ARLINGTON, Va.—Yesterday, Gov. Jared Polis signed HB 26-1250 into law, taking a significant step forward in protecting Coloradans from having their property unjustly confiscated by law enforcement agencies. The bill, which passed with near-unanimous bipartisan support, closes a loophole in the civil asset forfeiture statutes that allowed property to be forfeited without a criminal conviction and provides counsel to low-income property owners facing the forfeiture of their property. The Institute for Justice, a national leader in advocating for commonsense civil forfeiture reform, applauds this commonsense and impactful reform.
“Colorado has taken another important step toward better protecting the property rights of its citizens. Property rights are fundamental, and this reform provides stronger protections for people whose property is targeted for forfeiture,” said Alasdair Whitney, legislative counsel at the Institute for Justice. “With Governor Polis’s signature, Colorado becomes just the second state in the nation to provide counsel for property owners facing forfeiture. The Institute for Justice thanks our sponsors, particularly Representatives Jennifer Bacon and Ken DeGraaf, Senators Katie Wallace and Scott Bright, and the many activists, community leaders, and organizations across the political spectrum who worked tirelessly to advance this reform. Their efforts demonstrate that protecting constitutional rights is not a partisan issue.”
In 2002, Colorado passed legislation requiring a conviction in most forfeiture cases, and a 2017 update aimed to prevent Colorado law enforcement from partnering with federal agencies to skirt more stringent state forfeiture requirements.
HB 26-1250 will create even greater protections by:
- Closing a major loophole that permitted the forfeiture of property before a criminal conviction;
- Requiring courts to pause forfeiture proceedings until there is a conviction in a related criminal case;
- Providing attorney representation to low-income forfeiture defendants; and
- Funding that representation by redirecting some forfeiture proceeds from law enforcement.
Civil forfeiture is a problem around the nation, with law enforcement agencies routinely confiscating assets and then forcing owners to prove they weren’t used in a crime. In Colorado, more than 80% of forfeitures involve cash, according to the latest edition of IJ’s Policing for Profit report, and currency forfeited in Colorado had a median value of less than $2,400 from 2019 to 2023. Nationwide, the median cost of defending a state forfeiture claim is about $3,300. Most forfeiture proceedings in Colorado take nine months or more to resolve.
The Institute for Justice is a nonprofit, public interest law firm that protects property rights nationwide. IJ is currently litigating a class action lawsuit against the Transportation Security Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration over their unconstitutional searches and seizures of flyers’ cash. IJ’s advocacy led the Biden administration to end the DEA’s controversial Transportation Interdiction Program, which targeted travelers at airports and train stations. IJ is also continuing with lawsuits against civil forfeiture schemes in Indiana, Michigan, and Nevada. IJ has also published peer-reviewed research showing that New Mexico’s reform abolishing civil forfeiture and the financial incentive had no impact on crime rates in the state.
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To arrange interviews on this subject, journalists may contact Phillip Suderman, IJ’s Communications Project Manager, at [email protected] or (850) 376-4110. More information on the case is available at: https://ij.org/issues/private-property/civil-forfeiture/