Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Under Consideration in Texas Legislature

[Elderberry]

heartland.org by Bill Eastland 3/21/2019

Texas’ current civil asset forfeiture laws are rated among the worst in the nation.

Two bills to reform Texas’ civil asset forfeiture laws are being considered in the state legislature.

H.B. 404, introduced by Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston), would end civil asset forfeiture and transition the state to a criminal-asset forfeiture process.

H.B. 182, introduced by Rep. Terry Canales (D-Edinburg), and the identical S.B. 247, by Sen. Juan Hinojosa (D-Edinburg), address criminal asset forfeiture.

Texas’ civil asset forfeiture laws are rated among the worst in the nation, receiving a grade of D+ in a report by the Institute for Justice (IJ), a legal reform group.

Burden on ‘Innocent Owner’

Texas sets a low bar for seizing property, IJ reported in its 2015 study on Policing for Profit: The Abuse of Civil Asset Forfeiture.

“The standard of proof required to forfeit property in Texas is just preponderance of the evidence, and an innocent owner bears the burden of proving that she was not involved in any crimes associated with her property before she can get it back,” the study states.

H.B. 182 would improve the forfeiture process in Texas, says Matthew Glans, a senior policy analyst with The Heartland Institute, which publishes Budget & Tax News.

“Under existing law, Texas law enforcement officials only have to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that property is associated with criminal activity to seize it,” said Glans. “Property owners must prove that they had no involvement with the criminal activity associated with their property when they seek to recover it.”

More: https://www.heartland.org/news-opinion/news/civil-asset-forfeiture-reform-under-consideration-in-texas-legislature