An Act concerning criminal procedure; amending K.S.A. 22-2512 and repealing the existing section; also repealing K.S.A. 22-2512a.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:

Section 1. K.S.A. 22-2512 is hereby amended to read as follows: 22- 2512. (1) Property seized under a search warrant or validly seized without a warrant shall be safely kept by the officer seizing the same unless oth- erwise directed by the magistrate, and shall be so kept as long as necessary for the purpose of being produced as evidence on any trial. The property seized may not be taken from the officer having it in custody so long as it is or may be required as evidence in any trial. The officer seizing the property shall give a receipt to the person detained or arrested particularly describing each article of property being held and shall file a copy of such receipt with the magistrate before whom the person detained or arrested is taken. Where seized property is no longer required as evidence in the prosecution of any indictment or information, the court which has juris- diction of such property may transfer the same to the jurisdiction of any other court, including courts of another state or federal courts, where it is shown to the satisfaction of the court that such property is required as evidence in any prosecution in such other court.

(2) When property seized is no longer required as evidence, it shall be disposed of as follows:

(a) Property stolen, embezzled, obtained by false pretenses, or oth- erwise obtained unlawfully from the rightful owner thereof shall be re- stored to the owner;

(b) money shall be restored to the owner unless it was contained in a slot machine or otherwise used in unlawful gambling or lotteries, in which case it shall be forfeited, and shall be paid to the state treasurer pursuant to K.S.A. 20-2801, and amendments thereto;

(c) property which is unclaimed or the ownership of which is un- known shall be sold at public auction to be held by the sheriff and the proceeds, less the cost of sale and any storage charges incurred in pre- serving it, shall be paid to the state treasurer pursuant to K.S.A. 20-2801, and amendments thereto;

(d) articles of contraband shall be destroyed, except that any such articles the disposition of which is otherwise provided by law shall be dealt with as so provided and any such articles the disposition of which is not otherwise provided by law and which may be capable of innocent use may in the discretion of the court be sold and the proceeds disposed of as provided in subsection (2)(b);

(e) firearms, ammunition, explosives, bombs and like devices, which have been used in the commission of crime, may be returned to the rightful owner, or in the discretion of the court having jurisdiction of the property, destroyed or forfeited to the Kansas bureau of investigation as provided in K.S.A. 21-4206 and amendments thereto;

(f) controlled substances forfeited under the uniform controlled sub- stances act shall be dealt with as provided under K.S.A. 65-4135 60-4101 through 60-4126 and amendments thereto;

(g) unless otherwise provided by law, all other property shall be dis- posed of in such manner as the court in its sound discretion shall direct.

Sec. 2. K.S.A. 22-2512 and 22-2512a are hereby repealed.

Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its publication in the statute book.

Approved May 11, 1996.