{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-218a.420","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 218A.420","heading":"Procedure for disposal of seized and forfeited property -- Distribution of","body":"proceeds -- Administrative regulations on use of funds -- Adoption of policies\nfor seizure of forfeitable assets -- Asset-forfeiture training -- Vehicles -- Joint\noperations.\n(1) All property which is subject to forfeiture under this chapter shall be disposed of in\naccordance with this section.\n(2) All controlled substances which are seized and forfeited under this chapter shall be\nordered destroyed by the order of the trial court unless there is a legal use for them,\nin which case they may be sold to a proper buyer as determined by the Cabinet for\nHealth and Family Services by promulgated regulations. Property other than\ncontrolled substances may be destroyed on order of the trial court.\n(3) When property other than controlled substances is forfeited under this chapter and\nnot retained for official use, it may be sold for its cash value. Any sale shall be a\npublic sale advertised pursuant to KRS Chapter 424.\n(4) Coin, currency, or t he proceeds from the sale of property forfeited shall be\ndistributed as follows:\n(a) Eighty-five percent (85%) shall be paid to the law enforcement agency or\nagencies which seized the property, to be used for direct law enforcement\npurposes; and\n(b) Fifteen percent (15%) shall be paid to the Office of the Attorney General or, in\nthe alternative, the fifteen percent (15%) shall be paid to the Prosecutors\nAdvisory Council for deposit on behalf of the Commonwealth's attorney or\ncounty attorney who has particip ated in the forfeiture proceeding, as\ndetermined by the court pursuant to subsection (9) of this section.\nNotwithstanding KRS Chapter 48, these funds shall be exempt from any state\nbudget reduction acts.\nThe moneys identified in this subsection are intend ed to supplement any funds\notherwise appropriated to the recipient and shall not supplant other funding of any\nrecipient.\n(5) The Attorney General, after consultation with the Prosecutors Advisory Council,\nshall promulgate administrative regulations to est ablish the specific purposes for\nwhich these funds shall be expended.\n(6) Each state and local law enforcement agency that seizes property for the purpose of\nforfeiture under KRS 218A.410 shall, prior to receiving any forfeited property,\nadopt policies rel ating to the seizure, maintenance, storage, and care of property\npending forfeiture which are in compliance with or substantially comply with the\nmodel policy for seizure of forfeitable assets by law enforcement agencies published\nby the Department of Crim inal Justice Training. However, a state or local law\nenforcement agency may adopt policies that are more restrictive on the agency than\nthose contained in the model policy and that fairly and uniformly implement the\nprovisions of this chapter.\n(7) Each state or local law enforcement agency that seizes property for the purpose of\nforfeiture under KRS 218A.410 shall, prior to receiving forfeited property, have one\n(1) or more officers currently employed attend asset -forfeiture training approved by\nthe Kentucky Law Enforcement Council, which shall approve a curriculum of study\nfor asset-forfeiture training.\n(8) (a) Other provisions of this section notwithstanding and subject to the limitations\nof paragraph (b) of this subsection, any vehicle seized by a law enf orcement\nagency which is forfeited pursuant to this chapter may be retained by the\nseizing agency for official use or sold within its discretion. Proceeds from the\nsale shall remain with the agency. The moneys shall be utilized for purposes\nconsistent with  KRS 218A.405 to 218A.460. The seizing agency shall be\nrequired to pay any bona fide perfected security interest on any vehicle so\nforfeited.\n(b) Any vehicle seized by a law enforcement agency which is forfeited pursuant to\nthis chapter and which has been determined by a state or local law\nenforcement agency to be contaminated with methamphetamine as defined by\nKRS 218A.1431 shall not be used, resold, or salvaged for parts, but instead\nshall be destroyed or salvaged only for scrap metal. Any vehicle which i s\nforfeited pursuant to this chapter and has only transported prepackaged\nmaterials or products, precursors, or any other materials which have not been\nsubjected to extraction either directly or indirectly from substances of natural\norigin or independently by means of chemical synthesis, or by a combination\nof extraction and chemical synthesis extraction, shall not be deemed\ncontaminated with methamphetamine under this section.\n(9) When money or property is seized in a joint operation involving more than one (1)\nlaw enforcement agency or prosecutorial office, the apportionment of funds to each\npursuant to subsection (4) of this section shall be made among the agencies in a\nmanner to reflect the degree of participation of each agency in the law enforcement\neffort resulting in the forfeiture, taking into account the total value of all property\nforfeited and the total law enforcement effort with respect to the violation of law on\nwhich the forfeiture is based. The trial court shall determine the proper division and\ninclude the determination in the final order of forfeiture.","path":["KRS Chapter 218A"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=44572","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:52:31Z","sha256":"3a04e6a6dbf11d3642a39d7346fc7cb26f4db77521ea1c8b8850b9b9e351e147","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-218a.415","next":"us-ky/krs-218a.425"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}