Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3659 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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1	1	88R19298 AJZ-D
2	2	By: Hefner, Moody, Cook, Slawson, Ordaz H.B. No. 3659
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to civil asset forfeiture proceedings, to the seizure and
8	8	forfeiture of certain property, and to the reporting and
9	9	disposition of proceeds and property from civil asset forfeiture.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Article 59.02, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
12	12	amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	(a) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (a-1),
15	15	property [Property] that is contraband is subject to seizure and
16	16	forfeiture under this chapter.
17	17	(a-1)(1) Property that is contraband is not subject to
18	18	seizure and forfeiture under this chapter if the property:
19	19	(A) is not otherwise unlawful to possess; and
20	20	(B) has an aggregate value of less than $2,500.
21	21	(2) For purposes of determining the aggregate value of
22	22	contraband under Subdivision (1), the owner or interest holder is
23	23	not required to have simultaneously owned or had an interest in all
24	24	of the property constituting contraband.
25	25	(3) Subdivision (1) does not apply to money that is
26	26	used by law enforcement during an undercover criminal investigation
27	27	of an offense under Subchapter D, Chapter 481, Health and Safety
28	28	Code.
29	29	SECTION 2. Article 59.021(d), Code of Criminal Procedure,
30	30	is amended to read as follows:
31	31	(d) After seizure of the substitute property, the
32	32	disposition shall proceed as other cases in this chapter except
33	33	that the attorney representing the state must prove by clear and
34	34	convincing [a preponderance of the] evidence:
35	35	(1) that the contraband described by Subsection (b)
36	36	was subject to seizure and forfeiture under this chapter;
37	37	(2) the highest fair market value of that contraband
38	38	during the period in which the owner of the substitute property
39	39	owned, or had an interest in, the contraband;
40	40	(3) the fair market value of the substitute property
41	41	at the time it was seized; and
42	42	(4) that the owner of the substitute property owned or
43	43	had an interest in contraband with an aggregate value of $200,000 or
44	44	more in connection with the commission of an underlying offense
45	45	giving rise to the forfeiture.
46	46	SECTION 3. Article 59.05(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
47	47	amended to read as follows:
48	48	(b) All cases under this chapter shall proceed to trial in
49	49	the same manner as in other civil cases. The state has the burden of
50	50	proving by clear and convincing [a preponderance of the] evidence
51	51	that property is subject to forfeiture.
52	52	SECTION 4. Chapter 59, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
53	53	amended by adding Article 59.063 to read as follows:
54	54	Art. 59.063. UNIFORM REPORTING REQUIREMENT FOR LAW
55	55	ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. (a) A law enforcement agency engaged in the
56	56	seizure, forfeiture, receipt, or expenditure of proceeds and
57	57	property under this chapter shall submit a monthly report to the
58	58	attorney general's office. The monthly report must:
59	59	(1) include all of the information required by the
60	60	audit under Article 59.06(g)(1); and
61	61	(2) specify the number of seizures challenged or not
62	62	challenged by an owner or interest holder of the property.
63	63	(b) Each law enforcement agency shall file the report
64	64	described by Subsection (a) covering the seizure, forfeiture,
65	65	receipt, or expenditure of proceeds and property under this chapter
66	66	by the agency during the preceding month. An agency that did not
67	67	engage in a seizure or forfeiture during the reporting period must
68	68	indicate that fact in the report.
69	69	(c) The attorney general's office shall adopt a standard
70	70	form for the submission of a report under this section.
71	71	(d) Subject to Subsection (e), the attorney general's
72	72	office shall publish on the office's Internet website a monthly
73	73	report that includes each agency's specific information submitted
74	74	to the office under this section. The report must also aggregate the
75	75	information by law enforcement agency and include the total value
76	76	of proceeds and property seized by all law enforcement agencies
77	77	during the reporting period.
78	78	(e) The attorney general's report under Subsection (d) and
79	79	the Internet website may not include:
80	80	(1) the name, address, contact information, or other
81	81	identifying information of an owner or interest holder of the
82	82	seized or forfeited property or of another individual or entity
83	83	involved in the forfeiture proceeding; or
84	84	(2) the location, vehicle identification number, or
85	85	serial number of any seized or forfeited property.
86	86	SECTION 5. Articles 59.02, 59.021, and 59.05, Code of
87	87	Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, apply only to a
88	88	forfeiture proceeding that begins on or after the effective date of
89	89	this Act. A forfeiture proceeding that begins before the effective
90	90	date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
91	91	proceeding begins, and the former law is continued in effect for
92	92	that purpose.
93	93	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.