Sec. 54-36i. Drug assets forfeiture revolving account. Allocation of moneys.

(a) There is established and created an account of the General Fund to be known as the “drug assets forfeiture revolving account” for the purpose of providing funds for substance abuse treatment and education programs and for use in the detection, investigation, apprehension and prosecution of persons for the violation of the laws pertaining to the illegal manufacture, sale, distribution or possession of controlled substances.

(b) The account shall consist of the proceeds from the sale of property and moneys received and deposited pursuant to section 54-36h.

(c) Moneys in such account shall be distributed as follows: (1) Seventy per cent shall be allocated to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and local police departments pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, fifteen per cent of which shall be used for purposes of drug education and eighty-five per cent of which shall be used for the detection, investigation, apprehension and prosecution of persons for the violation of laws pertaining to the illegal manufacture, sale, distribution or possession of controlled substances and for the purposes of police training on gang-related violence as required by section 7-294l, (2) twenty per cent shall be allocated to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for substance abuse treatment and education programs and tobacco prevention and enforcement positions engaged in compliance activities as required by the federal government as a condition of receipt of substance abuse prevention and treatment block grant funds, and (3) ten per cent shall be allocated to the Division of Criminal Justice for use in the prosecution of persons for the violation of laws pertaining to the illegal manufacture, sale, distribution or possession of controlled substances.

(d) Expenditures from the account allocated to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and local police departments shall be authorized by a panel composed of: (1) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection or his designee, (2) the commander of the state-wide narcotics task force or his designee, and (3) the president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association or his designee. The panel shall adopt procedures for the orderly authorization of expenditures, subject to the approval of the Comptroller. Such expenditures may be authorized only to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and to organized local police departments within this state. Such expenditures shall be held by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and the various organized local police departments in accounts or funds established for that purpose. In no event shall the expenditures be placed in a state or town general fund and in no event shall the expenditures be used for purposes other than those provided in subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this section. The panel shall ensure the equitable allocation of expenditures to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection or any local police department which participated directly in any of the acts which led to the seizure or forfeiture of the property so as to reflect generally the contribution of said department or such local police department in such acts. The panel shall authorize expenditures from the account for the reimbursement of any organized local police department which has used its own funds in the detection, investigation, apprehension and prosecution of persons for the violation of laws pertaining to the illegal manufacture, sale, distribution or possession of controlled substances and which makes application to the panel for reimbursement.

(e) Moneys remaining in the drug assets forfeiture revolving account at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund but shall remain in the revolving account to be used for the purposes set forth in this section.

(P.A. 89-269, S. 2; P.A. 90-230, S. 95, 101; P.A. 91-406, S. 20, 29; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; 93-416, S. 9, 10; P.A. 94-95, S. 15; P.A. 95-257, S. 5, 58; P.A. 96-180, S. 162, 166; P.A. 09-2, S. 6; P.A. 11-51, S. 134.)

History: P.A. 90-230 corrected an internal reference in Subsec. (d); P.A. 91-406 confirmed the numbering of this section as Sec. 54-36i, thereby correcting a typographical error; P.A. 93-381 replaced Connecticut alcohol and drug abuse commission with department of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-416 amended Subsec. (c)(1) to include police training on gang-related violence as another purpose for which fund moneys shall be used, effective June 29, 1993; P.A. 94-95 changed name of fund from “drug assets forfeiture revolving fund” to “drug assets forfeiture revolving account”; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-180 amended Subsec. (d)(3) to substitute “Connecticut Police Chiefs Association” for “Connecticut Chiefs of Police Association”; P.A. 09-2 amended Subsec. (c)(2) to extend use of funds to specified tobacco prevention and enforcement positions, effective April 1, 2009; pursuant to P.A. 11-51, “Commissioner of Public Safety” and “Department of Public Safety” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection” and “Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection”, respectively, effective July 1, 2011.