§712A-1  Definitions.  In this chapter,
unless a different meaning plainly is required:



"Attorney general" means the attorney
general or deputy attorneys general of the State of Hawaii.



"Contraband" means any property the
possession of which is illegal.



"Controlled substances" means a drug,
substance, or immediate precursor in schedules I through V of chapter 329, part
II.



"Covered offense" means any crime set
forth in section 712A-4 or any other offense for which forfeiture is provided
by the law relating to a particular offense.



"Enterprise" includes any sole
proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association, or any union or group of
individuals associated for a particular purpose although not a legal entity.



"Interest-holder" means a person in whose
favor there is a security interest or who is the beneficiary of a perfected
encumbrance pertaining to an interest in property.



"Law enforcement officer" means any
public servant, whether employed by the State or subdivisions thereof or by the
United States, vested by law with a duty to maintain public order, to make
arrests for offenses, or to enforce the criminal laws, whether that duty
extends to all offenses or is limited to a specific class of offenses.  The
attorney general, deputy attorneys general, county prosecuting attorneys, and
deputy prosecuting attorneys engaged in the enforcement of criminal laws are
included in the definition of the term law enforcement officer.



"Owner" means a person who is not a
secured party within the meaning of section 490:9-102 and who has an interest
in property, whether legal or equitable.  A purported interest which is not in
compliance with any statute requiring its recordation or reflection in public
records in order to perfect the interest against a bona fide purchaser for
value shall not be recognized as an interest against this State in an action
pursuant to this chapter.  An owner with power to convey property binds other
owners, and a spouse binds the person's spouse, by any act or omission.



"Person" includes any individual or
entity capable of holding a legal or beneficial interest in property.



"Person known to have an interest"
means a person whose interest in property is reflected in the public records in
which the person's interest is required by law to be recorded or reflected in
order to perfect the person's interest.  If a person's interest in property is
not required by law to be reflected in public records in order to perfect the
person's interest in the property, a person shall be known to have an interest
only if such interest can be readily ascertained at the time of the
commencement of the forfeiture action pursuant to this chapter.



"Proceeds" means anything of value,
derived directly or indirectly from or realized through unlawful activity.



"Property" means real property,
including things growing on, affixed to, and found on land; tangible and
intangible personal property, including currency, instruments, vehicles, boats,
aircraft or any other kind of conveyance; and all rights, privileges, interests,
claims, and securities pertaining to such property.



"Prosecuting attorney" means the
prosecuting attorney or deputy prosecuting attorneys of the various counties,
or the attorney general or deputy attorneys general when engaged in the
prosecution of a criminal offense.



"Seizing agency" means any department
or agency of this State or its political subdivisions which regularly employs
law enforcement officers, and which employed the law enforcement officer who
seized property for forfeiture, or such other agency as the seizing agency may
designate in a particular case by its chief executive officer or designee.



"Seizure for evidence" means seizure
of property by a law enforcement officer.



"Seizure for forfeiture" means
seizure of property by a law enforcement officer coupled with an assertion by
the seizing agency or by a prosecuting attorney that the property is subject to
forfeiture. [L 1988, c 260, pt of §1; gen ch 1993; am L 1994, c 178, §1; am L
2000, c 241, §7]



 



COMMENTARY ON §712A-1



 



  Act 178, Session Laws 1994, amended this section by adding
"seizure for evidence" as a new definition.  Conference Committee
Report No. 27.



  Act 241, Session Laws 2000, amended this section by amending
the definition of "owner" by changing the section referred to for the
meaning of "secured party" from §490:9-105(1) to §490:9-102.  This
amendment was to make the UCC section referred to consistent with the new
article 9, added by this Act.