The Michigan House passed a pair of bills to make significant changes to the civil asset forfeiture process this week, joining the Senate in supporting convictions prior to permanent property seizure in most cases.

The legislation, House Bills 4001 and 4002, both passed the House 107-3 on Thursday. Sponsored by Reps. Jason Wentworth, R-Clare, and David LaGrand, D-Grand Rapids, the bills would require a criminal conviction or plea prior to permanent seizure of cash or property worth less than $50,000. Exemptions include instances where no one puts a claim on the property, a defendant is out of state or can’t be located or the owner forfeits the property.

A conviction would not be required to confiscate illegal property or property deemed “dangerous to the health or safety of the public.”

Both the House and Senate have now passed versions of bills requiring convictions for permanent property seizure valued under $50,000. Senate Bill 2, sponsored by Senate Bill 2, sponsored by Sen. Peter Lucido, R-Shelby Twp., passed the Senate Feb. 13 and cleared the House Judiciary Committee this week.

There are some differences between the two versions, meaning House and Senate leaders will likely conference on the issue before either makes it to the governor’s desk. House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, said there’s no timetable on how long that might take, but expressed confidence lawmakers would “find a way to rectify our differences and ensure that the people that we serve have their constitutional rights protected.”

Wentworth said he was confident a compromise would be reached: “We just want to get this done for the citizens of Michigan," he said.

“I’m proud to see the House stand together in a bipartisan fashion and really support and protect and safeguard our citizens’ due rights of process," Wentworth said.

LaGrand said in a statement that he’s been on both sides of asset forfeiture litigation as an assistant prosecutor and defense attorney, and has “seen firsthand that many citizens facing asset forfeiture are confused and lack the resources to defend themselves.”

“This bipartisan plan allows police to continue to go after large criminal organizations, while making sure innocent people have full access to justice," he said.

In 2017, more than $13.1 million in cash and property was forfeited to Michigan law enforcement agencies, according to the Michigan State Police’s Asset Forfeiture Report.

Attorney General Dana Nessel has said she supports the concept overall, and testified before the House Judiciary Committee to suggest a few changes to the bills and stress the importance of preventing property destruction during ongoing investigations.

“I think that once we have some reforms in civil asset forfeiture, frankly, Michigan will be a more fair place for all our state residents to live,” Nessel told the committee last week.

The legislation has support from an array of both right- and left-leaning groups, but the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police opposed the bills at the committee level, arguing the current forfeiture process helps law enforcement deal with large-scale drug crimes and that it already gives citizens the option to defend their property rights.