Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield today released the following statement upon civil asset forfeiture reforms being signed into law:

“In America, you are innocent until proven guilty. That phrase means something. It is a strong, consistent, and reliable foundation for our justice system and something that sets our nation apart from many others around the world.  It is an ideal we should fight hard to uphold and strengthen, and it is something the people who sent us to the Capitol expect us to fix.

“That is why civil asset forfeiture reform was the first bill we introduced this year in the state House and why it is now one of the first priorities done and signed into law.”