“We don’t care who gets the money as long as it doesn’t go back to the drug dealer,” he said, adding that his boss also questions the constitutionality of the amended bill.

The Omaha Police Department and police union officials, along with some prosecutors, also oppose the bill, as does Douglas County Sheriff Tim Dunning. A provision of the bill requires that seized assets of less than $50,000 go through a state process that splits the cash between public school funding and law enforcement drug education efforts. That could hurt the budgets of some agencies.

Many agencies prefer working with federal authorities on civil asset forfeiture because the local agencies get to keep 80 percent of the seized funds, which they typically use for equipment and specialized training.

The controversial practice has turned into a source of significant funding for law enforcement agencies in the state. The ACLU of Nebraska reported last year that agencies confiscated $42.6 million in civil forfeiture funds between 2004 and 2014.

Reforming asset forfeiture has become a popular issue for some conservatives and civil libertarians. Monday’s vote had strong support from conservatives in the Legislature.