Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB481 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R1696 AJZ-D
2	2	By: Burton S.B. No. 481
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the reporting and disposition of proceeds and property
8	8	from asset forfeiture proceedings under the Code of Criminal
9	9	Procedure.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Articles 59.06(d-3) and (d-4), Code of Criminal
12	12	Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
13	13	(d-3) Except as otherwise provided by this article, an
14	14	expenditure of proceeds or property received under this chapter is
15	15	considered to be for a law enforcement purpose if the expenditure is
16	16	made for an activity of a law enforcement agency that relates to the
17	17	criminal and civil enforcement of the laws of this state, including
18	18	an expenditure made for:
19	19	(1) equipment, including vehicles, computers,
20	20	firearms, protective body armor, furniture, software, uniforms,
21	21	and maintenance equipment;
22	22	(2) supplies, including office supplies, mobile phone
23	23	and data account fees for employees, and Internet services;
24	24	(3) investigative and training-related travel
25	25	expenses, including payment for hotel rooms, airfare, meals, rental
26	26	of and fuel for a motor vehicle, and parking;
27	27	(4) conferences and training expenses, including fees
28	28	and materials;
29	29	(5) investigative costs, including payments to
30	30	informants and lab expenses;
31	31	(6) crime prevention and treatment programs;
32	32	(7) facility costs, including building purchase,
33	33	lease payments, remodeling and renovating, maintenance, and
34	34	utilities;
35	35	(8) witness-related costs, including travel and
36	36	security; and
37	37	(9) audit costs and fees, including:
38	38	(A) audit preparation and professional fees paid
39	39	to a person or entity under a contract or as otherwise authorized by
40	40	law; and
41	41	(B) costs of preparing any reports required to be
42	42	submitted with the audit form to the attorney general.
43	43	(d-4) Except as otherwise provided by this article, an
44	44	expenditure of proceeds or property received under this chapter is
45	45	considered to be for an official purpose of an attorney's office if
46	46	the expenditure is made for an activity of an attorney or office of
47	47	an attorney representing the state that relates to the
48	48	preservation, enforcement, or administration of the laws of this
49	49	state, including an expenditure made for:
50	50	(1) equipment, including vehicles, computers, visual
51	51	aid equipment for litigation, firearms, body armor, furniture,
52	52	software, and uniforms;
53	53	(2) supplies, including office supplies, legal
54	54	library supplies and access fees, mobile phone and data account
55	55	fees for employees, and Internet services;
56	56	(3) prosecution and training-related travel expenses,
57	57	including payment for hotel rooms, airfare, meals, rental of and
58	58	fuel for a motor vehicle, and parking;
59	59	(4) conferences and training expenses, including fees
60	60	and materials;
61	61	(5) investigative costs, including payments to
62	62	informants and lab expenses;
63	63	(6) crime prevention and treatment programs;
64	64	(7) facility costs, including building purchase,
65	65	lease payments, remodeling and renovating, maintenance, and
66	66	utilities;
67	67	(8) legal fees, including court costs and[,] witness
68	68	fees[,] and other witness-related [related] costs such as[,
69	69	including] travel and security[, audit costs, and professional
70	70	fees]; [and]
71	71	(9) state bar and legal association dues; and
72	72	(10) audit costs and fees, including:
73	73	(A) audit preparation and professional fees paid
74	74	to a person or entity under a contract or as otherwise authorized by
75	75	law; and
76	76	(B) costs of preparing any reports required to be
77	77	submitted with the audit form to the attorney general.
78	78	SECTION 2. Article 59.06(g)(1), Code of Criminal Procedure,
79	79	is amended to read as follows:
80	80	(1) All law enforcement agencies and attorneys
81	81	representing the state who receive proceeds or property under this
82	82	chapter shall account for the seizure, forfeiture, receipt, and
83	83	specific expenditure of all the proceeds and property in an audit,
84	84	which is to be performed annually by the commissioners court or
85	85	governing body of a municipality, as appropriate. The annual
86	86	period of the audit for a law enforcement agency is the fiscal year
87	87	of the appropriate county or municipality and the annual period for
88	88	an attorney representing the state is the state fiscal year. The
89	89	audit must be completed on a form provided by the attorney general
90	90	and must include a detailed report and explanation of all
91	91	expenditures, including salaries and overtime pay, officer
92	92	training, investigative equipment and supplies, and other items.
93	93	The audit must also include a detailed report that itemizes all
94	94	seizures of proceeds or property under this chapter and that
95	95	indicates the specific criminal offense on which each seizure was
96	96	based and, if charges were brought in connection with the offense,
97	97	the disposition of those charges. Certified copies of the audit
98	98	shall be delivered by the law enforcement agency or attorney
99	99	representing the state to the attorney general not later than the
100	100	60th day after the date on which the annual period that is the
101	101	subject of the audit ends.
102	102	SECTION 3. Article 59.06(m), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
103	103	repealed.
104	104	SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act in amending
105	105	Article 59.06(g)(1), Code of Criminal Procedure, apply to any audit
106	106	performed under that subsection on or after the effective date of
107	107	this Act.
108	108	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.