Title: HEART Act of 2019
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Help Extract Animals from Red Tape Act of 2019 or the HEART Act of 2019
This bill modifies notice requirements in a civil forfeiture proceeding that involves the seizure of an animal involved in animal fighting.
Specifically, the government must notify interested parties of an animal's seizure within 30 days (currently, 60 days). The notice period may be extended only if a delay is warranted after considering certain factors, including the cost to the government of providing shelter for the animal, the health of the animal and the effect of a delay on its rehabilitation, and any increased risk that a delay could necessitate the euthanasia of the animal.
Additionally, the bill authorizes amounts in the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund to be used to pay for costs associated with a seized animal, including transportation, shelter, care, veterinary services, and humane euthanasia.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 513 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Help Extract Animals from Red Tape 
Act of 2019'' or the ``HEART Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. REDUCED NOTICE PERIOD.

    (a) Notice Timing for Cases of Animal Seizure.--Section 
983(a)(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in clause (i), by inserting ``and subject to clause 
        (vi),'' after ``Except as provided in clauses (ii) through 
        (v),''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(vi) In the case of a civil forfeiture proceeding 
        relating to an animal seized under section 26 of the Animal 
        Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2156) or section 1955 of this title, 
        clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and (v) of this subparagraph shall be 
        applied by substituting--
                    ``(I) `30 days' for `60 days' each place that term 
                appears; and
                    ``(II) `30-day' for `60-day' each place that term 
                appears.''.
    (b) Notice Procedures for Cases of Animal Seizure.--Section 
983(a)(1) of title 18, United States Code is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``, and, in the case 
        of a civil forfeiture proceeding relating to an animal seized 
        under section 26 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2156) or 
        section 1955 of this title, that, after considering the factors 
        under subparagraph (G), the delay is warranted'' after ``if the 
        official determines that the conditions in subparagraph (D) are 
        present'';
            (2) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``, and, in the case 
        of a civil forfeiture proceeding relating to an animal seized 
        under section 26 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2156) or 
        section 1955 of this title, that, after considering the factors 
        under subparagraph (G), the delay is warranted'' after ``that 
        the conditions in subparagraph (D) are present''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(G) In the case of a civil forfeiture proceeding relating 
        to an animal seized under section 26 of the Animal Welfare Act 
        (7 U.S.C. 2156) or section 1955 of this title, the period for 
        sending notice under this paragraph may be extended only after 
        consideration of--
                    ``(i) the cost to the Government of caring and 
                providing shelter for the animal;
                    ``(ii) the psychological and physical health of the 
                animal and the effect the delay will have on the 
                rehabilitation of the animal; and
                    ``(iii) any increased risk that the delay could 
                necessitate euthanizing the animal.''.

SEC. 3. SEIZURES OF ANIMALS.

    (a) Payment for Certain Costs.--Section 524(c)(1) of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (H), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (I), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the following:
            ``(J) payment for the transportation of, shelter of, care 
        for, veterinary services provided to, and, when appropriate, 
        humane euthanasia of an animal seized under section 26 of the 
        Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2156) or section 1955 of title 
        18.''.
    (b) Reimbursement and Proportionality.--Section 983(h) of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Civil forfeiture proceedings involving animals.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), in 
                any covered proceeding in which the Government 
                prevails, the court shall require the claimant to 
                reimburse the United States for any actual and 
                reasonable costs incurred by the Government for 
                transportation of, shelter of, care for, veterinary 
                services provided to, and, when appropriate, humane 
                euthanasia of an animal that was the subject of the 
                covered proceeding.
                    ``(B) Reduction.--The court may reduce the amount 
                of a reimbursement described in subparagraph (A) on the 
                basis of--
                            ``(i) the seriousness of the offense;
                            ``(ii) the culpability of the claimant;
                            ``(iii) the prior record of the claimant;
                            ``(iv) the financial condition of the 
                        claimant and any need of the claimant to 
                        support a family; and
                            ``(v) the purpose of the civil forfeiture 
                        statute in question.
                    ``(C) Application.--A reimbursement described in 
                subparagraph (A) shall be credited to--
                            ``(i) the agency that paid the costs being 
                        reimbursed; or
                            ``(ii) the fund that was used to pay the 
                        costs being reimbursed.
                    ``(D) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term 
                `covered proceeding' means a civil forfeiture 
                proceeding under section 26 of the Animal Welfare Act 
                (7 U.S.C. 2156) or section 1955 of this title, the 
                subject of which is an animal.''.
                                 <all>