Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 33.

ON APRIL 26, 2021, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1254, AS AMENDED.<br /> <br /> AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill to change the requirement for awards of attorney's fees in certain forfeiture actions.<br /> <br /> Present law requires that, upon entering an initial order which includes a return of property, in whole or in part, the administrative law judge must award attorney's fees against the seizing agency subject to the following limits:<br /> <br /> (1) 25 percent of the National Automobile Dealers Association rough trade-in value of any motor vehicle seized and returned;<br /> <br /> (2) 25 percent of the value of any currency seized and returned;<br /> <br /> (3) 25 percent of the reasonable replacement value of any miscellaneous personal property seized and returned;<br /> <br /> (4) $3,000; or<br /> <br /> (5) If multiple types of property are returned, a combination of the amounts in (1)-(3), provided that the total amount of attorney's fees awarded do not $3,000.<br /> <br /> This amendment requires the award of attorney's fees be made upon entry of "an order" instead of "an initial order", specifies that the attorney's fees must be reasonable, changes the cap on attorney's fees to $10,000, and adds that failure to provide documentation of an attorney's time and expenses must result in no attorney's fees being awarded.<br />