(a) There is hereby created and established within the Treasury of the City of Los Angeles a special trust fund to be known as the “California State Asset Forfeiture Fund” (the “Fund”).
(b) All money received by the Police Department pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Section 11489, and any State court ordered asset forfeitures, shall be deposited into the Fund. All interest earnings of the Fund shall remain in the Fund to be used for the purposes of the Fund. All proceeds from the sale of personal property received attributable to the Fund pursuant to Section 7.86 of this Code shall be credited to the Fund. The Fund shall be administered by the Chief of Police.
(c) Standard accounting procedures and internal controls shall be established and implemented to provide for the tracking of all transactions regarding the money in the Fund. An annual financial audit and an annual certification report shall be prepared by the Chief of Police within 60 days of the end of the City’s fiscal year. The Mayor and the Chief of Police shall also be responsible for signing any sharing agreements, certification reports or other documents required by the federal or state government concerning the distribution and use of forfeited assets.
(d) No appropriation or expenditure shall be made from the Fund except for the purposes authorized under California Health and Safety Code Section 11489, and any equipment acquired thereby or otherwise through said statutory provisions shall be accounted for as required by Sections 7.84, 7.85 and 7.88 of this Code.
(e) Subject to Subsection (g) of this section, the use of the Fund shall be authorized and approved by a majority vote of the City Council, subject to the approval of the Mayor, or passage by the Council over the Mayor’s veto by a two-thirds vote. Money in the Fund shall be used for law enforcement purposes only, in accordance with State laws and guidelines.
(f) The Controller is hereby authorized to establish within the Fund a STATE SET-ASIDE ACCOUNT (the “Account”), into which shall be deposited 15% of the funds received by the Police Department pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Section 11489. Money in the Account shall be used for the sole purpose of funding programs designed to combat drug abuse and divert gang activity in accordance with State laws and guidelines. Money in the Account shall not be used to supplant any state or City funds that would otherwise be made available to such programs.
(g) The Controller is hereby authorized to establish within the Fund a SUPPLEMENTAL POLICE ACCOUNT (the “SPA”) in an amount as Council shall appropriate; provided, however, that the amounts appropriated for the supplemental police accounts in the U.S. Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Fund, U.S. Treasury Asset Forfeiture Fund, and California State Asset Forfeiture Fund shall not exceed $1,500,000 total. Notwithstanding Subsection (e) of this section, the SPA shall be administered and expenditures therefrom authorized by the Chief of Police. No expenditures shall be made from the SPA, nor shall the Chief of Police disburse, seek to disburse or permit any funds in said account to be disbursed except for purposes that are consistent with Subsection (e) of this section and with a detailed plan for expenditures which has been approved upon a majority vote of the City Council, subject to the approval of the Mayor, or passage by the Council over the Mayor’s veto by a two-thirds vote.
With the approval of the Board of Police Commissioners (the “Board”), the Chief of Police shall request City Council appropriation of money from the Fund to the SPA. Such Board approved requests shall be submitted concurrently to the Public Safety Committee, and to the Budget and Finance Committee of the City Council for their recommendations to the City Council. The requests shall be accompanied by a proposed amended SPA expenditure plan for the requested appropriation. The Chief of Police shall concurrently submit to the Board, to the City Controller and to the City Council quarterly, a detailed account showing amounts and general purposes for which SPA money has been disbursed. So far as possible consistent with the public safety, such report shall specify each such disbursement of SPA money, and the investigation of causes involved.
(h) The Chief of Police may draw demands from the SPA as required, and upon receipt of said monies shall thereafter safely keep, use and expend them for purposes consistent with those designated in the plan submitted pursuant to Subsection (f) of this section. It shall be sufficient in drawing demands on the SPA to designate the purpose thereof as “For supplemental police operations”. The Controller may audit any such demand or warrant and the City Treasurer may pay the same without further specification as to object.
(i) When, in the opinion of the Chief of Police, the public interest would suffer by the disclosure of the name of any person to whom any sum or sums were paid or advanced, or the cause for which the same was expended or advanced, such record shall be maintained confidential in the public interest. For accounting purposes, the Chief of Police may indicate the name of such person or describe the police operation by an appropriate key or symbol. The Chief of Police shall not be compelled to disclose the identity of such operative or operation to any officer or person except to the Board of Police Commissioners, the City Controller, or the Chairperson of the Public Safety Committee of the City Council, or the Chairperson of the Budget and Finance Committee of the City Council, on their written request; and any disclosures made as required hereunder shall be maintained confidential by the City Controller, Board, or Chairperson of the Public Safety Committee of the City Council or the Chairperson of the Budget and Finance Committee of the City Council.
(j) Any person, other than a regular employee of the City of Los Angeles, who for a consideration or otherwise furnishes special information to the Department of Police in individual instances or for limited periods, shall not be deemed to be an employee of this City for any purpose. No such person paid by the Chief of Police from the SPA for information related to the detection of crime shall have any right to Worker’s Compensation, leave, vacation, or retirement, or any other emolument, right or privilege of employees of the City.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 173,345, Eff. 7-14-00, Oper. 7-1-00.