Sponsor
Andrew S. Biggs
Representative · R-AZ
Representative · R-AZ
Official title: To prohibit the use of forfeited funds made available to certain State or local law enforcement agencies pursuant to equitable sharing for certain purposes.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Andrew S. Biggs · Last progress January 3, 2025
The bill protects top federal officials and candidates from prosecutions funded by federal equitable-sharing, reducing politically motivated prosecutions but at the cost of limiting local investigative tools and creating potential accountability gaps and federal leverage over local policing resources.
State and local agencies that receive federal equitable-sharing funds are subject to a uniform federal rule that aims to limit politicized local prosecutions by conditioning those funds on compliance.
Presidents, Vice Presidents, former Presidents/Vice Presidents, and presidential candidates cannot be investigated or prosecuted using federal equitable-sharing funds, reducing the risk of politically motivated prosecutions of top federal officials and candidates.
The restriction on using equitable-sharing funds to investigate or prosecute high-level federal officials or candidates can limit state and local law enforcement’s ability to pursue allegations against those individuals and create accountability gaps if agencies lack alternative funding.
Giving the Attorney General discretion to withhold forfeited assets creates a potential leverage point over local agencies and could reduce local policing resources if assets are withheld.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Conditions federal equitable‑sharing transfers by barring use of those seized assets to investigate or prosecute Presidents, Vice Presidents, former holders of those offices, or presidential candidates and requires certification to DOJ.
Prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies that receive federal equitable-sharing proceeds or property from using those assets to investigate or prosecute the President, Vice President, former Presidents or Vice Presidents, or any candidate for President. Agencies must certify compliance to the Attorney General, and the Attorney General may withhold future equitable-sharing transfers from agencies that fail to comply.