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H 3297

Charter Schools

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Nathan Ballentine

Requires annual, itemized reporting of civil asset forfeiture and a public, searchable case-tracking system to publish seizures, outcomes, and fund expenditures.

Referred to Committee on Ways and Means
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · H 3297

Summary — H 3297 (2025): "An Act relative to civil asset forfeiture data reporting"

Note: Although the bill header lists the title "Charter Schools," the body text of H 3297 (as filed in the Massachusetts General Court) is concerned with civil asset forfeiture data reporting and transparency. (A separate South Carolina charter‑funding draft also appears appended in the file but is not part of the Massachusetts statute text summarized below.)

Main purpose

To increase public transparency and statewide oversight of civil asset forfeiture by requiring standardized, itemized reporting of seizures and forfeitures and by creating a searchable, public case‑tracking system maintained by the State Treasurer. The bill requires both seizure-level reporting by law enforcement and prosecutors and aggregate reporting by the Treasurer for special law‑enforcement trust funds.

Key provisions

  • Amendments to existing forfeiture and motor vehicle seizure statutes:

    • Amends section 47 of chapter 94C (drugs), section 24W of chapter 90 (motor vehicle forfeiture), and section 56 of chapter 265 to require annual reporting by the Attorney General, district attorneys, and police departments for funds established by the State Treasurer.
    • Each agency must file an annual, itemized accounting for each seizure and forfeiture (as required by the new Section 47B). These reports are due January 31 for the preceding calendar year and are public records.
    • Adds reporting of expenditures from special law‑enforcement trust funds, with specified expense categories (personnel; contractors; equipment; training; public‑private partnerships; inter‑agency collaborations; community grants). These expenditure reports are also due January 31 and are public records.
    • Requires the State Treasurer to file an annual aggregate report (deposits, expenditures, ending balances) for each special law‑enforcement trust fund to the Executive Office for Administration & Finance and the House and Senate Ways & Means committees by March 15; the report is public.

  • New Section 47B (chapter 94C): Case tracking system and searchable public website

    • The State Treasurer must establish and maintain a case tracking system and searchable public website covering property seized and forfeited under specified statutes and any other state forfeiture authority.
    • Required seizure/forfeiture data elements include (but are not limited to): seizing agency; date and place of seizure; property description and estimated value; federal transfer status; related criminal charge and outcome (e.g., no charge, dropped, acquittal, plea, conviction); criminal and forfeiture case numbers; type of forfeiture proceeding (civil/administrative/criminal); claimant identity (suspect, innocent owner, lienholder, none); settlements/consent agreements; date of forfeiture order; disposition of property (returned, sold, retained, destroyed, pending); total value forfeited and market value retained/donated; estimated government costs (storage, personnel/prosecution, sale/disposal).
    • Agencies with no seizures must file a null report.
    • The draft contains a provision that penalizes failure to file a timely report if no good cause is shown, but the penalty text is truncated in the provided copy.

Who is affected

  • Law enforcement agencies (state police, municipal police departments) and the Attorney General’s office and district attorneys — they must collect and submit detailed data annually and maintain records to support the reporting.
  • The State Treasurer — responsible for building and maintaining the public case tracking system and for producing aggregate fund reports.
  • Special law‑enforcement trust funds — will be subject to increased transparency about deposits and expenditures.
  • Individuals whose property is seized and forfeited — the public reporting will make seizure and case outcomes more visible (potentially affecting privacy and case management practices).
  • Legislative oversight committees and the public — gain access to standardized data to review forfeiture practices and spending.

Procedural/timeline details (from bill record)

  • Prefiled: 12/05/2024
  • Introduced / read first time: 01/14/2025 (other records show filings around 1/17/2025 and 2/27/2025)
  • Referred to Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight (and later to Ways & Means per action logs)
  • Hearing scheduled: 06/24/2025
  • Reported favorably by committee and referred to House Ways & Means: 10/06/2025
  • Related: Similar matter filed in prior session (House No. 2993, 2023–2024); HD 3527 noted as replacement.

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Transparency: The bill substantially increases public access to detailed forfeiture data, which could improve oversight of civil forfeiture practices and spending of forfeited assets.
  • Administrative burden and costs: Agencies and the Treasurer will face costs and workload to collect, standardize, and publish data and to build/maintain the tracking website. The bill does not specify funding for system development or ongoing operations.
  • Privacy and legal considerations: Publishing detailed case information raises potential privacy and ongoing‑investigation concerns; system design will need to reconcile transparency with legal protections (e.g., sealed records, active investigations).
  • Enforcement and compliance: The draft includes (truncated) penalties for late reporting; full text would clarify compliance mechanisms and remedies.

If you want, I can:
- Produce a one‑page fact sheet for public distribution;
- Extract and format the full list of required data elements for use in a reporting template; or
- Draft recommended implementation steps and estimated costs for the Treasurer to build the tracking system.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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