FAIR Act of 2023
Latest action. Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act of 2023 or the FAIR Act of 2023
This bill revises federal laws governing civil asset forfeiture.
Specifically, the bill makes various changes to the general rules governing civil forfeiture proceedings. Among the changes, the bill
requires counsel for an indigent property owner whose primary residence is the subject of a civil forfeiture hearing regardless of whether the owner requests counsel,
raises the evidentiary standard from preponderance of the evidence to clear and convincing evidence, and
sets forth factors courts must consider in determining whether a forfeiture of property used to facilitate the commission of an offense is excessive.
Additionally, the bill eliminates statutory authority for equitable sharing and directs forfeiture proceeds to be deposited into the general fund of the Treasury instead of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Assets Forfeiture Fund.
The bill also makes changes with respect to the civil forfeiture of money involved in structuring offenses (i.e., structuring currency transactions to evade currency reporting requirements). Among the changes, the bill
specifies an evidentiary standard of knowingly for structuring offenses, and
requires a prompt probable cause hearing following the seizure of money involved in a structuring offense.
Finally, the bill requires the annual report on deposits into the DOJ Asset Forfeiture Fund to specify deposits from each type of forfeiture and specify which funds were obtained from criminal forfeitures and which were obtained from civil forfeitures.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 9, 2023. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 14, 2023: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Tim Walberg (R-MI) introduced it on March 9, 2023, and 18 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 9 Democrats, 9 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 9, 2023, 1281 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1184 days ago, on June 14, 2023.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 118th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2025 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers