LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska senators say the federal process law enforcement agencies use to seize property from people suspected of crimes is robbing schools of valuable funding.

Lawmakers voted 36-0 Monday to advance a bill by Sen. Tommy Garrett of Bellevue to reform Nebraska’s civil forfeiture laws.

Current law allows schools to collect half of the forfeited money, while state law enforcement gets the other half. But if assets are seized through the federal forfeiture process, the local police agency gets back up to 80 percent of the money seized.

Garrett says law enforcement chooses the federal process because it’s easier and has a better payout.

Garrett’s measure would prohibit law enforcement from using the federal process unless the money seized is more than $50,000.