Senate
File
152
-
Introduced
SENATE
FILE
152
BY
SODDERS
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
procedural
requirements
in
in
rem
forfeiture
1
proceedings.
2
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
3
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S.F.
152
Section
1.
Section
809A.13,
subsection
3,
Code
2013,
is
1
amended
to
read
as
follows:
2
3.
Only
an
owner
of
or
an
interest
holder
in
the
property
3
who
has
timely
filed
a
proper
claim
pursuant
to
section
809A.11
4
may
file
an
answer
in
an
action
in
rem.
For
the
purposes
of
5
this
section
,
an
owner
of
or
interest
holder
in
property
who
6
has
filed
a
claim
and
an
answer
shall
be
referred
to
as
a
7
claimant.
8
EXPLANATION
9
This
bill
relates
to
procedural
requirements
in
in
rem
10
forfeiture
proceedings.
11
Code
section
809A.13
provides
that
an
in
rem
forfeiture
12
action
may
be
brought
by
a
prosecuting
attorney
by
serving
a
13
notice
of
pending
forfeiture
on
the
owner
or
interested
party
14
or
by
filing
a
verified
complaint
of
forfeiture
in
court.
In
15
a
case
where
the
owner
or
interested
party
is
served
notice
16
of
the
pending
forfeiture,
Code
section
809A.11
provides
that
17
the
owner
or
interested
property
owner
can
file,
within
30
18
days
after
the
effective
notice
date,
a
claim
in
the
property.
19
No
similar
notice
or
claim
requirements
exist
if
the
in
rem
20
forfeiture
action
is
commenced
through
the
filing
of
a
verified
21
complaint.
The
bill
eliminates
the
procedural
limitation
that
22
only
allows
an
owner
or
an
interest
holder
in
property
that
is
23
the
subject
of
an
in
rem
forfeiture
action
who
has
been
served
24
notice
of
the
pending
forfeiture
and
who
has
filed
a
timely
25
claim
to
file
an
answer
in
the
action.
26
The
bill
is
in
response
to
an
Iowa
Supreme
Court
decision
27
filed
on
April
9,
2010
(In
re
Young,
780
N.W.2d
726),
in
which
28
the
court
held
this
statutory
provision
unconstitutional
29
because
the
plain
meaning
of
the
statute
precludes
an
aggrieved
30
property
owner
or
interested
party
from
filing
an
answer
to
the
31
state’s
in
rem
forfeiture
complaint
in
violation
of
state
and
32
federal
due
process
guarantees.
33
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