Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB835 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	By: Stephenson H.B. No. 835
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the reporting and disposition of proceeds and property
7	7	from criminal asset forfeiture.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Articles 59.06(d-3) and (d-4), Code of Criminal
10	10	Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
11	11	(d-3) Except as otherwise provided by this article, an
12	12	expenditure of proceeds or property received under this chapter is
13	13	considered to be for a law enforcement purpose if the expenditure is
14	14	made for an activity of a law enforcement agency that relates to the
15	15	criminal and civil enforcement of the laws of this state, including
16	16	an expenditure made for:
17	17	(1) equipment, including vehicles, computers,
18	18	firearms, protective body armor, furniture, software, uniforms,
19	19	and maintenance equipment;
20	20	(2) supplies, including office supplies, mobile phone
21	21	and data account fees for employees, and Internet services;
22	22	(3) investigative and training-related travel
23	23	expenses, including payment for hotel rooms, airfare, meals, rental
24	24	of and fuel for a motor vehicle, and parking;
25	25	(4) conferences and training expenses, including fees
26	26	and materials;
27	27	(5) investigative costs, including payments to
28	28	informants and lab expenses;
29	29	(6) crime prevention and treatment programs;
30	30	(7) facility costs, including building purchase,
31	31	lease payments, remodeling and renovating, maintenance, and
32	32	utilities;
33	33	(8) witness-related costs, including travel and
34	34	security; and
35	35	(9) audit costs and fees, including:
36	36	(A) audit preparation and professional fees paid
37	37	to a person or entity under a contract or as otherwise authorized by
38	38	law; and
39	39	(B) costs of preparing any reports required to be
40	40	submitted with the audit form to the attorney general.
41	41	(d-4) Except as otherwise provided by this article, an
42	42	expenditure of proceeds or property received under this chapter is
43	43	considered to be for an official purpose of an attorney's office if
44	44	the expenditure is made for an activity of an attorney or office of
45	45	an attorney representing the state that relates to the
46	46	preservation, enforcement, or administration of the laws of this
47	47	state, including an expenditure made for:
48	48	(1) equipment, including vehicles, computers, visual
49	49	aid equipment for litigation, firearms, body armor, furniture,
50	50	software, and uniforms;
51	51	(2) supplies, including office supplies, legal
52	52	library supplies and access fees, mobile phone and data account
53	53	fees for employees, and Internet services;
54	54	(3) prosecution and training-related travel expenses,
55	55	including payment for hotel rooms, airfare, meals, rental of and
56	56	fuel for a motor vehicle, and parking;
57	57	(4) conferences and training expenses, including fees
58	58	and materials;
59	59	(5) investigative costs, including payments to
60	60	informants and lab expenses;
61	61	(6) crime prevention and treatment programs;
62	62	(7) facility costs, including building purchase,
63	63	lease payments, remodeling and renovating, maintenance, and
64	64	utilities;
65	65	(8) legal fees, including court costs and[,] witness
66	66	fees[,] and other witness-related [related] costs such as[,
67	67	including] travel and security[, audit costs, and professional
68	68	fees]; [and]
69	69	(9) state bar and legal association dues; and
70	70	(10) audit costs and fees, including:
71	71	(A) audit preparation and professional fees paid
72	72	to a person or entity under a contract or as otherwise authorized by
73	73	law; and
74	74	(B) costs of preparing any reports required to be
75	75	submitted with the audit form to the attorney general.
76	76	SECTION 2. Article 59.06(g)(1), Code of Criminal Procedure,
77	77	is amended to read as follows:
78	78	(1) All law enforcement agencies and attorneys
79	79	representing the state who receive proceeds or property under this
80	80	chapter shall account for the seizure, forfeiture, receipt, and
81	81	specific expenditure of all the proceeds and property in an audit,
82	82	which is to be performed annually by the commissioners court or
83	83	governing body of a municipality, as appropriate. The annual
84	84	period of the audit for a law enforcement agency is the fiscal year
85	85	of the appropriate county or municipality and the annual period for
86	86	an attorney representing the state is the state fiscal year. The
87	87	audit must be completed on a form provided by the attorney general
88	88	and must include a detailed report and explanation of all
89	89	expenditures, including salaries and overtime pay, officer
90	90	training, investigative equipment and supplies, and other items.
91	91	The audit must also include a detailed report that itemizes all
92	92	seizures of proceeds or property under this chapter and that
93	93	indicates the specific criminal offense on which each seizure was
94	94	based and, if charges were brought in connection with the offense,
95	95	the disposition of those charges. Certified copies of the audit
96	96	shall be delivered by the law enforcement agency or attorney
97	97	representing the state to the attorney general not later than the
98	98	60th day after the date on which the annual period that is the
99	99	subject of the audit ends.
100	100	SECTION 3. Article 59.06(m), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
101	101	repealed.
102	102	SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act in amending
103	103	Article 59.06(g)(1), Code of Criminal Procedure, apply to any audit
104	104	performed under that subsection on or after the effective date of
105	105	this Act.
106	106	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.