SB1574 is a bill that amends sections of the Arizona Revised Statutes related to forfeiture. The bill allows for the presence or possession of U.S. currency, debit cards, or credit cards to be considered as part of the totality of circumstances indicating a crime when establishing probable cause for seizure. This is a change from the current law, which states that the presence or possession of these items alone, without other indicia of a crime, is insufficient for probable cause.

Additionally, the bill specifies that all proceeds traceable to an offense can be subject to seizure and forfeiture if the criminal conviction is waived under certain conditions, such as if there is no known owner of the seized property despite diligent efforts to identify one, or if the property has been abandoned. This expands the scope of what can be considered abandoned property, which is exempt from the requirement that law enforcement in Arizona must return seized property to the owner within 10 business days. The bill also makes technical changes and is set to become effective on the general effective date.

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