The proposed bill SB1574 amends existing Arizona law regarding property seizure and forfeiture. It allows the presence or possession of U.S. currency, debit cards, or credit cards to be considered as part of the totality of circumstances when establishing probable cause for seizure, rather than requiring additional indicia of a crime. Additionally, the bill subjects all proceeds traceable to an offense to seizure and forfeiture even if the criminal conviction is waived, provided that the prosecutor can demonstrate diligent efforts to identify the owner of the seized property and that no ownership claims have been made.

Furthermore, the bill exempts abandoned property from the requirement that all seized property must be returned to the owner within ten business days. It also makes technical changes to the definitions and processes related to property forfeiture. Overall, the bill expands the criteria for establishing probable cause and modifies the handling of abandoned property in the context of forfeiture laws.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 13-3413, 13-3920, 13-4301, 13-4305, 13-4304, 13-4311, 13-3401, 13-3922, 47-9102, 13-105