SB1498

• Covered property and value: The contraband definition now expressly lists digital currencies, NFTs and stablecoins, while retaining the required links to the offenses specified in the statute. Digital currency means a digital representation of value recorded on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger, including blockchain or similar technology. For digital currency gained from an offense, “proceeds” includes its increase in value between acquisition and forfeiture—not merely its value when acquired.
• Wallets and financial institutions: The act adds a digital-currency wallet, connected or unconnected to an exchange or network, to the depository-account definition, which still begins with a regulated financial institution’s obligation under a written agreement. When served with a seizure warrant, such an institution gains an option to transfer covered digital assets to a secure, unconnected wallet possessed by law enforcement or the state’s attorney.
• Custody: Within the amended 72-hour custody provisions, the new digital-asset clause directs the employing law-enforcement agency to transfer seized digital currency, NFTs or stablecoins to a wallet not connected to an exchange or network and accessible only to the agency or the state’s attorney. The text also retains the general custody alternatives and court-order framework.
• Where court proceedings can be filed: For covered digital assets or an unconnected wallet, the act adds the county where the agency initiating the seizure is located as a place for a suit for proceeds and a forfeiture filing. It does not remove the other listed places for a proceeds suit or the seizure-county filing route.
• Transition: The changes apply only to property or proceeds seized on or after September 1, 2025. If any portion was seized before that date, the prior law continues to govern the property or proceeds for this purpose.

Final law; House committee explanation; Prior definitions; Prior proceeds-suit rule; Prior custody rules; Prior financial-institution procedure.

All five published operative versions match. The official amendment index lists no amendments; these provisions were in the introduced bill, not later floor additions. Introduced; Senate committee; Senate-passed; House committee; Final law; Version index; Amendment index.

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Law-enforcement agencies and prosecutors receive explicit digital-asset handling and filing provisions and must manage secure custody. Owners and other protected interest holders face proceedings that can include appreciation in offense-derived digital currency. Seizure is not the same as a final forfeiture judgment. The existing civil procedure requires the state to prove forfeiture by a preponderance of the evidence—more likely than not—not proof beyond a reasonable doubt. A final criminal conviction is not required. Notice rules and the statutory defenses for qualifying owners and interest holders are not repealed by this bill. Final law; Civil proof standard and no-conviction requirement; Owner and interest-holder defenses; Notice and proceeding requirements.

Both fiscal notes say the state and local fiscal effects cannot be determined. The comptroller reported that state revenue could increase, but the number and value of future forfeitures are unknown. This is not a quantified revenue forecast or a finding that implementation costs are zero. The criminal-justice impact statements anticipate no significant effect on state correctional populations or resources; that is a separate estimate, not a resolution of the uncertain forfeiture revenue. Original fiscal note; Later fiscal note; Original criminal-justice estimate; Later criminal-justice estimate.