84R8398 AJZ-D
By: Burton S.B. No. 1565
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to criminal asset forfeiture proceedings.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 59.02(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) Any property that is contraband other than property held
as evidence in a criminal investigation or a pending criminal case,
money, a negotiable instrument, or a security that is seized under
this chapter may be replevied by the owner or interest holder of the
property, on execution of a good and valid bond with sufficient
surety in a sum equal to the appraised value of the property
replevied. The bond may be approved as to form and substance by the
court after the court gives notice of the bond to the authority
holding the seized property. The bond must be conditioned on the
understanding [:
[(1) on return of the property to the custody of the
state on the day of hearing of the forfeiture proceedings; and
[(2)] that the interest holder or owner of the
property will abide by the decision that may be made in the cause.
SECTION 2. Article 59.04, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) The attorney representing the state who files a notice
of the seizure and intended forfeiture under Subsection (b) shall
file notice in the court with jurisdiction over the underlying
offense giving rise to the forfeiture.
SECTION 3. Article 59.05, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) On final conviction of the underlying offense giving
rise to the forfeiture, the court may order the forfeiture of the
property. If the court orders forfeiture of the property, the court
shall order the judgment of forfeiture executed on the date the
conviction is final and all appeals are exhausted or the date a
guilty plea is entered, as applicable. The court shall dismiss a
forfeiture proceeding on proof of a dismissal or acquittal of the
underlying offense.
SECTION 4. Articles 59.05(a), (b), (d), (e), (f), and (g),
Code of Criminal Procedure, are repealed.
SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act applies 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, 2015.