By: Stephenson H.B. No. 835
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the reporting and disposition of proceeds and property
from criminal asset forfeiture.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Articles 59.06(d-3) and (d-4), Code of Criminal
Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
(d-3) Except as otherwise provided by this article, an
expenditure of proceeds or property received under this chapter is
considered to be for a law enforcement purpose if the expenditure is
made for an activity of a law enforcement agency that relates to the
criminal and civil enforcement of the laws of this state, including
an expenditure made for:
(1) equipment, including vehicles, computers,
firearms, protective body armor, furniture, software, uniforms,
and maintenance equipment;
(2) supplies, including office supplies, mobile phone
and data account fees for employees, and Internet services;
(3) investigative and training-related travel
expenses, including payment for hotel rooms, airfare, meals, rental
of and fuel for a motor vehicle, and parking;
(4) conferences and training expenses, including fees
and materials;
(5) investigative costs, including payments to
informants and lab expenses;
(6) crime prevention and treatment programs;
(7) facility costs, including building purchase,
lease payments, remodeling and renovating, maintenance, and
utilities;
(8) witness-related costs, including travel and
security; and
(9) audit costs and fees, including:
(A) audit preparation and professional fees paid
to a person or entity under a contract or as otherwise authorized by
law; and
(B) costs of preparing any reports required to be
submitted with the audit form to the attorney general.
(d-4) Except as otherwise provided by this article, an
expenditure of proceeds or property received under this chapter is
considered to be for an official purpose of an attorney's office if
the expenditure is made for an activity of an attorney or office of
an attorney representing the state that relates to the
preservation, enforcement, or administration of the laws of this
state, including an expenditure made for:
(1) equipment, including vehicles, computers, visual
aid equipment for litigation, firearms, body armor, furniture,
software, and uniforms;
(2) supplies, including office supplies, legal
library supplies and access fees, mobile phone and data account
fees for employees, and Internet services;
(3) prosecution and training-related travel expenses,
including payment for hotel rooms, airfare, meals, rental of and
fuel for a motor vehicle, and parking;
(4) conferences and training expenses, including fees
and materials;
(5) investigative costs, including payments to
informants and lab expenses;
(6) crime prevention and treatment programs;
(7) facility costs, including building purchase,
lease payments, remodeling and renovating, maintenance, and
utilities;
(8) legal fees, including court costs and[,] witness
fees[,] and other witness-related [related] costs such as[,
including] travel and security[, audit costs, and professional
fees]; [and]
(9) state bar and legal association dues; and
(10) audit costs and fees, including:
(A) audit preparation and professional fees paid
to a person or entity under a contract or as otherwise authorized by
law; and
(B) costs of preparing any reports required to be
submitted with the audit form to the attorney general.
SECTION 2. Article 59.06(g)(1), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(1) All law enforcement agencies and attorneys
representing the state who receive proceeds or property under this
chapter shall account for the seizure, forfeiture, receipt, and
specific expenditure of all the proceeds and property in an audit,
which is to be performed annually by the commissioners court or
governing body of a municipality, as appropriate. The annual
period of the audit for a law enforcement agency is the fiscal year
of the appropriate county or municipality and the annual period for
an attorney representing the state is the state fiscal year. The
audit must be completed on a form provided by the attorney general
and must include a detailed report and explanation of all
expenditures, including salaries and overtime pay, officer
training, investigative equipment and supplies, and other items.
The audit must also include a detailed report that itemizes all
seizures of proceeds or property under this chapter and that
indicates the specific criminal offense on which each seizure was
based and, if charges were brought in connection with the offense,
the disposition of those charges. Certified copies of the audit
shall be delivered by the law enforcement agency or attorney
representing the state to the attorney general not later than the
60th day after the date on which the annual period that is the
subject of the audit ends.
SECTION 3. Article 59.06(m), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
repealed.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act in amending
Article 59.06(g)(1), Code of Criminal Procedure, apply to any audit
performed under that subsection on or after the effective date of
this Act.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.