78R3911 PEP-F
By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 451
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the forfeiture of contraband used in or derived from
alleged criminal activity.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Articles 59.02(a), (b), and (c), Code of
Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Property that is contraband is subject to seizure and
forfeiture under this chapter. Property in the possession of a
person is presumed to be that person's property.
(b) Any property that is contraband other than property held
as evidence in a criminal investigation or a pending criminal case,
money, a negotiable instrument, or a security that is seized under
this chapter may be replevied by the owner or interest holder of the
property, on execution of a good and valid bond with sufficient
surety in a sum equal to the appraised value of the property
replevied. The bond may be approved as to form and substance by the
court after the court gives notice of the bond to the authority
holding the seized property. The bond must be conditioned[:
[(1)] on return of the property to the custody of the
state on the day of hearing of the forfeiture proceedings[; and
[(2) that the interest holder or owner of the property
will abide by the decision that may be made in the cause].
(c) An owner or interest holder's interest in property may
not be forfeited under this chapter unless the attorney
representing the state proves [if the owner or interest holder
proves] by a preponderance of the evidence that the owner or
interest holder acquired and perfected the interest:
(1) before or during the act or omission giving rise to
forfeiture or, if the property is real property, he acquired an
ownership interest, security interest, or lien interest before a
lis pendens notice was filed under Article 59.04(g) of this code and
knew [did not know] or should [not] reasonably have known of the act
or omission giving rise to the forfeiture or that it was likely to
occur at or before the time of acquiring and perfecting the interest
or, if the property is real property, at or before the time of
acquiring the ownership interest, security interest, or lien
interest; or
(2) after the act or omission giving rise to the
forfeiture, but before the seizure of the property, and only if the
owner or interest holder:
(A) was, at the time that the interest in the
property was acquired, an owner or interest holder for value; and
(B) had [was without] reasonable cause to believe
that the property was contraband or [and did not] purposefully
avoided [avoid] learning that the property was contraband.
SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
only to the forfeiture of contraband arising from an offense
committed on or after the effective date of this Act. For purposes
of this section, an offense is committed before the effective date
of this Act if any element of the offense occurs before the
effective date.
(b) The forfeiture of contraband arising from an offense
committed before the effective date of this Act is covered by the
law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.