By: Canales H.B. No. 3415
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the award of court costs, storage fees, and attorney's
fees in a criminal asset forfeiture proceeding.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 59.05, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
(h) Notwithstanding any other law, on dismissal of a
forfeiture proceeding under this chapter, or on the court's
determination that the property or an interest in the property is
not subject to forfeiture under this chapter, the court shall
enter
an order requiring the law enforcement agency responsible for
seizing the property to reimburse the applicable owner or interest
holder for court costs, storage fees, and reasonable attorney's
fees. If possible, notwithstanding the purposes for which the money
must be used under the law, the agency shall make the payment out of
money available in the applicable fund established for the agency
under Article 59.06(c)(2), (3), or (4).
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to property subject to forfeiture on the basis of an offense
committed on or after the effective date of this Act. Property
subject to forfeiture on the basis of an offense committed before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued
in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense
was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element
of the offense occurred before that date.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.