SB 718: Terrorism: civil action.

Existing law provides that every person has, subject to the qualifications and restrictions provided by law, the right of protection from bodily harm, and from injury to his or her personal relations. Existing law authorizes the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board to compensate a victim of a crime from the Restitution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, for pecuniary loss incurred as a direct result of the crime, when the board determines it will best aid the person seeking compensation. Existing law subjects certain property to forfeiture, such as controlled substances and equipment used to process controlled substances. Existing law allows peace officers, under specified circumstances, to seize property that is subject to forfeiture. Existing law authorizes specified public agencies to bring an action to recover expenses of seizing, eradicating, destroying, or taking remedial action with respect to any controlled substance. Existing law requires seized property or the proceeds from the sale of that property to be distributed among specified entities.

This bill would subject property used in the course of, intended for use in the course of, derived from, or realized through an act of terrorism, by a person or entity who committed, who aided a person or entity to commit, or who coerced, induced, or solicited a person or entity to commit an act of terrorism to civil forfeiture. The bill would specify the circumstances under which property subject to civil forfeiture may be seized by a law enforcement officer. The bill would authorize a person who is injured by an act of terrorism, and a law enforcement agency or other governmental agency that participated in the investigation, mitigation, seizure, or forfeiture process for an act of terrorism, to file a claim to recover damages and costs, and prioritize allocation of the proceeds of the civil forfeiture and disposition, as specified.

This bill would also authorize a person who is injured by an act of terrorism, as defined, to bring an action to recover damages against a person or entity who committed the act of terrorism, aided the person or entity to commit the act or terrorism, or coerced, induced, or solicited the person or entity to commit the act of terrorism. The bill would provide that the amount awarded may be up to 3 times the damages actually incurred, but in no event less than $10,000.

This bill would permit a civil forfeiture proceeding or civil action under this section to be commenced at any time within 5 years after the act of terrorism occurred, and would toll the time for commencement of a civil action during the pendency of a criminal prosecution.