Hawaii’s law enforcement agencies may have a harder time profiting off seized property under a measure that won unanimous approval in the Senate Monday morning.
Senate Bill 294 would only allow agencies to sell property authorities believe may have been involved in a crime if the owner of that property is convicted of a felony offense. The state auditor found in a 2018 report that, in a sample of civil asset forfeiture cases, property was seized without a corresponding criminal charge in 26% of those cases.