(New York, NY) – Today, the Florida House of Representatives unanimously passed SB 1044, reforming Florida’s “Contraband Forfeiture Act,” sending the legislation to Gov. Scott’s desk for a signature. Last week the Senate passed the legislation, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes, in a 38–0 vote.
The bipartisan unanimity of passage in both chambers was driven by a diverse and disparate coalition of law enforcement and reform advocates, including the Drug Policy Alliance, which retained attorney Ron Book to lobby on their behalf for the legislation, the Florida Sheriff’s Association, the Florida Association of Police Chiefs, Americans for Forfeiture Reform, the Florida ACLU, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Institute for Justice, the James Madison Institute and the Grover Norquist-led, Americans for Tax Reform.
Sen. Jeff Brandes, the author and prime Senate sponsor of the legislation, said, “This bill sends a powerful message to Floridians: the government cannot seize your property without making an arrest. These sweeping reforms to civil forfeiture institute major consumer protections and prevent abuses against the property rights of Floridians. I hope the Governor will join both houses of the Florida legislature and support these critical reforms by signing this bill into law.”
Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance, issued the following statement in reaction to today’s vote:
“A year ago, I wouldn’t have believed someone who told me a reform of Florida’s civil asset forfeiture laws was possible; today we’ve seen unanimous votes in both houses of its legislature in the space of less than a week. More work remains to fully protect the rights of Floridians but these reforms are significant. The Governor should look to the unanimity of the legislature and sign these reforms into law as soon as he can.”
Nadelmann was joined by Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform, in applauding the bill’s passage and urging Gov. Scott’s signature.
Norquist said, “The government should not be allowed to take your stuff – your money, your car, your boat – without so much as charging you with a crime. Today that is not true. As soon as Governor Scott signs the Civil Asset Forfeiture reforms, sponsored in the Senate by Jeff Brandes, this outrage will begin to end for Floridians.”
Florida’s largest law enforcement organization, the Florida Sheriffs Association was a key member of the coalition of advocates who worked towards passage of these reforms. The Sheriffs released a statement earlier today, lauding the passage of SB 1044. Their statement read:
“The Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act is an important tool for law enforcement in preventing crime and protecting Florida’s communities. Current HB 889/SB 1044 strikes an important balance addressing the needs of law enforcement to prevent criminals from profiting from their illegal acts while strengthening the property rights of citizens. The Florida Sheriffs Association wants to thank Senators Jeff Brandes and Aaron Bean and Representatives Larry Metz and Matt Caldwell for their hard work in bringing together all stakeholders, and finding a long-term compromise that all sides could support. We support SB 1044 passed by the Senate and House and we encourage Governor Scott to sign this legislation into law.”
The statement from the Florida Sheriffs Association can be found online at: .
DPA’s fact sheet on civil asset forfeiture can be found online at: http://www.drugpolicy.org/resource/civil-asset-forfeiture
A recent opinion piece on civil asset forfeiture in Florida by Grover Norquist can be found online at: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/fl-gncol-oped03003-20160302-story.html
Author:
Date Published: March 8, 2016
Published by Drug Policy Alliance