Division of the Budget
Landon State Office Building Phone: (785) 296-2436
900 SW Jackson Street, Room 504 adam.c.proffitt@ks.gov
Topeka, KS 66612 http://budget.kansas.gov
Adam Proffitt, Director Laura Kelly, Governor
Division of the Budget
February 14, 2023
The Honorable Fred Patton, Chairperson
House Committee on Judiciary
300 SW 10th Avenue, Room 582-N
Topeka, Kansas 66612
Dear Representative Patton:
SUBJECT: Fiscal Note for HB 2380 by House Committee on Judiciary
In accordance with KSA 75-3715a, the following fiscal note concerning HB 2380 is
respectfully submitted to your committee.
HB 2380 would make changes to the Kansas Standard Asset Seizure and Forfeiture Act.
The bill would require a conviction before forfeiture of property would be allowed. The bill would
remove some offenses that would have allowed forfeiture. A conviction of an offense giving rise
to forfeiture would not be required when property is forfeited pursuant to a plea agreement or an
agreement for immunity or reduced punishment in exchange for testifying or assisting a law
enforcement investigation or prosecution. The bill would describe certain property that would not
be subject to forfeiture. The bill would reduce the number of days a seizing agency has to forward
a written request for forfeiture to a county or district attorney from 45 to 14 days. The bill details
that seized property would be returned to the person from whom property was seized within 30
days if a county or district attorney declines a request for forfeiture. HB 2380 would not allow a
law enforcement agency to request federal adoption of a seizure.
The bill would allow a person whose property was seized to petition the court to determine
if the forfeiture is unconstitutionally excessive and the property owner would be entitled to counsel
during the proceedings. If the owner prevails by recovering at least half of the value of the
property, the court would order the seizing agency or prosecuting attorney to pay reasonable
attorney fees and other litigation costs and in certain instances interest. An owner of the property
would have the right to appeal a district court order and could demand a jury trial and if the owner
cannot employ counsel, the court would appoint an attorney from the panel for Indigents’ Defense
Services or in accordance with the system prescribed by the State Board of Indigents’ Defense The Honorable Fred Patton, Chairperson
Page 2—HB 2380
Services. The bill would also raise the initial burden of proof for the plaintiff’s attorney on behalf
of the seizing agency from preponderance of the evidence to beyond a reasonable doubt. HB 2380
would not allow an owner to be assessed a storage fee or any other fee related to the property. If
no determination of liability is made, the seized property would be returned to the owner within
seven days and ne fees would be assessed. Under the bill, a law enforcement agency could transfer
the custody to a federal agency if the property was seized and forfeited pursuant to federal law.
The bill would require any cash or negotiable instruments forfeited under the Act to be
deposited into the State General Fund. The bill would delete the current distribution of forfeiture
funds, which includes state agencies and local governments involved in the forfeiture process.
The Board of Indigents’ Defense Services states the forfeiture hearing could be a
component of the associated underlying trial and not a separate hearing. Thus, the agency could
have to litigate the contested forfeiture claims as part of the underlying criminal case or would
have to contract with civil attorneys to assist with the litigation. The agency estimates that it would
need to hire approximately 5.00 Attorney FTE positions at a cost of $583,750 from the State
General Fund for FY 2024. The estimate includes salary and benefits, training, and overhead
expenses.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) states that the last five years the agency had 18
federal and nine state forfeitures totaling $335,515. Currently, the KBI uses forfeiture revenues to
lease a storage facility and maintain special use vehicles at a cost of approximately $60,000 per
year. These costs will be ongoing, and once the balance in the forfeiture funds is depleted the
agency would request a State General Fund appropriation for this.
The Kansas Highway Patrol states that the average expenditures from the forfeiture monies
have been $437,240 and are used to support the mission of the Special Operations Units. Since
FY 2015, the agency has received $6.4 million in revenues from state forfeiture and expended $3.4
million. Absent the ability to use funding from seizures, the agency would be forced to look for
other sources of funding to supplement the reduction in revenues. Furthermore, the requirement
that forfeiture could only happen after a conviction could lengthen the time the agency holds
property waiting for a trial, conviction, and acquittal to occur. The requirement for a jury trial and
proof beyond a reasonable doubt would require more investigations and expenditures of additional
resources, time, and man hours leading to greater personnel costs; however, the agency is unable
to accurately identify those additional costs at this time.
The Office of the Attorney General states that this bill would lead to an unknown amount
of reduced revenue and increased costs to state agencies. The Judicial Branch indicates that bill
could have a negligible fiscal effect on its operations that could be absorbed within existing
resources. Any fiscal effect associated with HB 2380 is not reflected in The FY 2024 Governor’s
Budget Report.
The Honorable Fred Patton, Chairperson
Page 3—HB 2380
The League of Kansas Municipalities indicates that the bill could increase expenditures if
cities are required to assist with the implementation and enforcement of bill. However, the League
is unable to estimate an amount. The Kansas Association of Counites states that the bill could
have a fiscal effect on county expenditures and revenues, but the fiscal effect cannot be estimated.
Sincerely,
Adam Proffitt
Director of the Budget
cc: Paul Weisgerber, Kansas Bureau of Investigation
Sherry Macke, Highway Patrol
Wendi Stark, League of Kansas Municipalities
Jay Hall, Kansas Association of Counties
John Milburn, Office of the Attorney General
Vicki Jacobsen, Judiciary
Heather Cessna, Board of Indigents Defense Services
Randy Bowman, Department of Corrections
Scott Schultz, Sentencing Commission