PUBLIC LAW 98-473—OCT. 12, 1984
98 STAT. 2055
"(b) There shall be deposited in the fund all proceeds from the sale or other disposition of property forfeited under, and any currency or monetary instruments seized and forfeited under, the laws enforced or administered by the United States Customs Service. "(c) Amounts in the fund which are not currently needed for the purposes of this section shall be kept on deposit or invested in obligations of, or guaranteed by, the United States. "(d) The Commissioner of Customs shall transmit to the Congress, not later than four months after the end of each fiscal year a detailed report on the amounts deposited in the fund and a description of expenditures made under this section. "(e) The provisions of this section relating to deposits in the fund shall apply to all property in the custody of the United States Customs Service on or after the effective date of the Comprehensive Forfeiture Act of 1983. "(f) For the purposes described in subsection (a), there are authorized to be appropriated from the fund for fiscal year 1984 not more than $10,000,000, for fiscal year 1985 not more than $15,000,000, for fiscal year 1986, not more than $20,000,000, and for fiscal year 1987 not more than $20,000,000. Amounts in the fund in excess of the amounts appropriated at the end of each fiscal year shall be deposited in the General Fund of the Treasury of the United States. At the end of the last fiscal year for which appropriations from the fund are authorized by this Act, the fund shall cease to exist and any amount then remaining in the fund shall be deposited in the General Fund of the Treasury of the United States.". SEC. 318. A new section 616 is added to the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1616) to read as follows: "§ 616. Disposition of forfeited property "(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, the Commissioner is authorized to retain forfeited property, or to transfer such property on such terms and conditions as he may determine to— "(1) any other Federal agency; or "(2) any State or local law enforcement agency which participated directly in any of the acts which led to the seizure or forfeiture of the property. The Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure the equitable transfer pursuant to paragraph (2) of any forfeited property to the appropriate State or local law enforcement agency so as to reflect generally the contribution of any such agency participating directly in any of the acts which led to the seizure or forfeiture of such property. A decision by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (2) shall not be subject to review. The United States shall not be liable in any action arising out of the use of any property the custody of which was transferred pursuant to this section to any non-Federal agency. "(b) The Secretary of the Treasury may order the discontinuance of any forfeiture proceedings under this Act in favor of the institution of forfeiture proceedings by State or local authorities under an appropriate State or local statute. After the filing of a complaint for forfeiture under this Act, the Attorney General may seek dismissal of the complaint in favor of forfeiture proceedings under State or local law. "(c) Whenever forfeiture proceedings are discontinued by the United States in favor of State or local proceedings, the United States may transfer custody and possession of the seized property to
Report.
Appropriation authorization.
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