Could a Texas sheriff use drug-forfeiture sale proceeds to buy a patrol car?

Texas AG Opinion JM-813: Forfeiture Funds and a Sheriff's Patrol Car

Plain-English summary

A Texas Senate committee chairman asked whether the Cherokee County sheriff could use money from the sale of an airplane forfeited after a marijuana raid to buy a patrol car.

Former article 4476-15 required forfeited money, property-sale proceeds, and other things of value awarded to a qualifying law-enforcement agency or office to be deposited in a special fund. With limited exceptions for drug-abuse prevention and treatment, expenditures had to be used solely to investigate alleged violations of Texas criminal law.

The sheriff's office qualified as an office of a political subdivision authorized to employ peace officers. JM-813 assumed that the airplane forfeiture itself had complied with the statutory procedures.

A patrol car could be used for criminal investigations, but a sheriff also had noncriminal responsibilities requiring a vehicle, including serving civil process. The Attorney General could not find facts or guarantee how a purchased car would actually be used.

The restricted fund could support the purchase only if the car's use satisfied the statute's sole-purpose requirement. The opinion did not give an unconditional approval for a general patrol vehicle.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1987 under former V.T.C.S. article 4476-15. Texas forfeiture statutes, permissible-use rules, accounting requirements, auditing, and vehicle-purchase restrictions have since changed. Treat this page as historical context, not current spending authority. Verify current law and any applicable forfeiture agreement before committing restricted funds.

Common questions

Did JM-813 approve buying any ordinary sheriff's patrol car?

No. It said the fund was limited to criminal investigations and left the vehicle's actual use as a factual question.

Why could a patrol car create a problem?

Sheriffs used vehicles for both criminal investigations and noncriminal duties, such as serving civil process. Mixed use could conflict with the former statute's word "solely."

Did the opinion decide whether the airplane was properly forfeited?

No. It expressly assumed compliance with the forfeiture procedures.

Could part of the fund be used for drug prevention or treatment?

The quoted statute allowed specified directors and governing bodies to direct no more than 10 percent to drug-abuse prevention and treatment under stated procedures.

Who had to decide how the car would actually be used?

The responsible local officials. The Attorney General opinion process did not determine the operational facts.

Background and statutory framework

Section 5.08(f) placed forfeited value and sale proceeds in a special fund administered by the seizing agency or office. The primary expenditure rule limited the money to investigation of alleged criminal-law violations.

The opinion identified sheriffs and deputies as peace officers and the sheriff's office as a qualifying political-subdivision office. It then compared criminal-investigation use with the sheriff's civil-process duties under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 15.

Citations

Statutes and rule:

• V.T.C.S. article 4476-15, section 5.08(f)
• Code of Criminal Procedure article 2.12(1)
• V.T.C.S. articles 6869b and 6869f
• Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 15

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/jim-mattox/jm-813
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1987/jm0813.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Obvious character-level OCR errors have been corrected, but minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.

October 21, 1987

Honorable Roy Blake
Chairman
Administration Committee
Texas State Senate
P. O. Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711

Opinion No. JM-813

Re: Whether money obtained by a sheriff as a result of the confiscation of contraband may be used to purchase a patrol car

Dear Senator Blake:

You ask whether money the sheriff's office obtained as the result of the sale of an airplane confiscated in a marijuana raid may be expended for the purchase of a patrol car for the Cherokee County Sheriff's office.

Section 5.08, article 4476-15, V.T.C.S., provides:

(f) All money, securities, certificates of deposit, negotiable instruments, stocks, bonds, businesses or business investments, contractual rights, real estate, personal property and other things of value, and the proceeds from the sale of an item described in this subsection that are forfeited to the seizing agencies of the state or an agency or office of a political subdivision of the state authorized by law to employ peace officers shall be deposited in a special fund to be administered by the seizing agencies or office to which they are forfeited. Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, expenditures from this fund shall be used solely for the investigation of any alleged violations of the criminal laws of this state. The director of an agency of the state may use not more than 10 percent of the amount credited to the fund for the prevention of drug abuse and for treatment of persons with drug-related problems. The director of an agency or office of a political subdivision that has received funds under this section shall comply with the request of the governing body of the political subdivision to deposit not more than 10 percent of the amount credited to the fund into the treasury of the subdivision. The governing body of the subdivision shall use the funds received for the prevention of drug abuse and for treatment of persons with drug-related problems. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to decrease the total salaries, expenses, and allowances which an agency or office is receiving from other sources at or from the time this subsection takes effect.

We will assume that the forfeiture of the airplane to the sheriff's office was in compliance with the procedures prescribed in article 4476-15.

Sheriffs and their deputies are peace officers as that term is defined in article 2.12(1) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Sheriffs have the authority to appoint deputies for their respective counties. Articles 6869b and 6869f, V.T.C.S. Thus, the sheriff's office is an office of a political subdivision authorized by law to employ peace officers.

The legislature has made it clear in section 5.08 that expenditures from this fund shall be used solely for the investigation of any alleged violations of the criminal law. While the sheriff may use a patrol car in the investigation of criminal law violations, he is charged with other noncriminal law duties which involve the use of a car, such as the service of civil process. Tex. R. Civ. Proc. R. 15. This office is not in a position to determine whether a car purchased by the sheriff from such funds will be used solely for alleged violations of the criminal law.

SUMMARY

Expenditures from a fund the Sheriff of Cherokee County has received from forfeitures under section 5.08, article 4476-15, V.T.C.S. shall be used solely for the investigation of any alleged violations of the criminal law. This office is not in a position to determine whether a car purchased from such funds will be used solely for alleged violations of the law.

JIM MATTOX
Attorney General of Texas

MARY KELLER
Executive Assistant Attorney General

JUDGE ZOLLIE STEAKLEY
Special Assistant Attorney General

RICK GILPIN
Chairman, Opinion Committee

Prepared by Tom G. Davis
Assistant Attorney General