S-2054.2          _______________________________________________

                        SECOND SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5882

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State of Washington              52nd Legislature             1991 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Pelz, McCaslin, Johnson, Madsen, Moore and Owen).

Read first time March 11, 1991.Creating a drug asset forfeiture and criminal profiteering unit in the attorney general's office.

     AN ACT Relating to drug assets property forfeiture by criminals; adding a new section to chapter 43.10 RCW; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.      The legislature finds that drug asset forfeiture and criminal profiteering laws allow law enforcement officials and the courts to strip drug dealers and other successful criminals of the wealth they have acquired from their crimes and the assets they have used to facilitate those crimes.  These laws are rarely used by prosecutors, however, because of the difficulty in identifying profiteering and the assets that criminals may have as a result of their crimes.  It is the intent of the legislature to provide assistance to local law enforcement officials and state agencies to seize the assets of criminals and the proceeds of their profiteering.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 43.10 RCW to read as follows:

     The attorney general shall:  (1) Assist local law enforcement officials in the development of cases arising under the criminal profiteering laws with special emphasis on narcotics related cases; (2) assist local prosecutors in the litigation of criminal profiteering cases, or, at the request of a prosecutor's office, litigate such cases on its behalf; (3) conduct seminars and training sessions on prosecution of criminal profiteering cases and drug asset forfeiture cases; and (4) litigate drug asset forfeiture and criminal profiteering cases.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.      If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill number, is not provided by June 30, 1991, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act shall be null and void.