ARIZONA COUNTY ATTORNEY

& SHERIFFS ASSOCIATION

1910 W. JEFFERSON PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85009
TELEPHONE: (602) 252-6563 FACSIMILE: (602) 254-0969

BRIAN MCINTYRE, COCHISE COUNTY ATTORNEY, PRESIDENT

ADAM SHEPHERD, GILA COUNTY SHERIFF, VICE-PRESIDENT

February 13, 2016

Apache County
Michael Whiting
Joseph Dedman The Honorable Eddie Farnsworth
Cochise County
Chairman House Judiciary & Public Safety Committee
Brian McIntyre Arizona State Legislature
Mark Dannels 1700 W. Washington Street
Coconino County Phoenix, AZ 85007
Bill Ring
Jim Driscoll Re: HB2477 Civil Forfeiture; Report; Information; Remedies
Gila County
Bradley Beauchamp Dear Chairman Farnsworth:
Adam Shepherd
Thank you for your continued leadership and support for public safety issues throughout
Graham County Arizona. Recently the Arizona County Attorney and Sheriffs Association (ACASA) had the
Kenneth Angle opportunity to discuss HB2477. ACASA believes that HB2477, as currently drafted, creates a
PJ Allred
number of hurdles to law enforcements ability to use a legitimate law enforcement tool to
Greenlee County protect our communities from criminals and criminal organizations.
Jeremy Ford
Tim Sumner
We share in the goals of transparency and fairness. We look forward to working on
La Paz County compromise language that will provide transparency without undue bureaucracy,
Tony Rogers
Bill Risen accountability without impeding decision-making, and fairness to all parties without creating
incentives for criminals to gamble on gaming our justice system for their profit, to the detriment
Maricopa County
Bill Montgomery
of our state.
Paul Penzone
We stand ready to work with you to achieve these goals. Please do not hesitate to let us know
Mohave County
Matthew Smith how we can be helpful as discussions on HB2477 move forward.
Doug Schuster

Navajo County
Bradley Carlyon Respectfully,
KC Clark

Pima County
Barbara LaWall
Mark Napier

Pinal County
Kent Volkmer Brian McIntyre Adam Shepherd
Mark Lamb
President - ACASA Vice-President ACASA
Santa Cruz County Cochise County Attorney Gila County Sheriff
George Silva
Tony Estrada

Yavapai County
Shelia Polk
Scott Mascher

Yuma County
Jon Smith
Leon Wilmot

AN ASSOCIATE MEMBER OF THE ARIZONA ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES JENNIFER MARSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
From: Kathleen Mayer [mailto:Kathleen.Mayer@pcao.pima.gov]
Sent: Saturday, February 11, 2017 4:08 PM
To: Maria Syms <msyms@azleg.gov>; David Stringer <DStringer@azleg.gov>; Daniel Hernandez
<DHernandez@azleg.gov>; Sally Ann Gonzales <SGonzales@azleg.gov>; Mark Finchem
<MFinchem@azleg.gov>; Kirsten Engel <kengel@azleg.gov>; Paul Boyer <PBoyer@azleg.gov>; Anthony
Kern <AKern@azleg.gov>
Subject: HB 2477 - Forfeiture

Dear Representatives:

I would like to express my support for many of the provisions of this bill. It is important
that there is accountability in the manner in which assets are seized from criminals and
the enterprises they operate and how those funds are used. It is equally important that
there be transparency in the records of those seizures and expenditures.

There are some provisions which are confusing and some which cause prosecutors
great concern. Requiring county attorneys to get approval for each expenditure
from Boards of Supervisors is problematic as it injects needless politics into this
process. Sometimes there are conflicts between a CA and a BOS. What if a BOS
denies a perfectly legal request? Prosecutors look forward to working with the sponsor
to further discuss and resolve this problem, perhaps by requiring the Auditor General to
conduct audits every 2 or 3 years.

Other issues prosecutors hope to address with the sponsor include:

1. reporting requirements which may be unduly burdensome for small agencies with
limited resources
2. confusion regarding when local law enforcement can work with the federal
government, as many of us participate in interagency task forces which include the
federal government.
3. removing immunity from lawsuits against prosecutors acting in the course of our
duties, which prosecutors have in every other area of our work.

I hope that going forward we can agree upon a final bill which accomplishes the goals of
greater accountability, transparency, fairness to innocent parties while still making it
possible to keep ill-gotten gains from criminals.

Thank you very much,