In May, the Senate Judiciary committee approved legislation expanding law enforcement authority to seize and forfeit any money or property they believed was derived from the proceeds of prostitution. The ACLU testified that the legislation was counter-productive, and would further entrap women and men engaging in prostitution in the dire economic straits that so often motivate them to engage in prostitution in the first place. Existing forfeiture laws place a burden on law enforcement so low that they do not even have to arrest, much less convict, the person for prostitution before seizing their property. The Senate Judiciary committee recommended passage of the legislation, but thanks largely to objections from Senators Gayle Goldin and Catherine Cool Rumsey, it was never brought up for a full Senate vote.
