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House Bill 3510 |
House Author: Hamilton |
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Effective: 9-1-11 |
Senate Sponsor: Carona |
House Bill 3510 amends Occupations Code provisions relating to the regulation of the towing, booting, and storage of vehicles. The bill updates and revises provisions relating to reporting by a vehicle storage facility to a law enforcement agency, certain notice requirements imposed on a vehicle storage facility, license renewal requirements for the holder of a towing and booting license, conditions under which a booting operator is authorized to boot a vehicle in a parking facility without the vehicle owner's consent, and certain signage requirements.
House Bill 3510 specifies among the actions necessary for securing release of a towed vehicle from a vehicle storage facility the payment of charges for services regulated under the Vehicle Storage Facility Act or the Texas Towing and Booting Act and expands the forms of photo identification acceptable for the purpose of securing such a release to include photo identification issued by a foreign government. The bill authorizes the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation to adopt different rules applicable to each type of permit or license for tow trucks, towing operators, towing companies, booting companies, and boot operators and requires the commission to adopt requirements for a consent tow, private property tow, and incident management tow.
House Bill 3510 limits the amount a license or permit holder may charge a vehicle owner or operator for a nonconsent tow, prohibits a license or permit holder from charging a fee for a service related to a nonconsent tow that is not on a list of fees established by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) or a political subdivision, and authorizes TDLR to require a license or permit holder to refund the amount charged in excess of the amounts established by commission rule or by a political subdivision or the total amount charged for a service that is not on the list of authorized fees.