TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on May 7, 2025

Gov. Bill Lee has signed a new law eliminating a $350 fee property owners must pay to reclaim items seized by the government in civil asset forfeiture cases, WBIR reports. The Tennessee General Assembly had unanimously approved the measure — HB1229/SB481 — in April. Sponsored by Rep. Justin Lafferty, R-Knoxville, the law waives the fee as long as property owners go through a civil hearing to recover their property. “Tennesseans shouldn’t have to pay a fee just to reclaim their own property, especially when they were innocent bystanders, which is often the case in civil forfeiture,” Lafferty said of the law, which will take effect on July 1. The law will not affect processes associated with criminal asset forfeiture.