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House backs civil forfeiture reform, barring advisory questions on ballot
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The House passed a bill on Tuesday that would change the state law on civil forfeiture and another that would only allow questions with the force of law to appear on election ballots. Rep. Zach Cook, R-Ruidoso, said he sponsored the legislation related to civil forfeiture reform “so that people’s due process rights are given to them.” The bill would only allow police to seize property related to a crime for which the person was convicted. It comes as wider attention is paid to the issue of civil forfeiture nationally. Rep. Bill McCamley, D-Mesilla Park, commented on how Las Cruces received national attention after a the New York Times posted video of the Las Cruces city attorney speaking about civil forfeiture.