subject to forfeiture 14
under this section unless it appears that the owner or other person 15
in charge of the conveyance is a consenting party or privy to a 16
violation of RCW 9.68A.100, 9.68A.101, or 9A.88.070;17
(ii) No conveyance is subject to forfeiture under this section by 18
reason of any act or omission ((established by the owner thereof to 19
have been )) committed or omitted without the owner's knowledge or 20
consent; 21
(iii) A forfeiture of a conveyance encumbered by a bona fide 22
security interest is subject to the interest of the secured party if 23
the secured party neither had knowledge of nor consented to the act 24
or omission; and 25
(iv) When the owner of a conveyance has been arrested for a 26
violation of RCW 9.68A.100, 9.68A.101, or 9A.88.070, the conveyance 27
in which the person is arrested may not be subject to forfeiture 28
unless it is seized or process is issued for its seizure within ten 29
days of the owner's arrest; 30
(c) Any property, contractual right, or claim against property 31
used to influence any enterprise that a person has established, 32
operated, controlled, conducted, or participated in the conduct of, 33
in violation of RCW 9.68A.100, 9.68A.101, or 9A.88.070;34
(d) All proceeds traceable to or derived from an offense defined 35
in RCW 9.68A.100, 9.68A.101, or 9A.88.070 and all moneys, negotiable 36
instruments, securities, and other things of value significantly used 37
or intended to be used significantly to facilitate commission of the 38
offense; 39
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(e) All books, records, and research products and materials, 1
including formulas, microfilm, tapes, and data which are used, or 2
intended for use, in violation of RCW 9.68A.100, 9.68A.101, or 3
9A.88.070; 4
(f) All moneys, negotiable instruments, securities, or other 5
tangible or intangible property of value furnished or intended to be 6
furnished by any person in exchange for a violation of RCW 9.68A.100, 7
9.68A.101, or 9A.88.070, all tangible or intangible personal 8
property, proceeds, or assets acquired in whole or in part with 9
proceeds traceable to an exchange or series of exchanges in violation 10
of RCW 9.68A.100, 9.68A.101, or 9A.88.070, and all moneys, negotiable 11
instruments, and securities used or intended to be used to facilitate 12
any violation of RCW 9.68A.100, 9.68A.101, or 9A.88.070. A forfeiture 13
of money, negotiable instruments, securities, or other tangible or 14
intangible property encumbered by a bona fide security interest is 15
subject to the interest of the secured party if, at the time the 16
security interest was created, the secured party neither had 17
knowledge of nor consented to the act or omission. No personal 18
property may be forfeited under this subsection (1)(f), to the extent 19
of the interest of an owner, by reason of any act or omission ((, 20
which that owner establishes was )) committed or omitted without the 21
owner's knowledge or consent; and 22
(g) All real property, including any right, title, and interest 23
in the whole of any lot or tract of land, and any appurtenances or 24
improvements which are being used with the knowledge of the owner for 25
a violation of RCW 9.68A.100, 9.68A.101, or 9A.88.070, or which have 26
been acquired in whole or in part with proceeds traceable to an 27
exchange or series of exchanges in violation of RCW 9.68A.100, 28
9.68A.101, or 9A.88.070, if a substantial nexus exists between the 29
violation and the real property. However: 30
(i) No property may be forfeited pursuant to this subsection 31
(1)(g), to the extent of the interest of an owner, by reason of any 32
act or omission committed or omitted without the owner's knowledge or 33
consent; 34
(ii) A forfeiture of real property encumbered by a bona fide 35
security interest is subject to the interest of the secured party if 36
the secured party, at the time the security interest was created, 37
neither had knowledge of nor consented to the act or omission.38
(2) Real or personal property subject to forfeiture under this 39
section may be seized by any law enforcement officer of this state 40
p. 14 HB 1440
upon process issued by any superior court having jurisdiction over 1
the property. Seizure of real property shall include the filing of a 2
lis pendens by the seizing agency. Real property seized under this 3
section shall not be transferred or otherwise conveyed until ninety 4
days after seizure or until a judgment of forfeiture is entered, 5
whichever is later: PROVIDED, That real property seized under this 6
section may be transferred or conveyed to any person or entity who 7
acquires title by foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure of a 8
security interest. Seizure of personal property without process may 9
be made if: 10
(a) The seizure is incident to an arrest or a search under a 11
search warrant; 12
(b) The property subject to seizure has been the subject of a 13
prior judgment in favor of the state in a criminal injunction or 14
forfeiture proceeding; or 15
(c) The law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe 16
that the property was used or is intended to be used in violation of 17
RCW 9.68A.100, 9.68A.101, or 9A.88.070. 18
(3) In the event of seizure pursuant to subsection (2) of this 19
section, proceedings for forfeiture ((shall be deemed commenced by 20
the seizure. The law enforcement agency under whose authority the 21
seizure was made shall cause notice to be served within fifteen days 22
following the seizure on the owner of the property seized and the 23
person in charge thereof and any person having any known right or 24
interest therein, including any community property interest, of the 25
seizure and intended forfeiture of the seized property. Service of 26
notice of seizure of real property shall be made according to the 27
rules of civil procedure. However, the state may not obtain a default 28
judgment with respect to real property against a party who is served 29
by substituted service absent an affidavit stating that a good faith 30
effort has been made to ascertain if the defaulted party is 31
incarcerated within the state, and that there is no present basis to 32
believe that the party is incarcerated within the state. Notice of 33
seizure in the case of property subject to a security interest that 34
has been perfected by filing a financing statement, or a certificate 35
of title, shall be made by service upon the secured party or the 36
secured party's assignee at the address shown on the financing 37
statement or the certificate of title. The notice of seizure in other 38
cases may be served by any method authorized by law or court rule 39
including, but not limited to, service by certified mail with return 40
p. 15 HB 1440
receipt requested. Service by mail shall be deemed complete upon 1
mailing within the fifteen day period following the seizure.2
(4) If no person notifies the seizing law enforcement agency in 3
writing of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession of 4
items specified in subsection (1) of this section within forty -five 5
days of the service of notice from the seizing agency in the case of 6
personal property and ninety days in the case of real property, the 7
item seized shall be deemed forfeited. The community property 8
interest in real property of a person whose spouse or domestic 9
partner committed a violation giving rise to seizure of the real 10
property may not be forfeited if the person did not participate in 11
the violation.12
(5) If any person notifies the seizing law enforcement agency in 13
writing of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession of 14
items specified in subsection (1) of this section within forty -five 15
days of the service of notice from the seizing agency in the case of 16
personal property and ninety days in the case of real property, the 17
person or persons shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to be 18
heard as to the claim or right. The notice of claim may be served by 19
any method authorized by law or court rule including, but not limited 20
to, service by first -class mail. Service by mail shall be deemed 21
complete upon mailing within the forty -five day period following 22
service of the notice of seizure in the case of personal property and 23
within the ninety day period following service of the notice of 24
seizure in the case of real property. The hearing shall be before the 25
chief law enforcement officer of the seizing agency or the chief law 26
enforcement officer's designee, except where the seizing agency is a 27
state agency as defined in RCW 34.12.020(4), the hearing shall be 28
before the chief law enforcement officer of the seizing agency or an 29
administrative law judge appointed under chapter 34.12 RCW, except 30
that any person asserting a claim or right may remove the matter to a 31
court of competent jurisdiction. Removal of any matter involving 32
personal property may only be accomplished according to the rules of 33
civil procedure. The person seeking removal of the matter must serve 34
process against the state, county, political subdivision, or 35
municipality that operates the seizing agency, and any other party of 36
interest, in accordance with RCW 4.28.080 or 4.92.020, within 37
forty-five days after the person seeking removal has notified the 38
seizing law enforcement agency of the person's claim of ownership or 39
right to possession. The court to which the matter is to be removed 40
p. 16 HB 1440
shall be the district court when the aggregate value of personal 1
property is within the jurisdictional limit set forth in RCW 2
3.66.020. A hearing before the seizing agency and any appeal 3
therefrom shall be under Title 34 RCW. In all cases, the burden of 4
proof is upon the law enforcement agency to establish, by a 5
preponderance of the evidence, that the property is subject to 6
forfeiture. 7
The seizing law enforcement agency shall promptly return the 8
article or articles to the claimant upon a determination by the 9
administrative law judge or court that the claimant is the present 10
lawful owner or is lawfully entitled to possession thereof of items 11
specified in subsection (1) of this section.12
(6) In any proceeding to forfeit property under this title, where 13
the claimant substantially prevails, the claimant is entitled to 14
reasonable attorneys' fees reasonably incurred by the claimant. In 15
addition, in a court hearing between two or more claimants to the 16
article or articles involved, the prevailing party is entitled to a 17
judgment for costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.18
(7) When property is forfeited under this chapter, the seizing 19
law enforcement agency may:20
(a) Retain it for official use or upon application by any law 21
enforcement agency of this state release the property to that agency 22
for the exclusive use of enforcing this chapter or chapter 9.68A RCW;23
(b) Sell that which is not required to be destroyed by law and 24
which is not harmful to the public; or25
(c) Request the appropriate sheriff or director of public safety 26
to take custody of the property and remove it for disposition in 27
accordance with law.28
(8)(a) When property is forfeited, the seizing agency shall keep 29
a record indicating the identity of the prior owner, if known, a 30
description of the property, the disposition of the property, the 31
value of the property at the time of seizure, and the amount of 32
proceeds realized from disposition of the property.33
(b) Each seizing agency shall retain records of forfeited 34
property for at least seven years.35
(c) Each seizing agency shall file a report including a copy of 36
the records of forfeited property with the state treasurer each 37
calendar quarter.38
(d) The quarterly report need not include a record of forfeited 39
property that is still being held for use as evidence during the 40
p. 17 HB 1440
investigation or prosecution of a case or during the appeal from a 1
conviction. 2
(9)(a) By January 31st of each year, each seizing agency shall 3
remit to the state an amount equal to ten percent of the net proceeds 4
of any property forfeited during the preceding calendar year. Money 5
remitted shall be deposited in the prostitution prevention and 6
intervention account under RCW 43.63A.740.7
(b) The net proceeds of forfeited property is the value of the 8
forfeitable interest in the property after deducting the cost of 9
satisfying any bona fide security interest to which the property is 10
subject at the time of seizure; and in the case of sold property, 11
after deducting the cost of sale, including reasonable fees or 12
commissions paid to independent selling agents, and the cost of any 13
valid landlord's claim for damages under subsection (12) of this 14
section.15
(c) The value of sold forfeited property is the sale price. The 16
value of destroyed property and retained firearms or illegal property 17
is zero.18
(10) Net proceeds not required to be remitted to the state shall 19
be used for payment of all proper expenses of the investigation 20
leading to the seizure, including any money delivered to the subject 21
of the investigation by the law enforcement agency, and of the 22
proceedings for forfeiture and sale, including expenses of seizure, 23
maintenance of custody, advertising, actual costs of the prosecuting 24
or city attorney, and court costs. Money remaining after payment of 25
these expenses shall be retained by the seizing law enforcement 26
agency for the exclusive use of enforcing the provisions of this 27
chapter or chapter 9.68A RCW.28
(11) Upon the entry of an order of forfeiture of real property, 29
the court shall forward a copy of the order to the assessor of the 30
county in which the property is located. Orders for the forfeiture of 31
real property shall be entered by the superior court, subject to 32
court rules. Such an order shall be filed by the seizing agency in 33
the county auditor's records in the county in which the real property 34
is located.35
(12) A landlord may assert a claim against proceeds from the sale 36
of assets seized and forfeited under subsection (9) of this section, 37
only if:38
p. 18 HB 1440
(a) A law enforcement officer, while acting in his or her 1
official capacity, directly caused damage to the complaining 2
landlord's property while executing a search of a tenant's residence;3
(b) The landlord has applied any funds remaining in the tenant's 4
deposit, to which the landlord has a right under chapter 59.18 RCW, 5
to cover the damage directly caused by a law enforcement officer 6
prior to asserting a claim under the provisions of this section:7
(i) Only if the funds applied under (b) of this subsection are 8
insufficient to satisfy the damage directly caused by a law 9
enforcement officer, may the landlord seek compensation for the 10
damage by filing a claim against the governmental entity under whose 11
authority the law enforcement agency operates within thirty days 12
after the search;13
(ii) Only if the governmental entity denies or fails to respond 14
to the landlord's claim within sixty days of the date of filing, may 15
the landlord collect damages under this subsection by filing within 16
thirty days of denial or the expiration of the sixty day period, 17
whichever occurs first, a claim with the seizing law enforcement 18
agency. The seizing law enforcement agency must notify the landlord 19
of the status of the claim by the end of the thirty day period. 20
Nothing in this section requires the claim to be paid by the end of 21
the sixty day or thirty day period; and22
(c) For any claim filed under (b) of this subsection, the law 23
enforcement agency shall pay the claim unless the agency provides 24
substantial proof that the landlord either:25
(i) Knew or consented to actions of the tenant in violation of 26
RCW 9.68A.100, 9.68A.101, or 9A.88.070; or27
(ii) Failed to respond to a notification of the illegal activity, 28
provided by a law enforcement agency under RCW 59.18.075, within 29
seven days of receipt of notification of the illegal activity.30
(13) The landlord's claim for damages under subsection (12) of 31
this section may not include a claim for loss of business and is 32
limited to:33
(a) Damage to tangible property and clean-up costs;34
(b) The lesser of the cost of repair or fair market value of the 35
damage directly caused by a law enforcement officer;36
(c) The proceeds from the sale of the specific tenant's property 37
seized and forfeited under subsection (9) of this section; and38
(d) The proceeds available after the seizing law enforcement 39
agency satisfies any bona fide security interest in the tenant's 40
p. 19 HB 1440
property and costs related to sale of the tenant's property as 1
provided by subsection (12) of this section. 2
(14) Subsections (12) and (13) of this section do not limit any 3
other rights a landlord may have against a tenant to collect for 4
damages. However, if a law enforcement agency satisfies a landlord's 5
claim under subsection (12) of this section, the rights the landlord 6
has against the tenant for damages directly caused by a law 7
enforcement officer under the terms of the landlord and tenant's 8
contract are subrogated to the law enforcement agency )) are governed 9
by chapter 7.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 18 of this 10
act). 11
Sec. 10. RCW 9A.83.030 and 2020 c 62 s 1 are each amended to 12
read as follows: 13
(1) Proceeds traceable to or derived from specified unlawful 14
activity or a violation of RCW 9A.83.020 are subject to seizure and 15
forfeiture. The attorney general or county prosecuting attorney may 16
file a civil action for the forfeiture of proceeds. Unless otherwise 17
provided for under this section, no property rights exist in these 18
proceeds. All right, title, and interest in the proceeds shall vest 19
in the governmental entity of which the seizing law enforcement 20
agency is a part upon commission of the act or omission giving rise 21
to forfeiture under this section. 22
(2) Real or personal property subject to forfeiture under this 23
chapter may be seized by any law enforcement officer of this state 24
upon process issued by a superior court that has jurisdiction over 25
the property. Any agency seizing real property shall file a lis 26
pendens concerning the property. Real property seized under this 27
section shall not be transferred or otherwise conveyed until ninety 28
days after seizure or until a judgment of forfeiture is entered, 29
whichever is later. Real property seized under this section may be 30
transferred or conveyed to any person or entity who acquires title by 31
foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure of a security interest. 32
Seizure of personal property without process may be made if:33
(a) The seizure is incident to an arrest or a search under a 34
search warrant or an inspection under an administrative inspection 35
warrant issued pursuant to RCW 69.50.502; or 36
(b) The property subject to seizure has been the subject of a 37
prior judgment in favor of the state in a criminal injunction or 38
forfeiture proceeding based upon this chapter. 39
p. 20 HB 1440
(3) A seizure under subsection (2) of this section commences 1
proceedings for forfeiture pursuant to chapter 7.--- RCW (the new 2
chapter created in section 18 of this act) . ((The law enforcement 3
agency under whose authority the seizure was made shall cause notice 4
of the seizure and intended forfeiture of the seized proceeds to be 5
served within fifteen days after the seizure on the owner of the 6
property seized and the person in charge thereof and any person who 7
has a known right or interest therein, including a community property 8
interest. Service of notice of seizure of real property shall be made 9
according to the rules of civil procedure. However, the state may not 10
obtain a default judgment with respect to real property against a 11
party who is served by substituted service absent an affidavit 12
stating that a good faith effort has been made to ascertain if the 13
defaulted party is incarcerated within the state, and that there is 14
no present basis to believe that the party is incarcerated within the 15
state. The notice of seizure in other cases may be served by any 16
method authorized by law or court rule including but not limited to 17
service by certified mail with return receipt requested. Service by 18
mail is complete upon mailing within the fifteen-day period after the 19
seizure.20
(4) If no person notifies the seizing law enforcement agency in 21
writing of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession of 22
the property within forty-five days of the seizure in the case of 23
personal property and ninety days in the case of real property, the 24
property seized shall be deemed forfeited. The community property 25
interest in real property of a person whose spouse or domestic 26
partner committed a violation giving rise to seizure of the real 27
property may not be forfeited if the person did not participate in 28
the violation.29
(5) If a person notifies the seizing law enforcement agency in 30
writing of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession of 31
property within forty-five days of the seizure in the case of 32
personal property and ninety days in the case of real property, the 33
person or persons shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to be 34
heard as to the claim or right. The provisions of RCW 69.50.505(5) 35
shall apply to any such hearing. The seizing law enforcement agency 36
shall promptly return property to the claimant upon the direction of 37
the administrative law judge or court.38
p. 21 HB 1440
(6) Disposition of forfeited property shall be made in the manner 1
provided for in RCW 69.50.505 (8) through (10) and (14) or 9.46.231 2
(6) through (8) and (10).))3
Sec. 11. RCW 10.105.010 and 2022 c 162 s 3 are each amended to 4
read as follows: 5
(1) The following are subject to seizure and forfeiture and no 6
property right exists in them: All personal property, including, but 7
not limited to, any item, object, tool, substance, device, weapon, 8
machine, vehicle of any kind, money, security, or negotiable 9
instrument, which has been or was actually employed as an 10
instrumentality in the commission of, or in aiding or abetting in the 11
commission of any felony, or which was furnished or was intended to 12
be furnished by any person in the commission of, as a result of, or 13
as compensation for the commission of, any felony, or which was 14
acquired in whole or in part with proceeds traceable to the 15
commission of a felony. No property may be forfeited under this 16
section until after there has been a superior court conviction of the 17
owner of the property for the felony in connection with which the 18
property was employed, furnished, or acquired. 19
A forfeiture of property encumbered by a bona fide security 20
interest is subject to the interest of the secured party if at the 21
time the security interest was created, the secured party neither had 22
knowledge of nor consented to the commission of the felony.23
(2) Personal property subject to forfeiture under this chapter 24
may be seized by any law enforcement officer of this state upon 25
process issued by any superior court having jurisdiction over the 26
property. Seizure of personal property without process may be made 27
if: 28
(a) The seizure is incident to an arrest or a search under a 29
search warrant; 30
(b) The property subject to seizure has been the subject of a 31
prior judgment in favor of the state in a criminal injunction or 32
forfeiture proceeding; 33
(c) A law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that 34
the property is directly dangerous to health or safety; or35
(d) The law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe 36
that the property was used or is intended to be used in the 37
commission of a felony. 38
p. 22 HB 1440
(3) In the event of seizure pursuant to this section, proceedings 1
for forfeiture ((shall be deemed commenced by the seizure. The law 2
enforcement agency under whose authority the seizure was made shall 3
cause notice to be served within fifteen days following the seizure 4
on the owner of the property seized and the person in charge thereof 5
and any person having any known right or interest therein, including 6
any community property interest, of the seizure and intended 7
forfeiture of the seized property. The notice of seizure may be 8
served by any method authorized by law or court rule including but 9
not limited to service by certified mail with return receipt 10
requested. Service by mail shall be deemed complete upon mailing 11
within the fifteen day period following the seizure. Notice of 12
seizure in the case of property subject to a security interest that 13
has been perfected by filing a financing statement in accordance with 14
chapter 62A.9A RCW, or a certificate of title shall be made by 15
service upon the secured party or the secured party's assignee at the 16
address shown on the financing statement or the certificate of title.17
(4) If no person notifies the seizing law enforcement agency in 18
writing of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession of 19
items specified in subsection (1) of this section within forty-five 20
days of the seizure, the item seized shall be deemed forfeited.21
(5) If a person notifies the seizing law enforcement agency in 22
writing of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession of 23
the seized property within forty-five days of the seizure, the law 24
enforcement agency shall give the person or persons a reasonable 25
opportunity to be heard as to the claim or right. The hearing shall 26
be before the chief law enforcement officer of the seizing agency or 27
the chief law enforcement officer's designee, except where the 28
seizing agency is a state agency as defined in RCW 34.12.020(4), the 29
hearing shall be before the chief law enforcement officer of the 30
seizing agency or an administrative law judge appointed under chapter 31
34.12 RCW, except that any person asserting a claim or right may 32
remove the matter to a court of competent jurisdiction. Removal may 33
only be accomplished according to the rules of civil procedure. The 34
person seeking removal of the matter must serve process against the 35
state, county, political subdivision, or municipality that operates 36
the seizing agency, and any other party of interest, in accordance 37
with RCW 4.28.080 or 4.92.020, within forty-five days after the 38
person seeking removal has notified the seizing law enforcement 39
agency of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession. The 40
p. 23 HB 1440
court to which the matter is to be removed shall be the district 1
court when the aggregate value of the property is within the 2
jurisdictional limit set forth in RCW 3.66.020. A hearing before the 3
seizing agency and any appeal therefrom shall be under Title 34 RCW. 4
In a court hearing between two or more claimants to the property 5
involved, the prevailing party shall be entitled to a judgment for 6
costs and reasonable attorney's fees. The burden of producing 7
evidence shall be upon the person claiming to be the lawful owner or 8
the person claiming to have the lawful right to possession of the 9
property. The seizing law enforcement agency shall promptly return 10
the property to the claimant upon a determination by the 11
administrative law judge or court that the claimant is the present 12
lawful owner or is lawfully entitled to possession of the property.13
(6) When property is forfeited under this chapter, after 14
satisfying any court-ordered victim restitution, the seizing law 15
enforcement agency may:16
(a) Retain it for official use or upon application by any law 17
enforcement agency of this state release such property to such agency 18
for the exclusive use of enforcing the criminal law;19
(b) Sell that which is not required to be destroyed by law and 20
which is not harmful to the public.21
(7) By January 31st of each year, each seizing agency shall remit 22
to the state an amount equal to ten percent of the net proceeds of 23
any property forfeited during the preceding calendar year for deposit 24
into the behavioral health loan repayment program account created in 25
RCW 28B.115.135 through June 30, 2027, and into the state general 26
fund thereafter.27
(a) The net proceeds of forfeited property is the value of the 28
forfeitable interest in the property after deducting the cost of 29
satisfying any bona fide security interest to which the property is 30
subject at the time of seizure; and in the case of sold property, 31
after deducting the cost of sale, including reasonable fees or 32
commissions paid to independent selling agents.33
(b) The value of sold forfeited property is the sale price. The 34
value of retained forfeited property is the fair market value of the 35
property at the time of seizure, determined when possible by 36
reference to an applicable commonly used index, such as the index 37
used by the department of licensing for valuation of motor vehicles. 38
A seizing agency may use, but need not use, an independent qualified 39
appraiser to determine the value of retained property. If an 40
p. 24 HB 1440
appraiser is used, the value of the property appraised is net of the 1
cost of the appraisal. The value of destroyed property and retained 2
firearms or illegal property is zero. 3
(c) Retained property and net proceeds not required to be 4
remitted to the state, or otherwise required to be spent under this 5
section, shall be retained by the seizing law enforcement agency 6
exclusively for the expansion and improvement of law enforcement 7
activity. Money retained under this section may not be used to 8
supplant preexisting funding sources )) are governed by chapter 7.--- 9
RCW (the new chapter created in section 18 of this act).10
(4) When property is seized under this chapter and forfeited 11
pursuant to chapter 7.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 18 12
of this act), the seizing agency must first satisfy any court-ordered 13
victim restitution before retaining, using, selling, or taking other 14
action with respect to the property as permitted under section 4 of 15
this act. 16
Sec. 12. RCW 19.290.230 and 2013 c 322 s 27 are each amended to 17
read as follows: 18
(1) The following personal property is subject to seizure and 19
forfeiture and no property right exists in them: All personal 20
property including, but not limited to, any item, object, tool, 21
substance, device, weapon, machine, vehicle of any kind, money, 22
security, or negotiable instrument, which the seizing agency proves 23
by a preponderance of the evidence was used or intended to be used by 24
its owner or the person in charge to knowingly or intentionally 25
facilitate the commission of, or to knowingly or intentionally abet 26
the commission of, a crime involving theft, trafficking, or unlawful 27
possession of commercial metal property, or which the seizing agency 28
proves by a preponderance of the evidence was knowingly or 29
intentionally furnished or was intended to be furnished by any person 30
in the commission of, as a result of, or as compensation for the 31
commission of, a crime involving theft, trafficking, or the unlawful 32
possession of commercial metal property, or which the property owner 33
acquired in whole or in part with proceeds traceable to a knowing or 34
intentional commission of a crime involving the theft, trafficking, 35
or unlawful possession of commercial metal property provided that 36
such activity is not less than a class C felony; except that:37
(a) No vehicle used by any person as a common carrier in the 38
transaction of business as a common carrier is subject to forfeiture 39
p. 25 HB 1440
under this section unless the seizing agency proves by a 1
preponderance of the evidence that the owner or other person in 2
charge of the vehicle is a consenting party or is privy to any crime 3
involving theft, trafficking, or the unlawful possession of 4
commercial metal property; 5
(b) A forfeiture of property encumbered by a bona fide security 6
interest is subject to the interest of the secured party if the 7
secured party neither had actual or constructive knowledge of nor 8
consented to the commission of any crime involving the theft, 9
trafficking, or unlawful possession of commercial metal property; and10
(c) A property owner's property is not subject to seizure if an 11
employee or agent of that property owner uses the property owner's 12
property to knowingly or intentionally facilitate the commission of, 13
or to knowingly or intentionally aid and abet the commission of, a 14
crime involving theft, trafficking, or unlawful possession of 15
commercial metal property, in violation of that property owner's 16
instructions or policies against such activity, and without the 17
property owner's knowledge or consent. 18
(2) The following real property is subject to seizure and 19
forfeiture and no property right exists in them: All real property, 20
including any right, title, and interest in the whole of any lot or 21
tract of land, and any appurtenances or improvements, that the 22
seizing agency proves by a preponderance of the evidence are being 23
used with the knowledge of the owner for the intentional commission 24
of any crime involving the theft, trafficking, or unlawful possession 25
of commercial metal property, or which have been acquired in whole or 26
in part with proceeds traceable to the commission of any crime 27
involving the trafficking, theft, or unlawful possession of 28
commercial metal, if such activity is not less than a class C felony 29
and a substantial nexus exists between the commission of the 30
violation or crime and the real property. However:31
(a) No property may be forfeited pursuant to this subsection (2), 32
to the extent of the interest of an owner, by reason of any act or 33
omission committed or omitted without the owner's actual or 34
constructive knowledge; and further, a property owner's real property 35
is not subject to seizure if an employee or agent of that property 36
owner uses the property owner's real property to knowingly or 37
intentionally facilitate the commission of, or to knowingly or 38
intentionally aid and abet the commission of, a crime involving 39
theft, trafficking, or unlawful possession of commercial metal 40
p. 26 HB 1440
property, in violation of that property owner's instructions or 1
policies against such activity, and without the property owner's 2
knowledge or consent; and 3
(b) A forfeiture of real property encumbered by a bona fide 4
security interest is subject to the interest of the secured party if 5
the secured party, neither had actual or constructive knowledge, nor 6
consented to the act or omission. 7
(3) Property subject to forfeiture under this chapter may be 8
seized by any law enforcement officer of this state upon process 9
issued by any superior court having jurisdiction over the property. 10
Seizure of real property shall include the filing of a lis pendens by 11
the seizing agency. Real property seized under this section shall not 12
be transferred or otherwise conveyed until ninety days after seizure 13
or until a judgment of forfeiture is entered, whichever is later: 14
PROVIDED, That real property seized under this section may be 15
transferred or conveyed to any person or entity who acquires title by 16
foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure of a security interest. 17
Seizure of personal property without process may be made if:18
(a) The seizure is incident to an arrest or a search under a 19
search warrant; or 20
(b) The property subject to seizure has been the subject of a 21
prior judgment in favor of the state in a criminal injunction or 22
forfeiture proceeding. 23
(4) In the event of seizure pursuant to this section, proceedings 24
for forfeiture ((shall be )) are deemed commenced by the seizure and 25
governed by chapter 7.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 18 26
of this act) . ((The law enforcement agency under whose authority the 27
seizure was made shall cause notice to be served within fifteen days 28
following the seizure on the owner of the property seized and the 29
person in charge thereof and any person having any known right or 30
interest therein, including any community property interest, of the 31
seizure and intended forfeiture of the seized property. Service of 32
notice of seizure of real property shall be made according to the 33
rules of civil procedure. However, the state may not obtain a default 34
judgment with respect to real property against a party who is served 35
by substituted service absent an affidavit stating that a good faith 36
effort has been made to ascertain if the defaulted party is 37
incarcerated within the state, and that there is no present basis to 38
believe that the party is incarcerated within the state. The notice 39
of seizure of personal property may be served by any method 40
p. 27 HB 1440
authorized by law or court rule including but not limited to service 1
by certified mail with return receipt requested. Service by mail 2
shall be deemed complete upon mailing within the fifteen-day period 3
following the seizure. Notice of seizure in the case of property 4
subject to a security interest that has been perfected by filing a 5
financing statement in accordance with chapter 62A.9A RCW, or a 6
certificate of title shall be made by service upon the secured party 7
or the secured party's assignee at the address shown on the financing 8
statement or the certificate of title. 9
(5) If no person notifies the seizing law enforcement agency in 10
writing of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession of 11
items specified in subsection (1) of this section within forty-five 12
days of the seizure in the case of personal property and ninety days 13
in the case of real property, the item seized shall be deemed 14
forfeited. The community property interest in real property of a 15
person whose spouse or domestic partner committed a violation giving 16
rise to seizure of the real property may not be forfeited if the 17
person did not participate in the violation.18
(6) If a person notifies the seizing law enforcement agency in 19
writing of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession of 20
the seized property within forty-five days of the seizure in the case 21
of personal property and ninety days in the case of real property, 22
the law enforcement agency shall give the person or persons a 23
reasonable opportunity to be heard as to the claim or right. The 24
hearing shall be before the chief law enforcement officer of the 25
seizing agency or the chief law enforcement officer's designee, 26
except where the seizing agency is a state agency as defined in RCW 27
34.12.020(4), the hearing shall be before the chief law enforcement 28
officer of the seizing agency or an administrative law judge 29
appointed under chapter 34.12 RCW, except that any person asserting a 30
claim or right may remove the matter to a court of competent 31
jurisdiction. Removal may only be accomplished according to the rules 32
of civil procedure. The person seeking removal of the matter must 33
serve process against the state, county, political subdivision, or 34
municipality that operates the seizing agency, and any other party of 35
interest, in accordance with RCW 4.28.080 or 4.92.020, within forty-36
five days after the person seeking removal has notified the seizing 37
law enforcement agency of the person's claim of ownership or right to 38
possession. The court to which the matter is to be removed shall be 39
the district court when the aggregate value of the property is within 40
p. 28 HB 1440
the jurisdictional limit set forth in RCW 3.66.020. A hearing before 1
the seizing agency and any appeal therefrom shall be under Title 34 2
RCW. In a court hearing between two or more claimants to the property 3
involved, the prevailing party shall be entitled to a judgment for 4
costs and reasonable attorneys' fees. The burden of producing 5
evidence shall be upon the person claiming to be the lawful owner or 6
the person claiming to have the lawful right to possession of the 7
property. 8
(7) At the hearing, the seizing agency has the burden of proof to 9
establish by a preponderance of the evidence that seized property is 10
subject to forfeiture, and that the use or intended use of the seized 11
property in connection with a crime pursuant to this section occurred 12
with the owner's actual or constructive knowledge or consent. The 13
person claiming to be the lawful owner or the person claiming to have 14
the lawful right to possession of the property has the burden of 15
proof to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the person 16
owns or has a right to possess the seized property. The possession of 17
bare legal title is not sufficient to establish ownership of seized 18
property if the seizing agency proves by a preponderance of the 19
evidence that the person claiming ownership or right to possession is 20
a nominal owner and did not actually own or exert a controlling 21
interest in the property.22
The seizing law enforcement agency shall promptly return the 23
property to the claimant upon a determination by the administrative 24
law judge or court that the claimant is the present lawful owner or 25
is lawfully entitled to possession of the property.26
(8) When property is forfeited under this chapter, after 27
satisfying any court-ordered victim restitution, the seizing law 28
enforcement agency may:29
(a) Retain it for official use or, upon application by any law 30
enforcement agency of this state, release such property to such 31
agency; or32
(b) Sell that which is not required to be destroyed by law and 33
which is not harmful to the public.34
(9)(a) Within one hundred twenty days after the entry of an order 35
of forfeiture, each seizing agency shall remit to, if known, the 36
victim of the crime involving the seized property, an amount equal to 37
fifty percent of the net proceeds of any property forfeited.38
(b) Retained property and net proceeds not required to be paid to 39
victims shall be retained by the seizing law enforcement agency 40
p. 29 HB 1440
exclusively for the expansion and improvement of law enforcement 1
activity. Money retained under this section may not be used to 2
supplant preexisting funding sources. 3
(c) The net proceeds of forfeited property is the value of the 4
forfeitable interest in the property after deducting the cost of 5
satisfying any bona fide security interest to which the property is 6
subject at the time of seizure; and in the case of sold property, 7
after deducting the cost of sale, including reasonable fees or 8
commissions paid to independent selling agents, and the cost of any 9
valid landlord's claim for damages.10
(d) The value of sold forfeited property is the sale price. The 11
value of retained forfeited property is the fair market value of the 12
property at the time of seizure, determined when possible by 13
reference to an applicable commonly used index, such as the index 14
used by the department of licensing for valuation of motor vehicles. 15
A seizing agency may use, but need not use, an independent qualified 16
appraiser to determine the value of retained property. If an 17
appraiser is used, the value of the property appraised is net of the 18
cost of the appraisal. The value of destroyed property and retained 19
firearms or illegal property is zero.20
(10) Upon the entry of an order of forfeiture of real property, 21
the court shall forward a copy of the order to the assessor of the 22
county in which the property is located. Orders for the forfeiture of 23
real property shall be entered by the superior court, subject to 24
court rules. Such an order shall be filed by the seizing agency in 25
the county auditor's records in the county in which the real property 26
is located.))27
(5)(a) When property is seized under this chapter and forfeited 28
pursuant to chapter 7.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 18 29
of this act), the seizing agency must first satisfy any court-ordered 30
victim restitution before retaining, using, selling, or taking other 31
action with respect to the property as permitted under section 4 of 32
this act.33
(b) Within 120 days after the entry of an order of forfeiture, 34
each seizing agency shall remit to, if known, the victim of the crime 35
involving the seized property, an amount equal to 50 percent of the 36
net proceeds of any property forfeited.37
Sec. 13. RCW 46.61.5058 and 2022 c 162 s 2 are each amended to 38
read as follows: 39
p. 30 HB 1440
(1) Upon the arrest of a person or upon the filing of a 1
complaint, citation, or information in a court of competent 2
jurisdiction, based upon probable cause to believe that a person has 3
violated RCW 46.20.740, 46.61.502, or 46.61.504 or any similar 4
municipal ordinance, if such person has a prior offense within seven 5
years as defined in RCW 46.61.5055, and where the person has been 6
provided written notice that any transfer, sale, or encumbrance of 7
such person's interest in the vehicle over which that person was 8
actually driving or had physical control when the violation occurred, 9
is unlawful pending either acquittal, dismissal, sixty days after 10
conviction, or other termination of the charge, such person shall be 11
prohibited from encumbering, selling, or transferring his or her 12
interest in such vehicle, except as otherwise provided in (a), (b), 13
and (c) of this subsection, until either acquittal, dismissal, sixty 14
days after conviction, or other termination of the charge. The 15
prohibition against transfer of title shall not be stayed pending the 16
determination of an appeal from the conviction. 17
(a) A vehicle encumbered by a bona fide security interest may be 18
transferred to the secured party or to a person designated by the 19
secured party; 20
(b) A leased or rented vehicle may be transferred to the lessor, 21
rental agency, or to a person designated by the lessor or rental 22
agency; and 23
(c) A vehicle may be transferred to a third party or a vehicle 24
dealer who is a bona fide purchaser or may be subject to a bona fide 25
security interest in the vehicle unless it is established that (i) in 26
the case of a purchase by a third party or vehicle dealer, such party 27
or dealer had actual notice that the vehicle was subject to the 28
prohibition prior to the purchase, or (ii) in the case of a security 29
interest, the holder of the security interest had actual notice that 30
the vehicle was subject to the prohibition prior to the encumbrance 31
of title. 32
(2) On conviction for a violation of either RCW 46.20.740, 33
46.61.502, or 46.61.504 or any similar municipal ordinance where the 34
person convicted has a prior offense within seven years as defined in 35
RCW 46.61.5055, the motor vehicle the person was driving or over 36
which the person had actual physical control at the time of the 37
offense, if the person has a financial interest in the vehicle, the 38
court shall consider at sentencing whether the vehicle shall be 39
p. 31 HB 1440
seized and forfeited pursuant to this section if a seizure or 1
forfeiture has not yet occurred. 2
(3) A vehicle subject to forfeiture under this chapter may be 3
seized by a law enforcement officer of this state upon process issued 4
by a court of competent jurisdiction. Seizure of a vehicle may be 5
made without process if the vehicle subject to seizure has been the 6
subject of a prior judgment in favor of the state in a forfeiture 7
proceeding based upon this section. 8
(4) Seizure under subsection (3) of this section automatically 9
commences proceedings for forfeiture , which proceedings are governed 10
by chapter 7.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 18 of this 11
act). ((The law enforcement agency under whose authority the seizure 12
was made shall cause notice of the seizure and intended forfeiture of 13
the seized vehicle to be served within fifteen days after the seizure 14
on the owner of the vehicle seized, on the person in charge of the 15
vehicle, and on any person having a known right or interest in the 16
vehicle, including a community property interest. The notice of 17
seizure may be served by any method authorized by law or court rule, 18
including but not limited to service by certified mail with return 19
receipt requested. Service by mail is complete upon mailing within 20
the fifteen-day period after the seizure. Notice of seizure in the 21
case of property subject to a security interest that has been 22
perfected on a certificate of title shall be made by service upon the 23
secured party or the secured party's assignee at the address shown on 24
the financing statement or the certificate of title.25
(5) If no person notifies the seizing law enforcement agency in 26
writing of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession of 27
the seized vehicle within forty-five days of the seizure, the vehicle 28
is deemed forfeited.29
(6) If a person notifies the seizing law enforcement agency in 30
writing of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession of 31
the seized vehicle within forty-five days of the seizure, the law 32
enforcement agency shall give the person or persons a reasonable 33
opportunity to be heard as to the claim or right. The hearing shall 34
be before the chief law enforcement officer of the seizing agency or 35
the chief law enforcement officer's designee, except where the 36
seizing agency is a state agency as defined in RCW 34.12.020, the 37
hearing shall be before the chief law enforcement officer of the 38
seizing agency or an administrative law judge appointed under chapter 39
34.12 RCW, except that any person asserting a claim or right may 40
p. 32 HB 1440
remove the matter to a court of competent jurisdiction. Removal may 1
only be accomplished according to the rules of civil procedure. The 2
person seeking removal of the matter must serve process against the 3
state, county, political subdivision, or municipality that operates 4
the seizing agency, and any other party of interest, in accordance 5
with RCW 4.28.080 or 4.92.020, within forty-five days after the 6
person seeking removal has notified the seizing law enforcement 7
agency of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession. The 8
court to which the matter is to be removed shall be the district 9
court when the aggregate value of the vehicle is within the 10
jurisdictional limit set forth in RCW 3.66.020. A hearing before the 11
seizing agency and any appeal therefrom shall be under Title 34 RCW. 12
In a court hearing between two or more claimants to the vehicle 13
involved, the prevailing party shall be entitled to a judgment for 14
costs and reasonable attorneys' fees. The burden of producing 15
evidence shall be upon the person claiming to be the legal owner or 16
the person claiming to have the lawful right to possession of the 17
vehicle. The seizing law enforcement agency shall promptly return the 18
vehicle to the claimant upon a determination by the administrative 19
law judge or court that the claimant is the present legal owner under 20
this title or is lawfully entitled to possession of the vehicle.21
(7))) (5) When a vehicle is forfeited under this chapter the 22
seizing law enforcement agency may sell the vehicle, retain it for 23
official use, or upon application by a law enforcement agency of this 24
state release the vehicle to that agency for the exclusive use of 25
enforcing this title; provided, however, that the agency shall first 26
satisfy any bona fide security interest to which the vehicle is 27
subject under subsection (1)(a) or (c) of this section.28
(((8))) (6) When a vehicle is forfeited, the seizing agency shall 29
keep a record indicating the identity of the prior owner, if known, a 30
description of the vehicle, the disposition of the vehicle, the value 31
of the vehicle at the time of seizure, and the amount of proceeds 32
realized from disposition of the vehicle. 33
(((9))) (7) Each seizing agency shall retain records of forfeited 34
vehicles for at least seven years. 35
(((10) Each seizing agency shall file a report including a copy 36
of the records of forfeited vehicles with the state treasurer each 37
calendar quarter.38
(11) The quarterly report need not include a record of a 39
forfeited vehicle that is still being held for use as evidence during 40
p. 33 HB 1440
the investigation or prosecution of a case or during the appeal from 1
a conviction. 2
(12) By January 31st of each year, each seizing agency shall 3
remit to the state an amount equal to ten percent of the net proceeds 4
of vehicles forfeited during the preceding calendar year for deposit 5
into the behavioral health loan repayment program account created in 6
RCW 28B.115.135 through June 30, 2027, and into the state general 7
fund thereafter.8
(13) The net proceeds of a forfeited vehicle is the value of the 9
forfeitable interest in the vehicle after deducting the cost of 10
satisfying a bona fide security interest to which the vehicle is 11
subject at the time of seizure; and in the case of a sold vehicle, 12
after deducting the cost of sale, including reasonable fees or 13
commissions paid to independent selling agents.14
(14) The value of a sold forfeited vehicle is the sale price. The 15
value of a retained forfeited vehicle is the fair market value of the 16
vehicle at the time of seizure, determined when possible by reference 17
to an applicable commonly used index, such as the index used by the 18
department of licensing. A seizing agency may, but need not, use an 19
independent qualified appraiser to determine the value of retained 20
vehicles. If an appraiser is used, the value of the vehicle appraised 21
is net of the cost of the appraisal.))22
Sec. 14. RCW 70.74.400 and 2002 c 370 s 3 are each amended to 23
read as follows: 24
(1) Explosives, improvised devices, and components of explosives 25
and improvised devices that are possessed, manufactured, delivered, 26
imported, exported, stored, sold, purchased, transported, abandoned, 27
detonated, or used, or intended to be used, in violation of a 28
provision of this chapter are subject to seizure and forfeiture by a 29
law enforcement agency and no property right exists in them.30
(2) The law enforcement agency making the seizure shall notify 31
the Washington state department of labor and industries of the 32
seizure. 33
(3) Seizure of explosives, improvised devices, and components of 34
explosives and improvised devices under subsection (1) of this 35
section may be made if: 36
(a) The seizure is incident to arrest or a search under a search 37
warrant; 38
p. 34 HB 1440
(b) The explosives, improvised devices, or components have been 1
the subject of a prior judgment in favor of the state in an 2
injunction or forfeiture proceeding based upon this chapter;3
(c) A law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that 4
the explosives, improvised devices, or components are directly or 5
indirectly dangerous to health or safety; or 6
(d) The law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe 7
that the explosives, improvised devices, or components were used or 8
were intended to be used in violation of this chapter.9
(4) A law enforcement agency shall destroy explosives seized 10
under this chapter when it is necessary to protect the public safety 11
and welfare. When destruction is not necessary to protect the public 12
safety and welfare, and the explosives are not being held for 13
evidence, a seizure pursuant to this section commences proceedings 14
for forfeiture , which proceedings are governed by chapter 7.--- RCW 15
(the new chapter created in section 18 of this act).16
(5) ((The law enforcement agency under whose authority the 17
seizure was made shall issue a written notice of the seizure and 18
commencement of the forfeiture proceedings to the person from whom 19
the explosives were seized, to any known owner of the explosives, and 20
to any person who has a known interest in the explosives. The notice 21
shall be issued within fifteen days of the seizure. The notice of 22
seizure and commencement of the forfeiture proceedings shall be 23
served in the same manner as provided in RCW 4.28.080 for service of 24
a summons. The law enforcement agency shall provide a form by which 25
the person or persons may request a hearing before the law 26
enforcement agency to contest the seizure.27
(6) If no person notifies the seizing law enforcement agency in 28
writing of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession of 29
the explosives, improvised devices, or components within thirty days 30
of the date the notice was issued, the seized explosives, devices, or 31
components shall be deemed forfeited.32
(7) If, within thirty days of the issuance of the notice, any 33
person notifies the seizing law enforcement agency in writing of the 34
person's claim of ownership or right to possession of items seized, 35
the person or persons shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to 36
be heard as to the claim or right. The hearing shall be before the 37
chief law enforcement or the officer's designee of the seizing 38
agency, except that the person asserting the claim or right may 39
remove the matter to a court of competent jurisdiction if the 40
p. 35 HB 1440
aggregate value of the items seized is more than five hundred 1
dollars. The hearing and any appeal shall be conducted according to 2
chapter 34.05 RCW. The seizing law enforcement agency shall bear the 3
burden of proving that the person (a) has no lawful right of 4
ownership or possession and (b) that the items seized were possessed, 5
manufactured, stored, sold, purchased, transported, abandoned, 6
detonated, or used in violation of a provision of this chapter with 7
the person's knowledge or consent. 8
(8) The seizing law enforcement agency shall promptly return the 9
items seized to the claimant upon a determination that the claimant 10
is entitled to possession of the items seized.11
(9))) If the items seized are forfeited under this statute, the 12
seizing agency shall dispose of the explosives by summary 13
destruction. However, when explosives are destroyed either to protect 14
public safety or because the explosives were forfeited, the person 15
from whom the explosives were seized loses all rights of action 16
against the law enforcement agency or its employees acting within the 17
scope of their employment, or other governmental entity or employee 18
involved with the seizure and destruction of explosives.19
(((10))) (6) This section is not intended to change the seizure 20
and forfeiture powers, enforcement, and penalties available to the 21
department of labor and industries pursuant to chapter 49.17 RCW as 22
provided in RCW 70.74.390. 23
Sec. 15. RCW 77.15.070 and 2005 c 406 s 2 are each amended to 24
read as follows: 25
(1) Fish and wildlife officers and ex officio fish and wildlife 26
officers may seize without warrant boats, airplanes, vehicles, 27
motorized implements, conveyances, gear, appliances, or other 28
articles they have probable cause to believe have been held with 29
intent to violate or used in violation of this title or rule of the 30
commission or director. However, fish and wildlife officers or ex 31
officio fish and wildlife officers may not seize any item or article, 32
other than for evidence, if under the circumstances, it is reasonable 33
to conclude that the violation was inadvertent. The property seized 34
is subject to forfeiture to the state under this section regardless 35
of ownership. Property seized may be recovered by its owner by 36
depositing with the department or into court a cash bond or 37
equivalent security equal to the value of the seized property but not 38
more than one hundred thousand dollars. Such cash bond or security is 39
p. 36 HB 1440
subject to forfeiture in lieu of the property. Forfeiture of property 1
seized under this section is a civil forfeiture against property and 2
is intended to be a remedial civil sanction. 3
(2) In the event of a seizure of property under this section, 4
jurisdiction to begin the forfeiture proceedings shall commence upon 5
seizure, and shall be governed by chapter 7.--- RCW (the new chapter 6
created in section 18 of this act) . ((Within fifteen days following 7
the seizure, the seizing authority shall serve a written notice of 8
intent to forfeit property on the owner of the property seized and on 9
any person having any known right or interest in the property seized. 10
Notice may be served by any method authorized by law or court rule, 11
including service by certified mail with return receipt requested. 12
Service by mail is deemed complete upon mailing within the fifteen-13
day period following the seizure.14
(3) Persons claiming a right of ownership or right to possession 15
of property are entitled to a hearing to contest forfeiture. Such a 16
claim shall specify the claim of ownership or possession and shall be 17
made in writing and served on the director within forty-five days of 18
the seizure. If the seizing authority has complied with notice 19
requirements and there is no claim made within forty-five days, then 20
the property shall be forfeited to the state.21
(4) If any person timely serves the director with a claim to 22
property, the person shall be afforded an opportunity to be heard as 23
to the person's claim or right. The hearing shall be before the 24
director or director's designee, or before an administrative law 25
judge appointed under chapter 34.12 RCW, except that a person 26
asserting a claim or right may remove the matter to a court of 27
competent jurisdiction if the aggregate value of the property seized 28
is more than five thousand dollars. The department may settle a 29
person's claim of ownership prior to the administrative hearing.30
(5) The hearing to contest forfeiture and any subsequent appeal 31
shall be as provided for in chapter 34.05 RCW, the administrative 32
procedure act. The seizing authority has the burden to demonstrate 33
that it had reason to believe the property was held with intent to 34
violate or was used in violation of this title or rule of the 35
commission or director. The person contesting forfeiture has the 36
burden of production and proof by a preponderance of evidence that 37
the person owns or has a right to possess the property and:38
(a) That the property was not held with intent to violate or used 39
in violation of this title; or40
p. 37 HB 1440
(b) If the property is a boat, airplane, or vehicle, that the 1
illegal use or planned illegal use of the boat, airplane, or vehicle 2
occurred without the owner's knowledge or consent, and that the owner 3
acted reasonably to prevent illegal uses of such boat, airplane, or 4
vehicle.5
(6) A forfeiture of a conveyance encumbered by a perfected 6
security interest is subject to the interest of the secured party if 7
the secured party neither had knowledge of nor consented to the act 8
or omission. No security interest in seized property may be perfected 9
after seizure.10
(7))) (3) If seized property is forfeited under this section the 11
department may retain it for official use unless the property is 12
required to be destroyed, or upon application by any law enforcement 13
agency of the state, release such property to the agency for the use 14
of enforcing this title, or sell such property, and deposit the 15
proceeds to the fish and wildlife enforcement reward account created 16
in RCW 77.15.425. 17
Sec. 16. RCW 69.50.505 and 2022 c 162 s 1 and 2022 c 16 s 98 are 18
each reenacted and amended to read as follows: 19
(1) The following are subject to seizure and forfeiture and no 20
property right exists in them: 21
(a) All controlled substances which have been manufactured, 22
distributed, dispensed, acquired, or possessed in violation of this 23
chapter or chapter 69.41 or 69.52 RCW, and all hazardous chemicals, 24
as defined in RCW 64.44.010, used or intended to be used in the 25
manufacture of controlled substances; 26
(b) All raw materials, products, and equipment of any kind which 27
are used, or intended for use, in manufacturing, compounding, 28
processing, delivering, importing, or exporting any controlled 29
substance in violation of this chapter or chapter 69.41 or 69.52 RCW;30
(c) All property which is used, or intended for use, as a 31
container for property described in (a) or (b) of this subsection;32
(d) All conveyances, including aircraft, vehicles, or vessels, 33
which are used, or intended for use, in any manner to facilitate the 34
sale, delivery, or receipt of property described in (a) or (b) of 35
this subsection, except that: 36
(i) No conveyance used by any person as a common carrier in the 37
transaction of business as a common carrier is subject to forfeiture 38
under this section unless it appears that the owner or other person 39
p. 38 HB 1440
in charge of the conveyance is a consenting party or privy to a 1
violation of this chapter or chapter 69.41 or 69.52 RCW;2
(ii) No conveyance is subject to forfeiture under this section by 3
reason of any act or omission ((established by the owner thereof to 4
have been )) committed or omitted without the owner's knowledge or 5
consent; 6
(iii) No conveyance is subject to forfeiture under this section 7
if used in the receipt of only an amount of cannabis for which 8
possession constitutes a misdemeanor under RCW 69.50.4014;9
(iv) A forfeiture of a conveyance encumbered by a bona fide 10
security interest is subject to the interest of the secured party if 11
the secured party neither had knowledge of nor consented to the act 12
or omission; and 13
(v) When the owner of a conveyance has been arrested under this 14
chapter or chapter 69.41 or 69.52 RCW the conveyance in which the 15
person is arrested may not be subject to forfeiture unless it is 16
seized or process is issued for its seizure within ten days of the 17
owner's arrest; 18
(e) All books, records, and research products and materials, 19
including formulas, microfilm, tapes, and data which are used, or 20
intended for use, in violation of this chapter or chapter 69.41 or 21
69.52 RCW; 22
(f) All drug paraphernalia other than paraphernalia possessed, 23
sold, or used solely to facilitate cannabis-related activities that 24
are not violations of this chapter; 25
(g) All moneys, negotiable instruments, securities, or other 26
tangible or intangible property of value furnished or intended to be 27
furnished by any person in exchange for a controlled substance in 28
violation of this chapter or chapter 69.41 or 69.52 RCW, all tangible 29
or intangible personal property, proceeds, or assets acquired in 30
whole or in part with proceeds traceable to an exchange or series of 31
exchanges in violation of this chapter or chapter 69.41 or 69.52 RCW, 32
and all moneys, negotiable instruments, and securities used or 33
intended to be used to facilitate any violation of this chapter or 34
chapter 69.41 or 69.52 RCW. A forfeiture of money, negotiable 35
instruments, securities, or other tangible or intangible property 36
encumbered by a bona fide security interest is subject to the 37
interest of the secured party if, at the time the security interest 38
was created, the secured party neither had knowledge of nor consented 39
to the act or omission. No personal property may be forfeited under 40
p. 39 HB 1440
this subsection (1)(g), to the extent of the interest of an owner, by 1
reason of any act or omission ((which that owner establishes was )) 2
committed or omitted without the owner's knowledge or consent; and3
(h) All real property, including any right, title, and interest 4
in the whole of any lot or tract of land, and any appurtenances or 5
improvements which are being used with the knowledge of the owner for 6
the manufacturing, compounding, processing, delivery, importing, or 7
exporting of any controlled substance, or which have been acquired in 8
whole or in part with proceeds traceable to an exchange or series of 9
exchanges in violation of this chapter or chapter 69.41 or 69.52 RCW, 10
if such activity is not less than a class C felony and a substantial 11
nexus exists between the commercial production or sale of the 12
controlled substance and the real property. However:13
(i) No property may be forfeited pursuant to this subsection 14
(1)(h), to the extent of the interest of an owner, by reason of any 15
act or omission committed or omitted without the owner's knowledge or 16
consent; 17
(ii) The bona fide gift of a controlled substance, legend drug, 18
or imitation controlled substance shall not result in the forfeiture 19
of real property; 20
(iii) The possession of cannabis shall not result in the 21
forfeiture of real property unless the cannabis is possessed for 22
commercial purposes that are unlawful under Washington state law, the 23
amount possessed is five or more plants or one pound or more of 24
cannabis, and a substantial nexus exists between the possession of 25
cannabis and the real property. In such a case, the intent of the 26
offender shall be determined by the preponderance of the evidence, 27
including the offender's prior criminal history, the amount of 28
cannabis possessed by the offender, the sophistication of the 29
activity or equipment used by the offender, whether the offender was 30
licensed to produce, process, or sell cannabis, or was an employee of 31
a licensed producer, processor, or retailer, and other evidence which 32
demonstrates the offender's intent to engage in unlawful commercial 33
activity; 34
(iv) The unlawful sale of cannabis or a legend drug shall not 35
result in the forfeiture of real property unless the sale was forty 36
grams or more in the case of cannabis or one hundred dollars or more 37
in the case of a legend drug, and a substantial nexus exists between 38
the unlawful sale and the real property; and 39
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(v) A forfeiture of real property encumbered by a bona fide 1
security interest is subject to the interest of the secured party if 2
the secured party, at the time the security interest was created, 3
neither had knowledge of nor consented to the act or omission.4
(2) Real or personal property subject to forfeiture under this 5
chapter may be seized by any commission inspector or law enforcement 6
officer of this state upon process issued by any superior court 7
having jurisdiction over the property. Seizure of real property shall 8
include the filing of a lis pendens by the seizing agency. Real 9
property seized under this section shall not be transferred or 10
otherwise conveyed until ninety days after seizure or until a 11
judgment of forfeiture is entered, whichever is later: PROVIDED, That 12
real property seized under this section may be transferred or 13
conveyed to any person or entity who acquires title by foreclosure or 14
deed in lieu of foreclosure of a security interest. Seizure of 15
personal property without process may be made if: 16
(a) The seizure is incident to an arrest or a search under a 17
search warrant or an inspection under an administrative inspection 18
warrant; 19
(b) The property subject to seizure has been the subject of a 20
prior judgment in favor of the state in a criminal injunction or 21
forfeiture proceeding based upon this chapter; 22
(c) A commission inspector or law enforcement officer has 23
probable cause to believe that the property is directly or indirectly 24
dangerous to health or safety; or 25
(d) The commission inspector or law enforcement officer has 26
probable cause to believe that the property was used or is intended 27
to be used in violation of this chapter. 28
(3) In the event of seizure pursuant to subsection (2) of this 29
section, proceedings for forfeiture shall be deemed commenced by the 30
seizure. The law enforcement agency under whose authority the seizure 31
was made shall cause notice to be served within fifteen days 32
following the seizure on the owner of the property seized and the 33
person in charge thereof and any person having any known right or 34
interest therein, including any community property interest, of the 35
seizure and intended forfeiture of the seized property. Service of 36
notice of seizure of real property shall be made according to the 37
rules of civil procedure. However, the state may not obtain a default 38
judgment with respect to real property against a party who is served 39
by substituted service absent an affidavit stating that a good faith 40
p. 41 HB 1440
effort has been made to ascertain if the defaulted party is 1
incarcerated within the state, and that there is no present basis to 2
believe that the party is incarcerated within the state. Notice of 3
seizure in the case of property subject to a security interest that 4
has been perfected by filing a financing statement in accordance with 5
chapter 62A.9A RCW, or a certificate of title, shall be made by 6
service upon the secured party or the secured party's assignee at the 7
address shown on the financing statement or the certificate of title. 8
The notice of seizure in other cases may be served by any method 9
authorized by law or court rule including but not limited to service 10
by certified mail with return receipt requested. Service by mail 11
shall be deemed complete upon mailing within the fifteen day period 12
following the seizure. 13
(4) If no person notifies the seizing law enforcement agency in 14
writing of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession of 15
items specified in subsection (1)(d), (g), or (h) of this section 16
within ((forty-five)) 60 days of the service of notice from the 17
seizing agency in the case of personal property and ((ninety)) 120 18
days in the case of real property, the item seized shall be deemed 19
forfeited. The community property interest in real property of a 20
person whose spouse or domestic partner committed a violation giving 21
rise to seizure of the real property may not be forfeited if the 22
person did not participate in the violation. 23
(5) If any person notifies the seizing law enforcement agency in 24
writing of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession of 25
items specified in subsection (1)(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), or (h) 26
of this section within ((forty-five)) 60 days of the service of 27
notice from the seizing agency in the case of personal property and 28
((ninety)) 120 days in the case of real property, the person or 29
persons shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to be heard as to 30
the claim or right. The notice of claim may be served by any method 31
authorized by law or court rule including, but not limited to, 32
service by first-class mail. Service by mail shall be deemed complete 33
upon mailing within the ((forty-five)) 60-day period following 34
service of the notice of seizure in the case of personal property and 35
within the ((ninety-day)) 120-day period following service of the 36
notice of seizure in the case of real property. The hearing shall be 37
before the chief law enforcement officer of the seizing agency or the 38
chief law enforcement officer's designee, except where the seizing 39
agency is a state agency as defined in RCW 34.12.020(4), the hearing 40
p. 42 HB 1440
shall be before the chief law enforcement officer of the seizing 1
agency or an administrative law judge appointed under chapter 34.12 2
RCW, except that any person asserting a claim or right may remove the 3
matter to a court of competent jurisdiction. Removal of any matter 4
involving personal property may only be accomplished according to the 5
rules of civil procedure. The person seeking removal of the matter 6
must serve process against the state, county, political subdivision, 7
or municipality that operates the seizing agency, and any other party 8
of interest, in accordance with RCW 4.28.080 or 4.92.020, within 9
forty-five days after the person seeking removal has notified the 10
seizing law enforcement agency of the person's claim of ownership or 11
right to possession. The court to which the matter is to be removed 12
shall be the district court when the aggregate value of personal 13
property is within the jurisdictional limit set forth in RCW 14
3.66.020. A hearing before the seizing agency and any appeal 15
therefrom shall be under Title 34 RCW. In all cases, the burden of 16
proof is upon the law enforcement agency to establish, by a 17
preponderance of the evidence, that the property is subject to 18
forfeiture. 19
The seizing law enforcement agency shall promptly return the 20
article or articles to the claimant , in the same or substantially 21
similar condition as when seized, upon a determination by the 22
administrative law judge or court that the claimant is the present 23
lawful owner or is lawfully entitled to possession thereof of items 24
specified in subsection (1)(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), or (h) of 25
this section. 26
(6) In any proceeding to forfeit property under this title, where 27
the claimant substantially prevails, the claimant is entitled to 28
reasonable attorneys' fees reasonably incurred by the claimant. In 29
addition, in a court hearing between two or more claimants to the 30
article or articles involved, the prevailing party is entitled to a 31
judgment for costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.32
(7) When property is forfeited under this chapter the commission 33
or seizing law enforcement agency may: 34
(a) Retain it for official use or upon application by any law 35
enforcement agency of this state release such property to such agency 36
for the exclusive use of enforcing the provisions of this chapter;37
(b) Sell that which is not required to be destroyed by law and 38
which is not harmful to the public; 39
p. 43 HB 1440
(c) Request the appropriate sheriff or director of public safety 1
to take custody of the property and remove it for disposition in 2
accordance with law; or 3
(d) Forward it to the drug enforcement administration for 4
disposition. 5
(8)(((a) When property is forfeited, the seizing agency shall 6
keep a record indicating the identity of the prior owner, if known, a 7
description of the property, the disposition of the property, the 8
value of the property at the time of seizure, and the amount of 9
proceeds realized from disposition of the property.10
(b) Each seizing agency shall retain records of forfeited 11
property for at least seven years.12
(c) Each seizing agency shall file a report including a copy of 13
the records of forfeited property with the state treasurer each 14
calendar quarter.15
(d) The quarterly report need not include a record of forfeited 16
property that is still being held for use as evidence during the 17
investigation or prosecution of a case or during the appeal from a 18
conviction.)) Seizing agencies are subject to the requirements of 19
section 4 of this act.20
(9)(a) By January 31st of each year, each seizing agency shall 21
remit to the state an amount equal to ten percent of the net proceeds 22
of any property forfeited during the preceding calendar year for 23
deposit into the behavioral health loan repayment and scholarship 24
program account created in RCW 28B.115.135 through June 30, 2027, and 25
into the state general fund thereafter. 26
(b) The net proceeds of forfeited property is the value of the 27
forfeitable interest in the property after deducting the cost of 28
satisfying any bona fide security interest to which the property is 29
subject at the time of seizure; and in the case of sold property, 30
after deducting the cost of sale, including reasonable fees or 31
commissions paid to independent selling agents, and the cost of any 32
valid landlord's claim for damages under subsection (15) of this 33
section. 34
(c) The value of sold forfeited property is the sale price. The 35
value of retained forfeited property is the fair market value of the 36
property at the time of seizure, determined when possible by 37
reference to an applicable commonly used index, such as the index 38
used by the department of licensing for valuation of motor vehicles. 39
A seizing agency may use, but need not use, an independent qualified 40
p. 44 HB 1440
appraiser to determine the value of retained property. If an 1
appraiser is used, the value of the property appraised is net of the 2
cost of the appraisal. The value of destroyed property and retained 3
firearms or illegal property is zero. 4
(10) Forfeited property and net proceeds not required to be 5
remitted to the state shall be retained by the seizing law 6
enforcement agency exclusively for the expansion and improvement of 7
controlled substances related law enforcement activity. If the 8
seizing agency is a port district operating an airport in a county 9
with a population of more than one million, it may use the net 10
proceeds not required to be remitted to the state for purposes 11
related to controlled substances law enforcement, substance abuse 12
education, human trafficking interdiction, and responsible gun 13
ownership. Money retained under this section may not be used to 14
supplant preexisting funding sources. 15
(11) Controlled substances listed in Schedule I, II, III, IV, and 16
V that are possessed, transferred, sold, or offered for sale in 17
violation of this chapter are contraband and shall be seized and 18
summarily forfeited to the state. Controlled substances listed in 19
Schedule I, II, III, IV, and V, which are seized or come into the 20
possession of the commission, the owners of which are unknown, are 21
contraband and shall be summarily forfeited to the commission.22
(12) Species of plants from which controlled substances in 23
Schedules I and II may be derived which have been planted or 24
cultivated in violation of this chapter, or of which the owners or 25
cultivators are unknown, or which are wild growths, may be seized and 26
summarily forfeited to the commission. 27
(13) The failure, upon demand by a commission inspector or law 28
enforcement officer, of the person in occupancy or in control of land 29
or premises upon which the species of plants are growing or being 30
stored to produce an appropriate registration or proof that he or she 31
is the holder thereof constitutes authority for the seizure and 32
forfeiture of the plants. 33
(14) Upon the entry of an order of forfeiture of real property, 34
the court shall forward a copy of the order to the assessor of the 35
county in which the property is located. Orders for the forfeiture of 36
real property shall be entered by the superior court, subject to 37
court rules. Such an order shall be filed by the seizing agency in 38
the county auditor's records in the county in which the real property 39
is located. 40
p. 45 HB 1440
(15)(a) A landlord may assert a claim against proceeds from the 1
sale of assets seized and forfeited under subsection (7)(b) of this 2
section, only if: 3
(i) A law enforcement officer, while acting in his or her 4
official capacity, directly caused damage to the complaining 5
landlord's property while executing a search of a tenant's residence; 6
and 7
(ii) The landlord has applied any funds remaining in the tenant's 8
deposit, to which the landlord has a right under chapter 59.18 RCW, 9
to cover the damage directly caused by a law enforcement officer 10
prior to asserting a claim under the provisions of this section;11
(A) Only if the funds applied under (a)(ii) of this subsection 12
are insufficient to satisfy the damage directly caused by a law 13
enforcement officer, may the landlord seek compensation for the 14
damage by filing a claim against the governmental entity under whose 15
authority the law enforcement agency operates within thirty days 16
after the search; 17
(B) Only if the governmental entity denies or fails to respond to 18
the landlord's claim within sixty days of the date of filing, may the 19
landlord collect damages under this subsection by filing within 20
thirty days of denial or the expiration of the sixty-day period, 21
whichever occurs first, a claim with the seizing law enforcement 22
agency. The seizing law enforcement agency must notify the landlord 23
of the status of the claim by the end of the thirty-day period. 24
Nothing in this section requires the claim to be paid by the end of 25
the sixty-day or thirty-day period. 26
(b) For any claim filed under (a)(ii) of this subsection, the law 27
enforcement agency shall pay the claim unless the agency provides 28
substantial proof that the landlord either: 29
(i) Knew or consented to actions of the tenant in violation of 30
this chapter or chapter 69.41 or 69.52 RCW; or 31
(ii) Failed to respond to a notification of the illegal activity, 32
provided by a law enforcement agency under RCW 59.18.075, within 33
seven days of receipt of notification of the illegal activity.34
(16) The landlord's claim for damages under subsection (15) of 35
this section may not include a claim for loss of business and is 36
limited to: 37
(a) Damage to tangible property and clean-up costs;38
(b) The lesser of the cost of repair or fair market value of the 39
damage directly caused by a law enforcement officer;40
p. 46 HB 1440
(c) The proceeds from the sale of the specific tenant's property 1
seized and forfeited under subsection (7)(b) of this section; and2
(d) The proceeds available after the seizing law enforcement 3
agency satisfies any bona fide security interest in the tenant's 4
property and costs related to sale of the tenant's property as 5
provided by subsection (9)(b) of this section. 6
(17) Subsections (15) and (16) of this section do not limit any 7
other rights a landlord may have against a tenant to collect for 8
damages. However, if a law enforcement agency satisfies a landlord's 9
claim under subsection (15) of this section, the rights the landlord 10
has against the tenant for damages directly caused by a law 11
enforcement officer under the terms of the landlord and tenant's 12
contract are subrogated to the law enforcement agency.13
(18) The protections afforded by the service members' civil 14
relief act, chapter 38.42 RCW, are applicable to proceedings under 15
this section.16
Sec. 17. RCW 38.42.020 and 2014 c 65 s 2 are each amended to 17
read as follows: 18
(1) Any service member who is ordered to report for military 19
service and his or her dependents are entitled to the rights and 20
protections of this chapter during the period beginning on the date 21
on which the service member receives the order and ending one hundred 22
eighty days after termination of or release from military service.23
(2) This chapter applies to any judicial or administrative 24
proceeding commenced in any court or agency in Washington state in 25
which a service member or his or her dependent is a party. This 26
chapter applies to civil asset forfeiture proceedings. This chapter 27
does not apply to criminal proceedings. 28
(3) This chapter shall be construed liberally so as to provide 29
fairness and do substantial justice to service members and their 30
dependents. 31
NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. Sections 1 through 7 of this act 32
constitute a new chapter in Title 7 RCW.33
NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. This act applies to seizures occurring on 34
or after the effective date of this section.35
p. 47 HB 1440
NEW SECTION. Sec. 20. Except for section 7 of this act, this 1
act takes effect January 1, 2026.2
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p. 48 HB 1440