HB 622 Summary

• Prohibits civil forfeiture and requires criminal conviction for property forfeiture under state law, with limited exceptions for defendant death, deportation, immunity grants, fleeing jurisdiction, or property abandonment.

• Establishes $2,500 exemptions for U.S. currency and motor vehicles from seizure and forfeiture, though prosecuting authorities may increase these thresholds by district; homestead property is fully exempt.

• Requires law enforcement to provide itemized receipts for seized property and prohibits waiver of property rights; mandates court orders for real property seizure after notice and hearing.

• Grants innocent property owners and secured creditors the right to petition courts for hearings to recover their interests, with state bearing burden to prove actual knowledge of underlying crime.

• Requires seized property to transfer to State Treasurer within 30 days of forfeiture; prohibits law enforcement agencies from retaining forfeited property and bars federal adoption of state seizures under $50,000.