BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 805 |
By: Dale |
Criminal Jurisprudence |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties express concern over recent court rulings that show the lack of obligation to return certain property seized in relation to an asset forfeiture proceeding determined to have been seized unconstitutionally. C.S.H.B. 805 seeks to address this issue by protecting such property from seizure and forfeiture.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 805 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to exempt contraband property from being subject to seizure and forfeiture if the property is not otherwise unlawful to possess and if the evidence is inadmissible in the prosecution of the underlying offense because it was obtained by an officer or other person in violation of any provisions of the Constitution or laws of the State of Texas or of the United States. The bill restricts the presentation of evidence in a contraband forfeiture proceeding by the attorney representing the state to evidence that would be admissible under those circumstances in the prosecution of the underlying offense giving rise to the forfeiture and establishes that a determination that evidence is admissible for the purpose of the forfeiture proceeding does not act as collateral estoppel on any issue in the prosecution of the underlying offense giving rise to the forfeiture. The bill authorizes a party to a contraband forfeiture proceeding, for purposes of evaluating the admissibility of evidence sought to be presented in the proceeding, to request a stay of that proceeding to allow the applicable determinations to be made in the prosecution of the underlying offense giving rise to the forfeiture. The bill requires the court to grant the request unless the court finds good cause to deny the request.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2017.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 805 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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