809A.17 Allocation of forfeited property.

1. A person having control over forfeited property shall communicate that fact to the attorney general or the attorney general’s designee.

2. Forfeited property not needed as evidence in a criminal case shall be delivered to the department of justice, or, upon written authorization of the attorney general or the attorney general’s designee, the property may be destroyed, sold, or delivered to an appropriate agency for disposal in accordance with this section.

3. Forfeited property may be used by the department of justice in the enforcement of the criminal law. The department may give, sell, or trade property to any other state agency or to any other law enforcement agency within the state if, in the opinion of the attorney general, it will enhance law enforcement within the state.

4. Forfeited property which is not used by the department of justice in the enforcement of the law may be requisitioned by the department of public safety or any law enforcement agency within the state for use in enforcing the criminal laws of this state. Forfeited property not requisitioned may be delivered to the director of the department of administrative services to be disposed of in the same manner as property received pursuant to section 8A.325.

5. Notwithstanding subsection 1, 2, 3, or 4, the following apply:

a. Forfeited property which is a controlled substance or a simulated, counterfeit, or imitation controlled substance shall be disposed of as provided in section 124.506.

b. Forfeited property which is a weapon or ammunition shall be deposited with the department of public safety to be disposed of in accordance with the rules of the department. All weapons or ammunition may be held for use in law enforcement, testing, or comparison by the criminalistics laboratory, or destroyed. Ammunition and firearms which are not illegal and are not offensive weapons as defined by section 724.1 may be sold by the department as provided in section 809.21.

c. Material in violation of chapter 728 shall be destroyed.

d. Property subject to the rules of the natural resource commission shall be delivered to that commission for disposal in accordance with its rules.

e. If the forfeited property is cash or proceeds from the sale of real property, the distribution of the forfeited property shall be as follows:

(1) The department of justice shall not retain more than ten percent of the gross sale of any forfeited real property. The balance of the proceeds shall be distributed to the seizing agency for use by the agency or for division among law enforcement agencies and county attorneys pursuant to any agreement entered into by the seizing agency.

(2) The department of justice shall not retain more than ten percent of any forfeited cash. The balance shall be distributed to the seizing agency for use by the agency or for division among law enforcement agencies and county attorneys pursuant to any agreement entered into by the seizing agency.

(3) In the event of a cash forfeiture in excess of four hundred thousand dollars, the distribution of forfeited cash shall be as follows:

(a) Forty-five percent shall be retained by the seizing agency.

(b) Forty-five percent shall be distributed to other law enforcement agencies within the region of the seizing agency.

(c) Ten percent shall be retained by the department of justice.

96 Acts, ch 1133, §17; 2003 Acts, ch 145, §277, 286; 2010 Acts, ch 1190, §26

Referred to in §706A.3, 724.26, 809A.8, 809A.13, 809A.16