I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2835 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to reform certain forfeiture 

procedures, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 17, 2019 

Mr. SENSENBRENNER (for himself, Mr. COLLINS of Georgia, Mr. SCOTT of 

Virginia, Mr. KATKO, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. DAVID P. ROE of 

Tennessee, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to reform certain 

forfeiture procedures, 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 ‘‘DUE PROCESS Act 

5 of 2019’’ or the ‘‘Deterring Undue Enforcement by Pro6 tecting Rights Of Citizens from Excessive Searches and 

7 Seizures Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GENERAL RULES FOR CIVIL FORFEITURE PRO2 CEEDINGS. 

3 Section 983(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking 

6 ‘‘COMPLAINT’’ and inserting ‘‘COMPLAINT; INITIAL

7 HEARING’’; 

8 (2) in paragraph (1)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

10 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘60 days’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘30 days’’; 

12 (ii) by striking clause (ii); 

13 (iii) in clause (iii)— 

14 (I) in the matter preceding sub15 clause (I)— 

16 (aa) by striking ‘‘60-day’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘30-day’’; and 

18 (bb) by striking ‘‘does not 

19 file’’ and all that follows through 

20 ‘‘obtain’’ and inserting ‘‘obtains’’; 

21 and 

22 (II) in subclause (I), by striking 

23 ‘‘60 days’’ and inserting ‘‘30 days’’; 

24 (iv) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘90 

25 days’’ and inserting ‘‘60 days’’; 


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1 (v) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘60 

2 days’’ and inserting ‘‘30 days’’; and 

3 (vi) by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(vi) The notice under this subparagraph shall 

6 include an address, which shall also be widely pub7 lished, at which the seizing agency can receive until 

8 5 p.m. on any business day an interested party’s 

9 claim contesting a seizure or forfeiture. The inter10 ested party may send such a claim to that address 

11 by courier or overnight mail. For the purpose of de12 termining compliance with any deadlines in filing 

13 such a claim, an interested party completes the filing 

14 by placing the communication making the claim in 

15 the control of an independent third party delivery 

16 service such as a courier company or the United 

17 States mail. In determining whether any legal dead18 line for the filing of such a claim has been met a 

19 court shall allow for the equitable tolling of the 

20 deadline in appropriate cases. 

21 ‘‘(vii) The seizing agency shall make publicly 

22 available for each nonjudicial forfeiture, with respect 

23 to which a request for mitigation or remission is 

24 made, a statement of the agency’s disposition of that 


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1 request, redacted if necessary, including the reasons 

2 for the decision.’’; 

3 (B) in subparagraph (C)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘60’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘30’’; and 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘which period may’’ 

7 and all that follows through ‘‘as nec8 essary,’’; 

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

10 ‘‘(G) Any notice described in subparagraph (A) 

11 that is provided to a party shall include notice of— 

12 ‘‘(i) the right of the party to request an 

13 initial hearing in accordance with paragraph 

14 (5); 

15 ‘‘(ii) the right of the party to be rep16 resented by counsel at the initial hearing de17 scribed in clause (i) and any civil forfeiture pro18 ceeding under a civil forfeiture statute; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) the right of the party to request that 

20 the party be represented by counsel at the ini21 tial hearing described in clause (i) and any civil 

22 forfeiture proceeding under a civil forfeiture 

23 statute if the party meets the requirements de24 scribed in subsection (b).’’; and 


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1 (D) by striking ‘‘nonjudicial’’ each place it 

2 appears; 

3 (3) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘non4 judicial’’; 

5 (4) in paragraph (2)(B)— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘35 days’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘65 days’’; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘30 days’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘60 days’’; 

10 (5) so that subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) 

11 reads as follows: 

12 ‘‘(A) Not later than 90 days after a claim has 

13 been filed, the Government shall file a complaint for 

14 forfeiture in the manner set forth in the Supple15 mental Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime 

16 Claims or return the property pending the filing of 

17 a complaint, except that a court in the district in 

18 which the complaint has been filed may extend the 

19 period for filing a complaint upon agreement of the 

20 parties.’’; and 

21 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(5)(A) A party claiming property seized in a 

23 civil forfeiture proceeding under a civil forfeiture 

24 statute may request, not later than 30 days after the 

25 date on which a notice described in paragraph 


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1 (1)(A) is received or if notice is not received, not 

2 later than 30 days after the date of final publication 

3 of notice of seizure, an initial hearing to take place 

4 before a magistrate judge in the appropriate United 

5 States district court not later than the date on 

6 which a civil forfeiture proceeding under a civil for7 feiture statute relating to the seized property com8 mences. 

9 ‘‘(B) If a party makes a request under subpara10 graph (A), a magistrate judge shall conduct an ini11 tial hearing not later than 10 days after the date on 

12 which the request is made. 

13 ‘‘(C) At the initial hearing— 

14 ‘‘(i) the magistrate judge shall— 

15 ‘‘(I) inform the party in easily under16 stood terms of— 

17 ‘‘(aa) the right of the party to be 

18 represented by counsel at the initial 

19 hearing and any civil forfeiture pro20 ceeding under a civil forfeiture stat21 ute; 

22 ‘‘(bb) the right of the party to re23 quest that the party be represented by 

24 counsel at the initial hearing and any 

25 civil forfeiture proceeding under a civil 


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1 forfeiture statute if the magistrate 

2 judge finds that the party meets the 

3 requirements described in subsection 

4 (b); 

5 ‘‘(cc) sufficiently detailed facts 

6 regarding the seizure of the property 

7 if the property was seized pursuant to 

8 a warrant described in the matter pre9 ceding subparagraph (A) of section 

10 981(b)(2); and 

11 ‘‘(dd) the right of the party to 

12 challenge the lawfulness of the seizure 

13 of the property, including on the 

14 grounds that at the time the property 

15 was seized— 

16 ‘‘(AA) if the property was 

17 seized pursuant to a warrant de18 scribed in the matter preceding 

19 subparagraph (A) of section 

20 981(b)(2), the warrant was not 

21 supported by probable cause; or 

22 ‘‘(BB) if the property was 

23 seized without a warrant de24 scribed in subitem (AA), none of 

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1 paragraphs (A) and (B) of sec2 tion 981(b)(2) apply to the sei3 zure of the property; and 

4 ‘‘(II) if the party meets the require5 ments described in subsection (b), author6 ize counsel to represent the party or insure 

7 that the party is represented by an attor8 ney for the Legal Services Corporation, as 

9 applicable, in accordance with that sub10 section; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the burden of proof is on the Govern12 ment to establish that at the time the property 

13 was seized— 

14 ‘‘(I) if the property was seized pursu15 ant to a warrant described in the matter 

16 preceding subparagraph (A) of section 

17 981(b)(2), the warrant was supported by 

18 probable cause; or 

19 ‘‘(II) if the property was seized with20 out a warrant described in subclause (I)— 

21 ‘‘(aa) sufficiently detailed facts 

22 regarding the seizure of the property; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(bb) an exception described in 

25 subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 


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1 981(b)(2) applies to the seizure of the 

2 property. 

3 ‘‘(D) The magistrate judge shall enter an order 

4 for the immediate release of the seized property with 

5 prejudice to the right of the Government to com6 mence a civil forfeiture proceeding at a later time if 

7 the magistrate judge finds that— 

8 ‘‘(i) the requirements described in subpara9 graphs (A) through (E) of subsection (f)(1) are 

10 met; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the Government did not meet the bur12 den of proof described in subparagraph 

13 (C)(ii).’’. 

14 SEC. 3. REPRESENTATION. 

15 Section 983(b) of title 18, United States Code, is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘judicial’’; 

18 and 

19 (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘judicial 

20 civil forfeiture proceeding under a civil forfeiture 

21 statute is financially unable to obtain representation 

22 by counsel, and the property subject to forfeiture is 

23 real property that is being used by the person as a 

24 primary residence’’ and inserting ‘‘civil forfeiture 


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1 proceeding under a civil forfeiture statute is finan2 cially unable to obtain representation by counsel’’. 

3 SEC. 4. BURDEN OF PROOF. 

4 Section 983(c) of title 18, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a preponder7 ance of the evidence’’ and inserting ‘‘clear and con8 vincing evidence’’; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘a preponder10 ance of the evidence’’ and inserting ‘‘clear and con11 vincing evidence’’. 

12 SEC. 5. RIGHT TO REQUEST HEARING ON PRETRIAL RE13 STRAINT OF PROPERTY TO RETAIN COUNSEL 

14 OF CHOICE. 

15 (a) TITLE 18.—Section 1963(d) of title 18, United 

16 States Code, is amended— 

17 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(1)(A) Upon application of the United States, the 

20 court may enter a restraining order or injunction, require 

21 the execution of a satisfactory performance bond, or take 

22 any other action to preserve the availability of property 

23 described in subsection (a) for forfeiture under this sec24 tion— 


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1 ‘‘(i) upon the filing of an indictment or infor2 mation charging a violation of section 1962 and al3 leging that the property with respect to which the 

4 order is sought would, in the event of conviction, be 

5 subject to forfeiture under this section; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) prior to the filing of such an indictment or 

7 information, if, after notice to persons appearing to 

8 have an interest in the property and opportunity for 

9 a hearing, the court determines that— 

10 ‘‘(I) there is a substantial probability that 

11 the United States will prevail on the issue of 

12 forfeiture and that failure to enter the order 

13 will result in the property being destroyed, re14 moved from the jurisdiction of the court, or 

15 otherwise made unavailable for forfeiture; and 

16 ‘‘(II) the need to preserve the availability 

17 of the property through the entry of the re18 quested order outweighs the hardship on any 

19 party against whom the order is to be entered. 

20 ‘‘(B)(i) Upon motion of a defendant charged with a 

21 violation of section 1962 for which criminal forfeiture is 

22 ordered under this section and against whom the order 

23 is entered, supported by an affidavit, the court shall hold 

24 a hearing to determine whether to modify or rescind, in 

25 whole or in part, an order entered under subparagraph 


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1 (A) to allow the defendant to use the property subject to 

2 the order to retain counsel of choice. 

3 ‘‘(ii) At the hearing, the court shall consider— 

4 ‘‘(I) the weight of the evidence against the de5 fendant with respect to the violation of section 1962 

6 for which criminal forfeiture is ordered under this 

7 section; 

8 ‘‘(II) the weight of the evidence with respect to 

9 whether the property will be subject to forfeiture 

10 under this section; 

11 ‘‘(III) the history and characteristics of the de12 fendant; and 

13 ‘‘(IV) the nature and circumstances of the case. 

14 ‘‘(C) An order entered pursuant to subparagraph 

15 (A)(ii) shall be effective for not more than 90 days, un16 less— 

17 ‘‘(i) extended by the court for good cause 

18 shown; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) an indictment or information described in 

20 subparagraph (A)(i) has been filed.’’; and 

21 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘that the de22 fendant committed a violation of section 1962 for 

23 which criminal forfeiture may be ordered under this 

24 section and probable cause to believe’’ after ‘‘be25 lieve’’. 


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1 (b) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT.—Section 413(e) 

2 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853(e)) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(1)(A) Upon application of the United States, the 

7 court may enter a restraining order or injunction, require 

8 the execution of a satisfactory performance bond, or take 

9 any other action to preserve the availability of property 

10 described in subsection (a) for forfeiture under this sec11 tion— 

12 ‘‘(i) upon the filing of an indictment or infor13 mation charging a violation of this title or title III 

14 for which criminal forfeiture may be ordered under 

15 this section and alleging that the property with re16 spect to which the order is sought would, in the 

17 event of conviction, be subject to forfeiture under 

18 this section; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) prior to the filing of such an indictment or 

20 information, if, after notice to persons appearing to 

21 have an interest in the property and opportunity for 

22 a hearing, the court determines that— 

23 ‘‘(I) there is a substantial probability that 

24 the United States will prevail on the issue of 

25 forfeiture and that failure to enter the order 


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1 will result in the property being destroyed, re2 moved from the jurisdiction of the court, or 

3 otherwise made unavailable for forfeiture; and 

4 ‘‘(II) the need to preserve the availability 

5 of the property through the entry of the re6 quested order outweighs the hardship on any 

7 party against whom the order is to be entered. 

8 ‘‘(B)(i) Upon motion of a defendant charged with a 

9 violation of section 1962 for which criminal forfeiture is 

10 ordered under this section and against whom the order 

11 is entered, supported by an affidavit sufficient to dem12 onstrate a genuine need for the defendant to use the prop13 erty subject to an order entered under subparagraph (A) 

14 to retain counsel of choice, the court shall hold a hearing 

15 to determine whether to modify or rescind, in whole or 

16 in part, the order to allow the defendant to use the prop17 erty to retain counsel of choice. 

18 ‘‘(ii) At the hearing, the court shall consider— 

19 ‘‘(I) the weight of the evidence against the de20 fendant with respect to the violation of this title or 

21 title III for which criminal forfeiture is be ordered 

22 under this section; 

23 ‘‘(II) the weight of the evidence with respect to 

24 whether the property will be subject to forfeiture 

25 under this section; 


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1 ‘‘(III) the history and characteristics of the de2 fendant; and 

3 ‘‘(IV) the nature and circumstances of the case. 

4 ‘‘(C) An order entered pursuant to subparagraph 

5 (A)(ii) shall be effective for not more than 90 days, un6 less— 

7 ‘‘(i) extended by the court for good cause 

8 shown; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) an indictment or information described in 

10 subparagraph (A)(i) has been filed.’’; and 

11 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘that the de12 fendant committed a violation of this title or title III 

13 for which criminal forfeiture may be ordered under 

14 this section and probable cause to believe’’ after ‘‘be15 lieve’’. 

16 SEC. 6. RECOVERY OF ATTORNEYS FEES. 

17 Section 2465(b) of title 28, United States Code, is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘substan20 tially’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(3) If the claim is resolved by a settlement in which 

23 the claimant prevails, the claimant is entitled to attorneys 

24 fees under this subsection to the same extent that the 

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1 ceeding for the property recovered under the settlement. 

2 The payment of attorneys fees under this subsection may 

3 not be waived as a part of any settlement with the claim4 ant. That payment is not subject to any offset or deduc5 tion by the United States in connection with any claim 

6 the United States may have against the claimant. 

7 ‘‘(4) For the purposes of this subsection, a claimant 

8 prevails if the claimant recovers more than 50 percent, 

9 by value, of the money or other property that is claimed.’’. 

10 SEC. 7. ANNUAL AUDIT OF CIVIL FORFEITURES. 

11 The Inspector General shall annually conduct an 

12 audit of a representative sample of Federal civil forfeitures 

13 under statutes described in section 983(i) of title 18, 

14 United States Code, to ensure those forfeitures are con15 stitutionally sound and consistent with the letter and spirit 

16 of the law. The Department of Justice Inspector General 

17 shall report the results of the audit to the Attorney Gen18 eral and to Congress. Such report shall also include the 

19 fiscal status of the Asset Forfeiture Fund and Treasury 

20 Forfeiture Fund, including any projected growth or 

21 shrinking of the Funds in future years, and the viability 

22 of the Funds. 

23 SEC. 8. PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATABASES. 

24 (a) QUARTERLY UPDATED DATABASE ON DETAILS

25 OF FORFEITURES.—The Attorney General shall establish 


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1 and maintain, with updates on a quarterly basis, a publicly 

2 available database that describes with respect to seizures 

3 for all Federal civil forfeiture containing the following: 

4 (1) For each such seizure: 

5 (A) Unit of an agency responsible for the 

6 seizure, and the location, including at a min7 imum the State, city, and judicial district where 

8 and date when the seizure took place. 

9 (B) The type of initial seizure (such as 

10 during a stop based on probable cause, or pur11 suant to a Federal warrant). 

12 (C) The nature and value of the seized 

13 property. 

14 (D) In what manner forfeiture of seized 

15 property was conducted (whether by a civil or 

16 administrative proceeding, through settlement, 

17 or otherwise). 

18 (E) Whether a forfeiture of the seized 

19 property was of the entire property, or only a 

20 part, and if partial, the proportion of the whole 

21 that was forfeited. 

22 (F) The disposition of the seized property, 

23 the date of forfeiture, if any, and the date the 

24 disposition took place. 


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1 (G) What type of criminal activity any for2 feited property relates to. 

3 (H) Whether any forfeited money was re4 turned to the victim of a crime in connection 

5 with which the forfeiture occurred, and the 

6 amount returned. 

7 (I) The status of any concurrent or related 

8 criminal proceeding against the owner of the 

9 property, any pending case under title 11 in 

10 which the owner of record of the property is the 

11 debtor, and any pending civil case in which a 

12 receiver has been ordered to take control of the 

13 property. 

14 (J) Whether the forfeiture was contested. 

15 (K) Whether the innocent owner made a 

16 claim on the property. 

17 (L) The total expenses associated with the 

18 forfeiture. 

19 (M) The total net proceeds of the for20 feiture. 

21 (N) Demographic information on the per22 son or persons subject to the seizure. 

23 (2) A statistical breakdown for each agency of 

24 the cases of remission and mitigation, including— 


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1 (A) the numbers of requests for remission 

2 and mitigation that were— 

3 (i) fully granted; 

4 (ii) partially granted; or 

5 (iii) returned; and 

6 (B) with respect to requests that were par7 tially granted— 

8 (i) the average percentage of the value 

9 of seized property that was returned to the 

10 owner; and 

11 (ii) what percentage of requests re12 sulted in returned property in each of the 

13 following categories: 

14 (I) More than zero but less than 

15 25 percent of the property was re16 turned. 

17 (II) 25 percent or more of the 

18 property was returned, but less than 

19 50 percent. 

20 (III) 50 percent or more of the 

21 property was returned, but less than 

22 75 percent. 

23 (IV) 75 percent or more of the 

24 property was returned, but less than 

25 100 percent. 


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1 (3) Any money given from the Asset Forfeiture 

2 Fund or Treasury Forfeiture Fund to State or local 

3 law enforcement for Joint Law Enforcement Oper4 ations (commonly referred to as ‘‘JLEO’’) funding, 

5 or for any other purpose, and the name of the State 

6 or local entity receiving that funding. 

7 (b) REAL-TIME DATABASE TO ASSIST PERSONS

8 WHOSE PROPERTY IS SEIZED.— 

9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Attorney General 

10 shall establish and maintain, with updates on a real11 time basis, a database, organized by State and coun12 ty, with respect to each Federal seizure of real and 

13 personal property for Federal civil forfeiture under 

14 statutes described in section 983(i) of title 18, 

15 United States Code. 

16 (2) DESIGN.—The Attorney General shall de17 sign the database to allow any interested party, in18 cluding any owner, creditor, or lienholder, to deter19 mine whether that party has an interest in any such 

20 property and to inform that party, and the general 

21 public, on the specifics of how to contest each sei22 zure before the forfeiture. 

23 (c) HEADS OF AGENCIES TO SUBMIT INFORMATION

24 FOR DATABASES.—Not less frequently than quarterly, on 

25 a schedule determined by the Attorney General, the head 


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1 of each Federal agency shall submit to the Attorney Gen2 eral a report that provides, in such form as the Attorney 

3 General may prescribe, the information the Attorney Gen4 eral is required to include in the databases established 

5 under this section. 

6 SEC. 9. STANDARD OF PROOF RELATING TO POSSIBLY IN7 NOCENT OWNERS. 

8 (a) BURDEN OF PROOF.—Paragraph (3) of section 

9 983(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read 

10 as follows: 

11 ‘‘(3) if the Government’s theory of forfeiture is 

12 that the property was used to commit or facilitate 

13 the commission of a criminal offense, or was in14 volved in the commission of a criminal offense, the 

15 Government shall establish by clear and convincing 

16 evidence that— 

17 ‘‘(A) there was a substantial connection 

18 between the property and the offense; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the owner of any interest in the 

20 seized property— 

21 ‘‘(i) intentionally used the property in 

22 connection with the offense; 

23 ‘‘(ii) knowingly consented to the use 

24 of the property by another in connection 

25 with the offense; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) knew that the property was 

2 being used in connection with the of3 fense.’’. 

4 (b) INNOCENT OWNER DEFENSE.— 

5 (1) SECTION 983(d)(1).—Paragraph (1) of sec6 tion 983(d) of title 18, United States Code, is 

7 amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(1) An innocent owner’s interest in property 

9 shall not be forfeited under any civil forfeiture stat10 ute. The Government shall have the burden of prov11 ing that the claimant is not an innocent owner by 

12 clear and convincing evidence.’’. 

13 (2) SECTION 983(d)(2)(A)(i).—Paragraph 

14 (2)(A)(i) of section 983(d) of title 18, United States 

15 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or consent to’’ after 

16 ‘‘did not know of’’. 

17 SEC. 10. PROPORTIONALITY. 

18 Section 983(g) of title 18, United States Code, is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or otherwise 

21 disproportional to the gravity of the offense’’ before 

22 the period at the end; and 

23 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol24 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(2) In making this determination, the court 

2 shall consider, in addition to the analysis as to 

3 whether the forfeiture is constitutionally excessive, 

4 the value of the property, the seriousness of the of5 fense, the level of the claimant’s culpability in the 

6 offense giving rise to forfeiture, the claimant’s prior 

7 record, the claimant’s financial condition, and 

8 whether the forfeiture statute is intended to address 

9 the type of conduct alleged as the basis for for10 feiture.’’. 

11 SEC. 11. SEARCH AND FORFEITURE OF MONETARY INSTRU12 MENTS. 

13 Section 5317(c) of title 31, United States Code, is 

14 amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(2) CIVIL FORFEITURE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any property involved 

18 in a violation of section 5313 or 5316, or any 

19 conspiracy to commit any such violation, and 

20 any property traceable to any such violation or 

21 conspiracy, may be seized and forfeited to the 

22 United States in accordance with the proce23 dures governing civil forfeitures in money laun24 dering cases pursuant to section 981(a)(1)(A) 

25 of title 18. 


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1 ‘‘(B) STRUCTURING.—Any property in2 volved in a violation of section 5324, or any 

3 conspiracy to commit any such violation, and 

4 any property traceable to any such violation or 

5 conspiracy, may be seized and forfeited to the 

6 United States in accordance with the proce7 dures governing civil forfeitures in money laun8 dering cases pursuant to section 981(a)(1)(A) 

9 of title 18 only if the property to be seized and 

10 forfeited is derived from an illegal source or if 

11 the structuring offense was used to conceal vio12 lations of other criminal laws.’’. 

13 SEC. 12. THE HEART ACT. 

14 (a) AMENDMENT TO SECTION 983(a) OF TITLE 18.— 

15 Section 983(a)(1) of title 18, United States Code, as 

16 amended by this Act, is amended— 

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

18 with respect to an animal seized under section 26 of 

19 the Animal Welfare Act or section 1955 of this title, 

20 that the delay is warranted in light of the criteria 

21 in subparagraph (G)’’ after ‘‘if the official deter22 mines that the conditions in subparagraph (D) are 

23 present,’’; 

24 (2) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘and with 

25 respect to an animal seized under section 26 of the 


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1 Animal Welfare Act or section 1955 of this title, 

2 that the delay is warranted in light of the criteria 

3 in subparagraph (G)’’ after ‘‘that the conditions in 

4 subparagraph (D) are present,’’; and 

5 (3) by adding after subparagraph (F) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(G) With respect to animals seized under sec8 tion 26 of the Animal Welfare Act or section 1955 

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

10 paragraph may be extended only after consideration 

11 of the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) The cost to the government of caring 

13 and providing shelter for the animal. 

14 ‘‘(ii) The psychological and physical health 

15 of the animal and the effect the delay will have 

16 on its rehabilitation. 

17 ‘‘(iii) Any increased risk that the delay 

18 could necessitate the euthanasia of the ani19 mal.’’. 

20 (b) AMENDMENT TO SECTION 524 OF TITLE 28.— 

21 Section 524(c)(1) of title 28, United States Code, is 

22 amended by adding after subparagraph (I) the following: 

23 ‘‘(J) payment for the transportation, shelter, 

24 care, veterinary services, and where appropriate, hu25 mane euthanasia of an animal seized under section 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
26 

•HR 2835 IH

1 26 of the Animal Welfare Act or under section 1955 

2 of title 18.’’. 

3 (c) AMENDMENT TO SECTION 983(h) OF TITLE 18.— 

4 Section 983(h) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

5 by adding at the end, the following: 

6 ‘‘(4) In any civil forfeiture proceeding in which 

7 the Government prevails, the court shall require the 

8 claimant to reimburse the United States for any ac9 tual and reasonable costs to the Government for the 

10 transportation, shelter, care, veterinary services, or 

11 where appropriate, humane euthanasia of an animal 

12 that was the subject of the proceeding, unless the 

13 court determines that the factors in subsection (g) 

14 warrant reduction or elimination of the reimburse15 ment. The reimbursement shall be credited to the 

16 agency or fund that was used to pay the costs being 

17 reimbursed.’’. 

18 SEC. 13. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY. 

19 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

20 take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and 

21 apply only with respect to seizures made on or after that 

22 date. Seizures made before that date shall continue to be 

23 governed by the law as it existed without regard to this 

24 Act or the amendments made by this Act. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS