Bill Text: TX HB3659 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Relating to civil asset forfeiture proceedings, to the seizure and forfeiture of certain property, and to the reporting and disposition of proceeds and property from civil asset forfeiture.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-05-17 - Referred to State Affairs [HB3659 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB3659-Engrossed.html

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88R19298 AJZ-D
By: Hefner, Moody, Cook, Slawson, Ordaz H.B. No. 3659

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to civil asset forfeiture proceedings, to the seizure and
forfeiture of certain property, and to the reporting and
disposition of proceeds and property from civil asset forfeiture.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 59.02, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
read as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (a-1),
property [Property] that is contraband is subject to seizure and
forfeiture under this chapter.
(a-1)(1) Property that is contraband is not subject to
seizure and forfeiture under this chapter if the property:
(A) is not otherwise unlawful to possess; and
(B) has an aggregate value of less than $2,500.
(2) For purposes of determining the aggregate value of
contraband under Subdivision (1), the owner or interest holder is
not required to have simultaneously owned or had an interest in all
of the property constituting contraband.
(3) Subdivision (1) does not apply to money that is
used by law enforcement during an undercover criminal investigation
of an offense under Subchapter D, Chapter 481, Health and Safety
Code.
SECTION 2. Article 59.021(d), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(d) After seizure of the substitute property, the
disposition shall proceed as other cases in this chapter except
that the attorney representing the state must prove by clear and
convincing [a preponderance of the] evidence:
(1) that the contraband described by Subsection (b)
was subject to seizure and forfeiture under this chapter;
(2) the highest fair market value of that contraband
during the period in which the owner of the substitute property
owned, or had an interest in, the contraband;
(3) the fair market value of the substitute property
at the time it was seized; and
(4) that the owner of the substitute property owned or
had an interest in contraband with an aggregate value of $200,000 or
more in connection with the commission of an underlying offense
giving rise to the forfeiture.
SECTION 3. Article 59.05(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) All cases under this chapter shall proceed to trial in
the same manner as in other civil cases. The state has the burden of
proving by clear and convincing [a preponderance of the] evidence
that property is subject to forfeiture.
SECTION 4. Chapter 59, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 59.063 to read as follows:
Art. 59.063. UNIFORM REPORTING REQUIREMENT FOR LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. (a) A law enforcement agency engaged in the
seizure, forfeiture, receipt, or expenditure of proceeds and
property under this chapter shall submit a monthly report to the
attorney general's office. The monthly report must:
(1) include all of the information required by the
audit under Article 59.06(g)(1); and
(2) specify the number of seizures challenged or not
challenged by an owner or interest holder of the property.
(b) Each law enforcement agency shall file the report
described by Subsection (a) covering the seizure, forfeiture,
receipt, or expenditure of proceeds and property under this chapter
by the agency during the preceding month. An agency that did not
engage in a seizure or forfeiture during the reporting period must
indicate that fact in the report.
(c) The attorney general's office shall adopt a standard
form for the submission of a report under this section.
(d) Subject to Subsection (e), the attorney general's
office shall publish on the office's Internet website a monthly
report that includes each agency's specific information submitted
to the office under this section. The report must also aggregate the
information by law enforcement agency and include the total value
of proceeds and property seized by all law enforcement agencies
during the reporting period.
(e) The attorney general's report under Subsection (d) and
the Internet website may not include:
(1) the name, address, contact information, or other
identifying information of an owner or interest holder of the
seized or forfeited property or of another individual or entity
involved in the forfeiture proceeding; or
(2) the location, vehicle identification number, or
serial number of any seized or forfeited property.
SECTION 5. Articles 59.02, 59.021, and 59.05, Code of
Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, apply only to a
forfeiture proceeding that begins on or after the effective date of
this Act. A forfeiture proceeding that begins before the effective
date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
proceeding begins, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.