New pre-filed bills in the House. Session begins Jan. 14

There are a couple of bills that were recently prefiled. One bill we should strongly support-- HB 134, which will put a muzzle on mugshot extortion publications. I haven't read the Trafficking bill in its entirety but I am concerned anytime I see civil forfeiture in any bill.

For now, our efforts should focus on stopping HB 21.

HB 133: Wallace Judiciary -- 1/10/2014
Human trafficking, Uniform Act on Prevention of and Remedies for Human Trafficking, adoption, Secs. 13A-6-150 to 13A-6-160, inclusive, 13A-6-170 repealed

About HB 133:It mainly discusses rules for laws dealing with "human trafficking."

Verdict: ReFORM-AL offers no opinion at this time, though civil forfeiture laws are always a concern due to potential for abuse.


HB 134:  England Public Safety and Homeland Security-- 1/10/2014
Websites containing personal information of persons convicted of crimes, required to remove information at no charge upon request, civil penalties, presumption of defamation

About HB 134: This bill will prevent mugshot websites or magazines from extorting people through posting their information publicly and demanding a fee to remove the offending mugshots.

VERDICT: ReFORM-AL strongly supports this bill

Oppose HB 135: Civil Forfeiture

This is a potentially dangerous law that can be very easily abused because of lack of oversight. It says "people convicted of ceratin crimes," but the language is so vague, it seems there is a loophole which allows civil procedures without conviction. Also, the taking of property not related to the crime, especially the house, is different than civil forfeiture in direct relation to criminal gains, such as the forfeiture of a car bought with drug money.

http://alisondb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/ACTIONViewFrameMac.asp?TYPE=Instrument&INST=HB135&DOCPATH=searchableinstruments/2010RS/Printfiles/&PHYDOCPATH=//alisondb/acas/searchableinstruments/2010RS/PrintFiles/&DOCNAMES=HB135-int.pdf,HB135-eng.pdf,

4 (1) Property subject to forfeiture may be seized by
5 state, county, or municipal law enforcement agencies upon
6 process issued by any court having jurisdiction over the
7 property upon a showing of probable cause.