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By Mr. Cabral of New Bedford, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1337) of Antonio F. D. Cabral and others relative to the seizure of drug related money, property, and assets. The Judiciary. |
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PETITION OF:
Patricia D. Jehlen
Gloria L. Fox
Thomas P. Kennedy
Mary E. Grant
Susan C. Fargo
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In the Year Two Thousand and Seven.
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An Act relative to the seizure of drug related money, property, and assets. |
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION
1. Subsection (d) of Section 47 of Chapter 94C of the General Laws, as
appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the
second paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraphs:—
The final order of the court shall provide that said monies and the proceeds of
any such sale shall be distributed in the following manner: Thirty-four percent
shall be distributed to the Massachusetts Drug Treatment and Prevention Fund
for the purpose of community based drug prevention and treatment programs;
Thirty-three percent to the prosecuting district attorney or attorney general;
And thirty-three percent to the city, town, state, or metropolitan district
police department involved in the seizure, provided, however, if more than one
department was substantially involved in the seizure, the court having
jurisdiction of the forfeiture proceeds shall equitably distribute said
proceeds among these departments.
SECTION 2.
Subsection (d) of section 47 of Chapter 94C of the General Laws, as so
appearing, is hereby amended by inserting at the end of said section the
following sentence:—
Said department may expend up to ten percent of monies and proceeds for drug
rehabilitation, drug education, and other anti-drug or neighborhood crime watch
programs that further law enforcement purposes.
SECTION 3. The
third paragraph in subsection (d) of section 47 of Chapter 94C of the General
Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the last
sentence and inserting in place thereof the following two sentences:—
Within ninety days of the close of the fiscal year in which this bill is
enacted and on each February fifteenth thereafter, each district attorney and
the attorney general shall file a detailed report with the house and senate
committees on ways and means on the deposit and expenditure of all monies in
the trust fund including, but not limited to, the use of such monies for the
purpose of protracted investigations, provision of technical equipment, drug
rehabilitation, drug education, and other anti-drug or neighborhood crime watch
programs. Reports filed with said committees annually on February fifteen shall
detail said deposit and expenditure of all monies for the preceding fiscal year
and the current fiscal year through December thirty-first.
SECTION 4. The
fourth paragraph in subsection (d) of Section 47 of Chapter 94C of the General
Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following after
the end of said paragraph:—
Within ninety days of the close of the fiscal year in which this bill is
enacted and on each February fifteenth thereafter, each chief of police of such
city or town shall file a detailed report with the division of local services
of the department of revenue on the deposit and expenditure of all monies in
the special law enforcement trust fund including, but not limited to, the use
of such monies for the purpose of protracted investigations, provision of
technical equipment, drug education, and other anti-drug or neighborhood crime
watch programs or other law enforcement purposes as the chief of police of such
city or town, or the colonel of state police deems appropriate. Reports filed
with said department annually in February fifteenth shall detail such deposits
and expenditures of all monies for the preceding fiscal year and the current
fiscal year through December thirty-first.
SECTION 5. Chapter
10 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 35T, as
appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, the following section:—
Section 35U. There shall be established and set up on the books of the
commonwealth a separate fund, to be known as the Massachusetts Drug Treatment
and Prevention Fund, to be administered and distributed to community-based
efforts by the commissioner of public health for the purposes of drug
prevention and treatment. Said fund shall consist of all funds received by the
commonwealth from the following sources: proceeds under the provisions of
paragraph (d) of section forty-seven of chapter 94C; fines paid under the
provisions of sections thirty-two to forty, inclusive, of said chapter 94C; and
appropriations, gifts, grants, or donations to said fund from public or private
sources for the purposes of said fund. The state treasurer shall not deposit
said revenues in, or transfer said revenues to, the General Fund or any other
fund other than the Massachusetts Drug Treatment and Prevention Trust Fund,
subject to appropriation. The state treasurer shall deposit monies in said fund
in accordance with the provisions of sections 34 and 34A of chapter 29 in such
manner as will secure the highest interest rate available consistent with the
safety of the fund. Subject to appropriation, said fund shall be expended only
for the purposes of community-based prevention and drug treatment efforts at
the direction of the commissioner of public health, and any unexpended balances
shall be redeposited, as herein provided, for further use consistent with this
section.