13-4315

13-4315. Allocation of forfeited
property

A. Any property, including all interests in property, forfeited to the state under
this title shall be transferred as requested by the attorney for the state to the seizing
agency or to the agency or political subdivision employing the attorney for the state,
which may do any of the following:

1. Sell, lease, lend or transfer the property to any local or state government
entity or agency or political subdivision, law enforcement agency or prosecutorial agency
or any federal law enforcement agency which operates within this state for official
federal, state or political subdivision use within this state, with expenses for keeping
and transferring such property to be paid by the recipient. Property may not be
allocated for official use if the fair market value of the property substantially exceeds
the agency's probable cost of purchasing other property equally suited for the intended
official use. Property that is allocated for official use may not be assigned for use by
any person who supervised or exercised discretion in its forfeiture unless the use is
approved in writing by the head of the agency.

2. Sell forfeited property by public or otherwise commercially reasonable sale with
expenses of keeping and selling the property and the amount of all valid interests
established by claimants paid out of the proceeds of the sale with the balance paid into
the anti-racketeering fund of the state or of the county in which the political
subdivision seizing the property or prosecuting the action is located. A sale of
forfeited property may not be made to any employee of the seizing agency, any person who
participated in the forfeiture, any employee of a contractor selling the property on
behalf of the seizing agency or any member of the immediate family of any of these
employees or persons.

3. Destroy or use for investigative purposes any illegal or controlled substances
or other contraband at any time more than twenty days after seizure, on written approval
of the attorney for the state, preserving only such material as may be necessary for
evidence.

4. Sell, use or destroy all raw materials, products and equipment of any kind used
or intended for use in manufacturing, compounding or processing a controlled substance.

5. Compromise and pay claims against property forfeited pursuant to any provision
of this section.

6. Make any other disposition of forfeited property authorized by law for the
disposition of property of the state, government entity, agency or political subdivision.

B. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section or any other provision of law to
the contrary:

1. If the property forfeited is money, and a law enforcement agency can
specifically identify monies as being from its investigative funds or as being exchanged
for property from its investigative property, the monies shall be remitted to the
investigative fund. If there are additional forfeited monies or monies tendered on
satisfaction by an interest holder which cannot be specifically identified, the court
shall order the monies returned to each law enforcement agency that makes a showing of
costs or expenses which it incurred in connection with the investigation and prosecution
of the matter and shall order all excess monies remaining after such returns deposited in
the anti-racketeering fund of this state or of the county in which the political
subdivision seizing the monies or prosecuting the action is located, established pursuant
to section 13-2314.01 or 13-2314.03.

2. If the property declared forfeited is an interest in a vehicle, the court shall
order it forfeited to the local, state or other law enforcement agency seizing the
vehicle for forfeiture or to the seizing agency.

C. Monies in any anti-racketeering fund established pursuant to this title may be
used, in addition to any other lawful use, for:

1. The payment of any expenses necessary to seize, detain, appraise, inventory,
protect, maintain, preserve the availability of, advertise or sell property that is
subject to forfeiture and that is seized, detained or forfeited pursuant to this title or
of any other necessary expenses incident to the seizure, detention, preservation or
forfeiture of the property. The payments may include payments for contract services and
payments to reimburse any federal, state or local agency for any expenditures made to
perform the functions of the seizing agency.

2. The payment of awards for information or assistance leading to a civil or
criminal proceeding under this title.

3. The payment of compensation from forfeited property to injured persons as
provided in section 13-4311, subsection N, paragraph 3.

D. Each attorney for the state shall submit a copy of each forfeiture judgment,
including each order of forfeiture, to the Arizona criminal justice commission within
sixty days after the forfeiture judgment becomes final or after the conclusion of
appellate review, if any.