California could be the next state to pass limits on civil asset forfeiture, the practice whereby law enforcement can seize property from citizens without charging them with a crime--and keep the profits.

Although California state law already has some restrictions on forfeiture, law enforcement can often skirt these regulations by operating under the federal Equitable Sharing program, which allows them to keep the majority of what they seize.

On Tuesday, the LA Times reported, state lawmakers debated a bipartisan proposal which would require a conviction in order for police to keep what they seize. It would also block them from operating under the federal program, and narrow the percentage of proceeds agencies can keep.

According to Reason, the bill allows agencies to keep 40 percent of forfeitures, and places 34 percent into a “State Asset Forfeiture Fund” which would later be divided among agencies according to population.

The bill is sponsored by state Sen. Holly J. Mitchell, a Democrat, and Assemblyman David Hadley, a Republican .

"There's too much injustice that's been carried out under the banner of the drug war, of getting the bad guys, which we all want to do," Hadley told the Times. "The bottom line is we shouldn't have law enforcement being paid on commission any more than we should have IRS agents paid on commission.”

"I think folks are using this as a budget augmentation strategy," Mitchell said.

Police are strongly opposed to cutting asset forfeiture programs, protesting that their budgets will be slashed without the revenue.

A push for civil asset forfeiture reform has been sweeping the country, following a series of investigations revealing how the practice is often abused to pad police budgets and take money from innocent citizens, whose property is treated guilty until proven innocent.

Earlier this year, the Drug Policy Alliance published a damning report on a cluster of cities within L.A. county which were seizing disproportionate amounts of cash and valuables. They found these cities had been using the federal Equitable Sharing program to avoid local restrictions. Between 2005 and 2013, California's revenue from state seizures remained constant, while their revenue from the federal program more than tripled.