Repeal Civil Asset Forfeiture Act
Origin: Texas State Legislature
Bill Name/Number: House Bill 3171
Link: Click here
Summary: This bill seeks to repeal the abuse of civil asset forfeiture and ensure that people’s property stays theirs.
Talking Points & Important Information:
• Under state and federal civil asset forfeiture laws, law enforcement agencies can seize and keep property
suspected of involvement in criminal activity. Unlike criminal asset forfeiture, with civil asset forfeiture, a
property owner need not be found guilty of a crime – or even charged – to permanently lose his cash, car, home
or other property. Furthermore, most states and under federal law, law enforcement can keep some or all of the
proceeds of civil forfeitures.
• The Institute for Justice found that in 2008, the U.S Department of Justice’s Assets Forfeiture Fund held
more than $1B in net assets – that is, money forfeited from property owners and now available for federal law
enforcement activities after deducting various expenses. A similar fund at the U.S. Treasury Department held
more than $400M in net assets in 2008.
• In October 2014, the Washington Post published an article reporting about how thousands of local and state
agencies are spending their windfalls — including “on luxury vehicles, travel, and a clown named Sparkles.”
2015 POLICY BOOK
STATE
LEVEL
PAGE 45