The Wyoming Senate voted not to override Governor Matt Mead’s veto of a bill dealing with when law enforcement can seize property in a drug case.
Currently, money or property can be seized without someone being charged with a crime. The bill would have required someone to be convicted of a felony before property could be seized.
Senator Leland Christensen says it was about protecting personal property. He added that the current standard is too low.
“A seed of a scrap of marijuana, suspicious behavior, nervousness…etc. That has been presented as the civil standard.”
Senator Tony Ross says the overriding a veto is a big step and he urged Senators to improve the bill in future years.
“It’s not the last time we are going to see this bill, we will see it again and I assure you it will come back better. It will come back better with all of the concerns written into it at that time.”
Mead says he vetoed the bill because he believes the current system helps fight drug crimes.
