By: Whitmire S.B. No. 367
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the disposition of abandoned or unclaimed property
seized at the time of certain arrests.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 18.17, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsections (d-1) and (d-2) to read as follows:
(d-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d), if
property described by Subsection (a), other than money, is seized
by a peace officer at the time the owner of the property is arrested
for a misdemeanor offense, the peace officer may provide notice to
the owner at the time the owner is released from custody. The
notice must:
(1) be signed by the owner on receipt;
(2) describe the property being held;
(3) state the name and address of the officer holding
the property; and
(4) state that if the owner does not claim the property
before the 31st day after the date the owner signs the notice, the
property will be disposed of and the proceeds of the property, after
deducting the reasonable expense of keeping and disposing of the
property, will be placed in the treasury of the municipality or
county providing the notice.
(d-2) If the property for which notice is provided under
Subsection (d-1) is not claimed by the owner before the 31st day
after the date the owner signed the notice, the peace officer shall
deliver the property for disposition to a person designated by the
municipality or to the purchasing agent or sheriff of the county in
which the property was seized, as applicable. The person
designated by the municipality, the purchasing agent, or the
sheriff may sell or donate the property without mailing or
publishing an additional notice as required by Subsection (b), (c),
or (d). The sale proceeds, after deducting the reasonable expense
of keeping and disposing of the property, must be deposited in the
treasury of the municipality or county disposing of the property.
SECTION 2. Article 18.17, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
amended by this Act, applies to personal property seized or taken
into custody on or after the effective date of this Act. Personal
property seized or taken into custody before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the property is
seized or taken into custody, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2013.