Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1212 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R4936 EAS-F
2	2	By: Toth H.B. No. 1212
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the disposition of abandoned or unclaimed property
8	8	seized by a peace officer.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Article 18.17(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, as
11	11	effective September 1, 2021, is amended to read as follows:
12	12	(a) All unclaimed or abandoned personal property of every
13	13	kind, other than contraband subject to forfeiture under Chapter 59
14	14	[and whiskey, wine and malt beverages], seized by any peace officer
15	15	in this state [the State of Texas] which is not held as evidence to
16	16	be used in any pending case and has not been ordered destroyed or
17	17	returned to the person entitled to possession of the same by a
18	18	magistrate, which shall remain unclaimed for a period of 30 days
19	19	shall be delivered for disposition to a person designated by the
20	20	municipality or the purchasing agent of the county in which the
21	21	property was seized. If a peace officer of a municipality seizes the
22	22	property, the peace officer shall deliver the property to a person
23	23	designated by the municipality. If any other peace officer seizes
24	24	the property, the peace officer shall deliver the property to the
25	25	purchasing agent of the county. If the county has no purchasing
26	26	agent, then the [such] property shall be disposed of by the sheriff
27	27	of the county.
28	28	SECTION 2. Articles 18.17(b), (c), and (d), Code of
29	29	Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
30	30	(b) The county purchasing agent, the person designated by
31	31	the municipality, or the sheriff of the county, as the case may be,
32	32	shall mail a notice to the last known address of the owner of the
33	33	[such] property by certified mail or place a one-time notice on the
34	34	Internet website and social networking website of the law
35	35	enforcement agency that seized the property. The [Such] notice must
36	36	[shall] describe the property being held, give the name and address
37	37	of the officer holding the [such] property, and [shall] state that
38	38	if the owner does not claim the [such] property before the 90th day
39	39	after [within 90 days from] the date of the notice, the [such]
40	40	property will be disposed of and the proceeds, after deducting the
41	41	reasonable expense of keeping the [such] property and the costs of
42	42	the disposition, placed in the treasury of the municipality or
43	43	county giving the notice.
44	44	(c) If the property has a fair market value of $500 or more
45	45	and the owner or the address of the owner is unknown, the person
46	46	designated by the municipality, the county purchasing agent, or the
47	47	sheriff, as the case may be, shall publish a notice [cause to be
48	48	published] once in a paper of general circulation in the
49	49	municipality or county or place a one-time notice on the Internet
50	50	website and social networking website of the law enforcement agency
51	51	that seized the property. The notice must contain [containing] a
52	52	general description of the property held, the name of the owner if
53	53	known, the name and address of the officer holding the [such]
54	54	property, and a statement that if the owner does not claim the
55	55	[such] property before the 90th day after [within 90 days from] the
56	56	date of the notice, the [publication such] property will be
57	57	disposed of and the proceeds, after deducting the reasonable
58	58	expense of keeping the [such] property and the costs of the
59	59	disposition, placed in the treasury of the municipality or county
60	60	disposing of the property. If the property has a fair market value
61	61	of less than $500 and the owner or the address of the owner is
62	62	unknown, the person designated by the municipality, the county
63	63	purchasing agent, or the sheriff may sell or donate the property.
64	64	The person designated by the municipality, the purchasing agent, or
65	65	the sheriff shall deposit the sale proceeds, after deducting the
66	66	reasonable expense of keeping the property and costs of the sale, in
67	67	the treasury of the municipality or county selling or donating the
68	68	property.
69	69	(d) The sale under this article of any property that has a
70	70	fair market value of $500 or more shall be preceded by a notice
71	71	published once at least 14 days before [prior to] the date of the
72	72	[such] sale in a newspaper of general circulation in the
73	73	municipality or county where the sale is to take place or placed
74	74	once on the Internet website and social networking website of the
75	75	law enforcement agency that seized the property at least 14 days
76	76	before the date of the sale. The notice must state [, stating] the
77	77	general description of the property, the name [names] of the owner
78	78	if known, and the date and place that the [such] sale will occur.
79	79	This article does not require disposition by sale.
80	80	SECTION 3. Article 18.17, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
81	81	amended by this Act, applies to personal property seized by a peace
82	82	officer on or after the effective date of this Act. Personal
83	83	property seized before the effective date of this Act is governed by
84	84	the law in effect on the date the property was seized, and the
85	85	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
86	86	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.