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SB0481 • 2026

Forfeiture of Assets

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 40, Chapter 33, relative to forfeiture.

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Lowe, Lafferty
Last action
2025-05-13
Official status
Effective date(s) 07/01/2025
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and official digest do not provide details on the removal of fees for indigent people or requirements for agencies to release seized property if there's no legal reason to keep it.

Forfeiture of Assets Act

This bill changes Tennessee's forfeiture laws by removing requirements for claimants to post bonds when filing claims to seized property.

What This Bill Does

  • Removes the requirement for a person claiming ownership of seized property to file a bond with their claim.
  • Changes how secured parties handle proof of security interests when a forfeiture warrant is issued.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who have their property seized and want to claim ownership.
  • Secured parties with an interest in the seized property.
  • Government agencies handling forfeiture cases.

Terms To Know

Forfeiture
The legal process where property is taken by the government because it's believed to be connected to illegal activities.
Secured party
A person or company that has a financial interest in seized property, like a bank with a loan on an asset.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill only applies to seizures happening after July 1, 2025.
  • It does not change how forfeiture warrants are issued or the process for seizing property.
  • The full impact of these changes is yet to be seen in practice.

Bill History

  1. 2025-05-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 07/01/2025

  2. 2025-05-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 319

  3. 2025-05-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 319

  4. 2025-05-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for action.

  6. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  7. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  8. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  9. 2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 95, Nays 0, PNV 0

  10. 2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  11. 2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  12. 2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  13. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  14. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  15. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 32, Nays 0

  16. 2025-04-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 4/14/2025

  17. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/14/2025

  18. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/10/2025

  19. 2025-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  20. 2025-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  21. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for 4/8/2025

  22. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  23. 2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/8/2025

  24. 2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  25. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/2/2025

  26. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  27. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed behind the budget

  28. 2025-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  29. 2025-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/18/2025

  30. 2025-03-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor change.

  31. 2025-03-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  32. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/18/2025

  33. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/19/2025

  34. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee to 3/19/2025

  35. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/12/2025

  36. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee

  37. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  38. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/5/2025

  39. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee

  40. 2025-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  41. 2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 2/26/2025

  42. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  43. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  44. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  45. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  46. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  47. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  48. 2025-01-29 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

NOTICE

Upon issuance of
a
forfeiture warrant,
present law requires
the judge
to
retain the affidavit relied upon in support of the warrant and the officer
to
, within seven working days, send the warrant, a copy of the affidavit and the notice of seizure to the applicable agency.

By signing and issuing the forfeiture warrant, the judg
e is affirming that the required finding of probable cause necessary to issue the warrant has been made.

Upon receipt of the documents, the applicable agency
must
notify any other owner, as may be determined from public records of titles, registrations or
other recorded documents, or secured party that a forfeiture warrant has been issued.

Upon receipt of the notice of seizure and forfeiture warrant and after interviewing any witnesses, the applicable agency
must
release the property if there is no legal
and factual basis for forfeiture.

The seizing agency
must
maintain a copy of the notice of seizure for all property seized at its main office and the notices and receipts shall be public records.

SECURITY INTERESTS

If a secured party with a duly perfec
ted security interest receives notification
as described above
that a forfeiture warrant has been issued with regard to the secured property,
then present law requires
the secured party
to
submit proof of the security interest to the applicable agency with
in 30 days of receipt of the notification in order for
the provisions in this heading to apply
.

A secured party with a duly perfected interest or any successor in interest to the secured party who does not receive notice of intent to forfeit the interest,
need not file a claim to preserve any right the party may have to the property.

Upon receiving proof of a security interest, no cost bond or other pleadings need be filed by the secured party or successor in interest in order to protect its interest in t
he seized property or to assert a claim to the property as
described below
.
For
seizures occurring on or after
July 1, 2025, this bill removes that no cost bond needs to be so filed.

CLAIMS

Present law authorizes a
person asserting a claim to property
seized, and described on the notice of seizure,
to
within 30

days of being notified by the applicable agency that a forfeiture warrant has issued, file with the agency a written claim requesting a hearing and stating the person's interest in the seized pro
perty for which a claim is made.

Except as provided in
the Security Interests heading above
,
present law requires,
with the claim
,
the claimant
to
also file a cash bond or attorney or corporate surety bond in the sum of
$
350, the bond being made payable
to the state of Tennessee
. However, a
n indigent person may file a claim in forma pauperis by filing with

the claim an affidavit stating that the person is unable to bear the cost of the proceeding.
For
seizures occurring on or after
July 1, 2025, this bi
ll removes these requirements.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 1229
By Lafferty

SENATE BILL 481
By Lowe

SB0481
001591
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 40,
Chapter 33, relative to forfeiture.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-33-206, is amended by deleting
subsection (b).
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-33-205(a), is amended by
deleting the language "cost bond or".
SECTION 3. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to seizures occurring on or after that date.