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H.R. 1525 118th Congress House

FAIR Act of 2023

Official title: To restore the integrity of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other purposes.

Introduced: March 9, 2023 Introduced by: Tim Walberg Republican · Michigan See on congress.gov
Crime and Law Enforcement Administrative remediesCivil actions and liabilityCongressional oversightCriminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
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Customs enforcementDue process and equal protectionEvidence and witnessesGovernment trust fundsJudicial procedure and administrationLawyers and legal servicesLegal fees and court costsProperty rightsState and local government operations
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This bill died when the 118th Congress ended
It never became law before the 118th Congress (2023–2024) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 5 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jun 14, 2023
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Jun 14, 2023
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 26 - 0.
Mar 17, 2023
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Mar 9, 2023
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Mar 9, 2023
Introduced in House
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 Latest action June 14, 2023

Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

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.

 Related & companion bills 1
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 5
 Lobbying activity 1

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

  • EARTHJUSTICE ACTION
    for EARTHJUSTICE ACTION · District of Columbia · 1st Quarter 2025 (Jan 1 - Mar 31)

Bodies those filers lobbied

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

 Cosponsors 18
All 18 Democratic 7 Republican 8
R
Gosar, Paul A.
Arizona · Aug 22, 2023
 D
Schiff, Adam B.
California · Aug 22, 2023
Jackson Lee, Sheila
· Jul 11, 2023
 R
Davidson, Warren
Ohio · Jul 6, 2023
 R
Fry, Russell
South Carolina · Jun 22, 2023
 D
Johnson, Henry C. "Hank"
Georgia · Jun 22, 2023
 R
Cline, Ben
Virginia · Jun 15, 2023
 R
Clyde, Andrew S.
Georgia · Jun 14, 2023
 R
Palmer, Gary J.
Alabama · Jun 14, 2023
 R
Mace, Nancy
South Carolina · Jun 13, 2023
 D
Scanlon, Mary Gay
Pennsylvania · Jun 6, 2023
 D
Norton, Eleanor Holmes
District of Columbia · Apr 17, 2023
 D
Cohen, Steve
Tennessee · Mar 28, 2023
Armstrong, Kelly
· Mar 9, 2023
Cárdenas, Tony
· Mar 9, 2023
 R
McClintock, Tom
California · Mar 9, 2023
 D
Neguse, Joe
Colorado · Mar 9, 2023
 D
Raskin, Jamie
Maryland · Mar 9, 2023
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 1525: FAIR Act of 2023. 118th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-1525/
MLA
"H.R. 1525: FAIR Act of 2023." 118th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-1525/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 1525, 118th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-1525/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 1525: FAIR Act of 2023](https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-1525/)
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