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Introduced Version House Bill 4639 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 4639


(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Thompson, and Delegate Armstead)

[By Request of the Executive]

[Introduced February 18, 2008; referred to the

Committee on Finance.]




A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §4-11B-1, §4-11B-2 , §4-11B-3 , and §4-11B-4 all relating to the establishment of the OxyContin Asset Forfeiture Fund.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §4-11B-1, §4-11B-2
, §4- 11B-3 , and §4-11B-4 , all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 11A. OXYCONTIN ASSET FORFEITURE FUND.
§4-11B-1. Legislative findings and purpose.
(a) In two thousand seven, the federal government seized over two hundred seventy-six million dollars in asset forfeiture funds as part of a multi-year criminal investigation of
the manufacturer of the pharmaceutical drug OxyContin. Over the course of the investigation, seven sworn members and one civilian employee of the West Virginia State Police provided invaluable assistance to federal investigators, contributing four thousand seventy-three work hours to the investigation.
(b) Property seized as part of a federal criminal prosecution is frequently shared with those state and local law enforcement agencies that made substantial contributions to the underlying criminal investigation, thereby depriving criminal defendants of the ill-gotten gains of their criminal activity and returning the proceeds to those state and local agencies sworn to protect the citizenry and deter criminal conduct.
(c)
The equitable sharing and expenditure of federally forfeited funds by participating state and local law enforcement agencies is extensively circumscribed by applicable federal guidelines set forth in the United States Department of Justice's Guide to Equitable Sharing of Federally Forfeited Property for State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture, March 1994.
(d) In accordance with these federal guidelines, only those law enforcement agencies that directly participated in a criminal investigation or prosecution that ultimately resulted in a federal forfeiture are eligible to receive and administer an equitable share of the net proceeds of such forfeiture.
(e) In order to receive an equitable share of federally forfeited funds, an eligible agency is required to submit a request to the Department of Justice that specifies how the forfeited assets will be used. Any unauthorized departure from such stated uses may subject the recipient agency to administrative and/or legal sanctions.
(f) Furthermore, the equitable sharing of federally forfeited assets must be used to supplement, rather than supplant, the budgetary resources of the receiving state or local law enforcement agency and the aforementioned federal guidelines expressly authorize the United States Department of Justice to terminate sharing with a law enforcement agency that is not permitted to benefit directly from equitable sharing.
(g) By virtue of its extensive role in the criminal investigation of
the manufacturer of the pharmaceutical drug OxyContin, the West Virginia State Police has been designated to receive an equitable share of federally forfeited funds in the amount of forty-four million one hundred seventy-six thousand dollars.
(h) The moneys received shall be used to fund programs of vital importance to the health, safety and welfare of the people of West Virginia and the Legislature finds that it is in the best interest of this state to protect these moneys and ensure that they are expended in accordance with state law and applicable federal guidelines.
§4-11B-2. OxyContin Asset Forfeiture Fund.
(a) There is hereby established in the State Treasury a special account, which shall be an appropriated, interest-bearing account administered by the West Virginia State Police and designated as the OxyContin Asset Forfeiture Fund.
(b) The fund shall consist of any moneys received by the West Virginia State Police in accordance with the May 10, 2007 Agreed Order of Forfeiture entered by the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia and the August 15, 2007 United States Department of Justice's equitable sharing approval, and any interest or other return on the moneys in the fund. Any moneys remaining in the account at the end of a fiscal year, including accrued interest, do not revert to the General Revenue Fund, but remain in the account.
(c) Expenditures from the fund are limited to those permissible uses of federally forfeited property expressly approved by the United States Department of Justice.
(d) Moneys deposited into the fund pursuant to this section shall be spent for the purpose(s) expressly approved by the United States Department of Justice within two years of the receipt of said funds.
§4-11B-3. Accounting.

(a) The West Virginia State Police shall implement appropriate accounting, internal control, financial management, audit, reporting, and reimbursement procedures with regard to the receipt and expenditure of all moneys distributed to the Fund and interest and earnings thereon in accordance with the provisions of the United States Department of Justice's Guide to Equitable Sharing of Federally Forfeited Property for State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture, March 1994.
(b)
Up to three percent of the total asset forfeiture moneys distributed to the Fund may be used by the West Virginia State Police to cover all reasonable costs incurred in the administration of the Fund and the implementation of the procedures set forth in subsection (a) of this section.
§4-11B-4. Annual report.
(a) Commencing on the first day of July two thousand eight, and annually thereafter until the first day of July, two thousand eleven, the Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police shall submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Delegates, and the Joint Committee on Government and Finance detailing the amount of forfeited moneys received, an itemization of expenditures from the Fund, and a description of the law enforcement activities supported by those moneys.
(b) Commencing on the first day of July two thousand eight, and annually thereafter, the Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police shall, in accordance with the Guide to Equitable Sharing of Federally Forfeited Property for State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture, March 1994,
execute and deliver to the United States Department of Justice an annual report certifying that the accounting of funds received and expended from the Fund is accurate and in compliance with the federal guidelines and any applicable laws.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish the OxyContin Asset Forfeiture Fund.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.

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