H.F. 2138 Section 1. Section 809A.17, subsection 5, paragraph b, Code 1 2026, is amended to read as follows: 2 b. (1) Forfeited property which is a weapon or ammunition 3 shall be deposited with the department of public safety 4 to be disposed of in accordance with the rules of the 5 department. All weapons or ammunition may be held for use in 6 law enforcement, testing, or comparison by the criminalistics 7 laboratory, or destroyed. Ammunition and firearms which are 8 not illegal and are not offensive weapons as defined by section 9 724.1 may be sold by the department as provided in section 10 809.21 , or, upon application and in accordance with department 11 rules, be released to a law enforcement agency . 12 (2) The department of public safety shall conduct an audit 13 annually of all forfeited weapons received under subparagraph 14 (1), including documentation of the use and location of each 15 weapon. 16 EXPLANATION 17 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 18 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 19 This bill relates to the use of and reporting requirements 20 related to forfeited weapons. 21 Under current law, weapons possessed, used, or available for 22 use during a public offense that is a serious or aggravated 23 misdemeanor or felony are subject to forfeiture. Weapons and 24 ammunition seized by a law enforcement officer for forfeiture 25 are deposited with the department of public safety. The bill 26 allows forfeited ammunition and weapons to be relinquished to a 27 law enforcement agency upon application in accordance with the 28 rules of the department of public safety. 29 The bill requires the department of public safety to conduct 30 an annual audit of all forfeited weapons received by the 31 department. 32 -1- LSB 5145YH (2) 91 lh/jh 1/ 1