Kansas 2025 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas Senate Bill SB137 Introduced / Bill

Filed 01/31/2025

                    Session of 2025
SENATE BILL No. 137
By Committee on Federal and State Affairs
1-31
AN ACT concerning the Kansas standard asset seizure and forfeiture act; 
relating to the disposition of forfeited property; authorizing the sale or 
transfer of forfeited firearms to a licensed federal firearms dealer; 
amending K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 60-4117 and repealing the existing 
section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 60-4117 is hereby amended to read as 
follows: 60-4117. Except as provided in K.S.A. 65-7014, and amendments 
thereto: (a) When property is forfeited under this act, the law enforcement 
agency may:
(1) Retain such property for official use or transfer the custody or 
ownership to any local or state agency, subject to any lien preserved by the 
court;
(2) transfer the custody or ownership to any federal agency if 
authorized pursuant to K.S.A. 60-4107, and amendments thereto;
(3) destroy or use for investigative or training purposes, any illegal or 
controlled substances and equipment or other contraband, provided that 
materials necessary as evidence shall be preserved;
(4) sell property which is not required by law to be destroyed and 
which is not harmful to the public:
(A) All property, except real property, designated by the seizing 
agency to be sold shall be sold at public sale to the highest bidder for cash 
without appraisal. The seizing agency shall first cause notice of the sale to 
be made by publication at least once in an official county newspaper as 
defined by K.S.A. 64-101, and amendments thereto. Such notice shall 
include the time, place, and conditions of the sale and description of the 
property to be sold. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent a state agency 
from using the state surplus property system and such system's procedures 
shall be sufficient to meet the requirements of this subsection.
(B) Real property may be sold pursuant to subsection (a)(3)(A), or 
the seizing agency may contract with a real estate company, licensed in 
this state, to list, advertise and sell such real property in a commercially 
reasonable manner.
(C) No employee or public official of any agency involved in the 
investigation, seizure or forfeiture of seized property may purchase or 
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attempt to purchase such property; or
(5) salvage the property, subject to any lien preserved by the court.
(b) When firearms are forfeited under this act, the firearms, in the 
discretion of the seizing agency, shall be destroyed, used within the seizing 
agency for official purposes, traded to another law enforcement agency for 
use within such agency, sold or transferred to a properly licensed federal 
firearms dealer or given to the Kansas bureau of investigation for law 
enforcement, testing, comparison or destruction by the Kansas bureau of 
investigation forensic laboratory.
(c) The proceeds of any sale shall be distributed in the following 
order of priority:
(1) For satisfaction of any court preserved security interest or lien, or 
in the case of a violation, as defined by K.S.A. 60-4104(i), and 
amendments thereto, the proceeds shall be remitted to the state treasurer in 
accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 75-4215, and amendments 
thereto. Upon receipt of such remittance, the state treasurer shall deposit 
the entire amount into the state treasury to the credit of the medicaid fraud 
reimbursement fund;
(2) thereafter, for payment of all proper expenses of the proceedings 
for forfeiture and disposition, including expenses of seizure, inventory, 
appraisal, maintenance of custody, preservation of availability, advertising, 
service of process, sale and court costs;
(3) reasonable attorney fees:
(A) If the plaintiff's attorney is a county or district attorney, an 
assistant, or another governmental agency's attorney, fees shall not exceed 
15% of the total proceeds, less the amounts of subsection (c)(1) and (2), in 
an uncontested forfeiture nor 20% of the total proceeds, less the amounts 
of subsection (c)(1) and (2), in a contested forfeiture. Such fees shall be 
deposited in the county or city treasury and credited to the special 
prosecutor's trust fund. Moneys in such fund shall not be considered a 
source of revenue to meet normal operating expenditures, including salary 
enhancement. Such fund shall be expended by the county or district 
attorney, or other governmental agency's attorney through the normal 
county or city appropriation system and shall be used for such additional 
law enforcement and prosecutorial purposes as the county or district 
attorney or other governmental agency's attorney deems appropriate, 
including educational purposes. All moneys derived from past or pending 
forfeitures shall be expended pursuant to this act. The board of county 
commissioners shall provide adequate funding to the county or district 
attorney's office to enable such office to enforce this act. Neither future 
forfeitures nor the proceeds therefrom shall be used in planning or 
adopting a county or district attorney's budget;
(B) if the plaintiff's attorney is the attorney general and the conduct 
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and offense giving rise to forfeiture is pursuant to K.S.A. 60-4104(i), and 
amendments thereto, fees shall not exceed 15% of the total proceeds, less 
the amounts of subsection (c)(1) and (2) in an uncontested forfeiture nor 
20% of the total proceeds, less the amounts of subsection (c)(1) and (2) in 
a contested forfeiture. Such fees shall be remitted to the state treasurer in 
accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 75-4215, and amendments 
thereto. Upon receipt of each such remittance, the state treasurer shall 
deposit the entire amount in the state treasury to the credit of the medicaid 
fraud prosecution revolving fund. Moneys paid into the medicaid fraud 
prosecution revolving fund pursuant to this subsection shall be 
appropriated to the attorney general for use by the attorney general in the 
investigation and prosecution of medicaid fraud and abuse; or
(C) if the plaintiff's attorney is a private attorney, such reasonable fees 
shall be negotiated by the employing law enforcement agency;
(4) repayment of law enforcement funds expended in purchasing of 
contraband or controlled substances, subject to any interagency agreement.
(d) Any proceeds remaining shall be credited as follows, subject to 
any interagency agreement:
(1) If the law enforcement agency is a state agency, the entire amount 
shall be deposited in the state treasury and credited to such agency's state 
forfeiture fund. There is hereby established in the state treasury the 
following state funds: Kansas bureau of investigation state forfeiture fund, 
Kansas attorney general's state medicaid fraud forfeiture fund, Kansas 
highway patrol state forfeiture fund, Kansas department of corrections 
state forfeiture fund and Kansas national guard counter drug state 
forfeiture fund. Expenditures from the Kansas bureau of investigation state 
forfeiture fund shall be made upon warrants of the director of accounts and 
reports issued pursuant to vouchers approved by the attorney general or by 
a person or persons designated by the attorney general. Expenditures from 
the Kansas attorney general's state medicaid fraud forfeiture fund shall be 
made upon warrants of the director of accounts and reports issued pursuant 
to vouchers approved by the attorney general or by a person or persons 
designated by the attorney general. Expenditures from the Kansas highway 
patrol state forfeiture fund shall be made upon warrants of the director of 
accounts and reports issued pursuant to vouchers approved by the 
superintendent of the highway patrol or by a person or persons designated 
by the superintendent. Expenditures from the Kansas department of 
corrections state forfeiture fund shall be made upon warrants of the 
director of accounts and reports issued pursuant to vouchers approved by 
the secretary of the department of corrections or by a person or persons 
designated by the secretary. Expenditures from the Kansas national guard 
counter drug state forfeiture fund shall be made upon warrants of the 
director of accounts and reports issued pursuant to vouchers approved by 
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the adjutant general of Kansas or by a person or persons designated by the 
adjutant general.
(2) If the law enforcement agency is a city or county agency, the 
entire amount shall be deposited in such city or county treasury and 
credited to a special law enforcement trust fund.
(e) (1) Moneys in the Kansas bureau of investigation state forfeiture 
fund, Kansas highway patrol state forfeiture fund, Kansas department of 
corrections state forfeiture fund, the special law enforcement trust funds 
and the Kansas national guard counter drug state forfeiture fund shall not 
be considered a source of revenue to meet normal operating expenses. 
Such funds shall be expended by the agencies or departments through the 
normal city, county or state appropriation system and shall be used for 
such special, additional law enforcement purposes specified in subsection 
(e)(2) as the law enforcement agency head deems appropriate. Neither 
future forfeitures nor the proceeds from such forfeitures shall be used in 
planning or adopting a law enforcement agency's budget.
(2) Moneys in the funds described in subsection (e)(1) shall be used 
only for the following special, additional law enforcement purposes:
(A) The support of investigations and operations that further the law 
enforcement agency's goals or missions;
(B) the training of investigators, prosecutors and sworn and non-
sworn law enforcement personnel in any area that is necessary to perform 
official law enforcement duties;
(C) the costs associated with the purchase, lease, construction, 
expansion, improvement or operation of law enforcement or detention 
facilities used or managed by the recipient agency;
(D) the costs associated with the purchase, lease, maintenance or 
operation of law enforcement equipment for use by law enforcement 
personnel that supports law enforcement activities;
(E) the costs associated with the purchase of multi-use equipment and 
operations used by both law enforcement and non-law enforcement 
personnel;
(F) the costs associated with a contract for a specific service that 
supports or enhances law enforcement;
(G) the costs associated with travel and transportation to perform or 
in support of law enforcement duties and activities;
(H) the costs associated with the purchase of plaques and certificates 
for law enforcement personnel in recognition of a law enforcement 
achievement, activity or training;
(I) the costs associated with conducting awareness programs by law 
enforcement agencies;
(J) the costs associated with paying a state or local law enforcement 
agency's matching contribution or share in a state or federal grant program 
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for items other than salaries;
(K) cash transfers from one state or local law enforcement agency to 
another in support of the law enforcement agency's goals or missions;
(L) transfers from a state or local law enforcement agency to a state, 
county or local governmental agency or community non-profit 
organization in support of the law enforcement agency's goals or missions; 
and
(M) payment of attorney fees, litigation costs and interest ordered by 
a court pursuant to K.S.A. 60-4116, and amendments thereto.
(3) Moneys in the funds described in subsection (e)(1) shall be 
separated and accounted for in a manner that allows accurate tracking and 
reporting of deposits and expenditures of the following categories of 
money:
(A) Proceeds from forfeiture credited to the fund pursuant to this 
section;
(B) proceeds from pending forfeiture actions under this act; and
(C) proceeds from forfeiture actions under federal law.
(f) Moneys in the Kansas attorney general's medicaid fraud forfeiture 
fund shall defray costs of the attorney general in connection with the 
duties of investigating and prosecuting medicaid fraud and abuse.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 60-4117 is hereby repealed.
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its 
publication in the statute book.
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