II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 513 

To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to civil forfeitures 

relating to certain seized animals, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2019 

Ms. HARRIS (for herself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to 

civil forfeitures relating to certain seized animals, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Help Extract Animals 

5 from Red Tape Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘HEART Act of 

6 2019’’. 

7 SEC. 2. REDUCED NOTICE PERIOD. 

8 (a) NOTICE TIMING FOR CASES OF ANIMAL SEI9 ZURE.—Section 983(a)(1)(A) of title 18, United States 

10 Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘and subject to 

2 clause (vi),’’ after ‘‘Except as provided in clauses (ii) 

3 through (v),’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(vi) In the case of a civil forfeiture proceeding 

6 relating to an animal seized under section 26 of the 

7 Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2156) or section 1955 

8 of this title, clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and (v) of this sub9 paragraph shall be applied by substituting— 

10 ‘‘(I) ‘30 days’ for ‘60 days’ each place that 

11 term appears; and 

12 ‘‘(II) ‘30-day’ for ‘60-day’ each place that 

13 term appears.’’. 

14 (b) NOTICE PROCEDURES FOR CASES OF ANIMAL

15 SEIZURE.—Section 983(a)(1) of title 18, United States 

16 Code is amended— 

17 (1) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘, and, in 

18 the case of a civil forfeiture proceeding relating to 

19 an animal seized under section 26 of the Animal 

20 Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2156) or section 1955 of this 

21 title, that, after considering the factors under sub22 paragraph (G), the delay is warranted’’ after ‘‘if the 

23 official determines that the conditions in subpara24 graph (D) are present’’; 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘, and, in 

2 the case of a civil forfeiture proceeding relating to 

3 an animal seized under section 26 of the Animal 

4 Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2156) or section 1955 of this 

5 title, that, after considering the factors under sub6 paragraph (G), the delay is warranted’’ after ‘‘that 

7 the conditions in subparagraph (D) are present’’; 

8 and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(G) In the case of a civil forfeiture proceeding 

11 relating to an animal seized under section 26 of the 

12 Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2156) or section 1955 

13 of this title, the period for sending notice under this 

14 paragraph may be extended only after consideration 

15 of— 

16 ‘‘(i) the cost to the Government of caring 

17 and providing shelter for the animal; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the psychological and physical health 

19 of the animal and the effect the delay will have 

20 on the rehabilitation of the animal; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) any increased risk that the delay 

22 could necessitate euthanizing the animal.’’. 

23 SEC. 3. SEIZURES OF ANIMALS. 

24 (a) PAYMENT FOR CERTAIN COSTS.—Section 

25 524(c)(1) of title 28, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

2 the end; 

3 (2) in subparagraph (I), by striking the period 

4 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(J) payment for the transportation of, shelter 

8 of, care for, veterinary services provided to, and, 

9 when appropriate, humane euthanasia of an animal 

10 seized under section 26 of the Animal Welfare Act 

11 (7 U.S.C. 2156) or section 1955 of title 18.’’. 

12 (b) REIMBURSEMENT AND PROPORTIONALITY.—Sec13 tion 983(h) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

14 by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(4) CIVIL FORFEITURE PROCEEDINGS INVOLV16 ING ANIMALS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara18 graph (B), in any covered proceeding in which 

19 the Government prevails, the court shall require 

20 the claimant to reimburse the United States for 

21 any actual and reasonable costs incurred by the 

22 Government for transportation of, shelter of, 

23 care for, veterinary services provided to, and, 

24 when appropriate, humane euthanasia of an 


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1 animal that was the subject of the covered pro2 ceeding. 

3 ‘‘(B) REDUCTION.—The court may reduce 

4 the amount of a reimbursement described in 

5 subparagraph (A) on the basis of— 

6 ‘‘(i) the seriousness of the offense; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the culpability of the claimant; 

8 ‘‘(iii) the prior record of the claimant; 

9 ‘‘(iv) the financial condition of the 

10 claimant and any need of the claimant to 

11 support a family; and 

12 ‘‘(v) the purpose of the civil forfeiture 

13 statute in question. 

14 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION.—A reimbursement de15 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be credited 

16 to— 

17 ‘‘(i) the agency that paid the costs 

18 being reimbursed; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) the fund that was used to pay 

20 the costs being reimbursed. 

21 ‘‘(D) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

22 term ‘covered proceeding’ means a civil for23 feiture proceeding under section 26 of the Ani24 mal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2156) or section 


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1 1955 of this title, the subject of which is an 

2 animal.’’. 

Æ 


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