The bill does include some exceptions, such as for death, disappearance, deportations or abandoned property.

Jones said the "optics" for public perception goes along with the issue.

"The perception of the public that's being put out there is that we've got assets being seized and forfeited before there's a criminal conviction, and that is unAmerican and it's wrong, but it's, in my opinion, a perception," Jones said.

"But we can do things to fix that to show that in the war against drugs and drug abuse in North Dakota, we can make it so that everybody is assured that there is protections for private property and it's not going to be seized and forfeited without due process and without being justified."

Committee lawmakers pondered what Senate action or an initiated measure may mean for the reform. Rep. Kim Koppelman, R-West Fargo, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said the committee considered public perception and the reality of law enforcement from testimony.

"When you ask people, 'Should the government or the police, law enforcement officials, be able to take your property and keep it or sell and keep the money if you've not been convicted of a crime?', most people will say, 'Of course not,'" Koppelman said. "That's the first blush look at this issue."