Prior to the property's being sold or returned to the owner or otherwise disposed of, the Department of Revenue shall assign it a new identification number. If the property is to be returned to the owner, the court shall order that such return is conditioned on the owner paying the expenses relating to the civil forfeiture, including the expenses of maintenance of custody, advertising, and court costs.
(Code 1981, §40-11-24, enacted by Ga. L. 1988, p. 1948, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 951, § 7-1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 21-7/HB 501; Code 1981, §40-11-21, as redesignated by Ga. L. 2015, p. 693, § 3-25/HB 233.)
Editor's notes.- Ga. L. 2015, p. 693, § 4-1/HB 233, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This Act shall become effective July 1, 2015, and shall apply to seizures of property for forfeiture that occur on or after that date. Any such seizure that occurs before July 1, 2015, shall be governed by the statute in effect at the time of such seizure."
Law reviews.- For article on the 2015 amendment of this Code section, see 32 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 1 (2015).