By: Patterson S.B. No. 560
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to disposal of abandoned vehicles.
1-2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-3 SECTION 1. Subsections (b) and (d), Section 5.05, Chapter
1-4 741, Acts of the 67th Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article
1-5 4477-9a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), are amended to read as
1-6 follows:
1-7 (b) If a garagekeeper or storage facility acquires
1-8 possession of a motor vehicle for a purpose other than repair, the
1-9 garagekeeper or storage facility is entitled to towing,
1-10 preservation, and notification charges and to reasonable storage
1-11 fees, in addition to storage fees earned pursuant to contract, for
1-12 a maximum of five days only until notification is mailed to the
1-13 last known registered owner and all lien holders of record as
1-14 provided by Subsection (a) of this section. After such notice is
1-15 mailed, storage fees may continue until the vehicle is removed and
1-16 all accrued charges are paid. A garagekeeper who fails to report
1-17 the possession of an abandoned vehicle to the police department
1-18 within seven days <48 hours> after the date it becomes abandoned
1-19 may no longer claim reimbursement for storage of the vehicle.
1-20 (d) An abandoned vehicle left in a storage facility and not
1-21 reclaimed after notice is sent in the manner provided by Section
1-22 5.03 of this article shall be taken into custody by the police
1-23 department and used for police department purposes as provided by
1-24 Section 5.031 of this article or sold in the manner provided by
2-1 Section 5.04 of this article. The proceeds of a sale under this
2-2 section shall first be applied to the garagekeeper's charges for
2-3 servicing, storage, and repair, but as compensation for the expense
2-4 incurred by the police department in placing the vehicle in custody
2-5 and the expense of auction, the police department shall retain two
2-6 percent of the gross proceeds of the sale of each vehicle
2-7 auctioned, unless the gross proceeds are less than $10. If the
2-8 gross proceeds are less than $10, the department shall retain the
2-9 $10 to defray expenses of custody and auction. If the Department
2-10 of Public Safety conducts the auction, the compensation shall be
2-11 deposited in the state treasury and shall be used to defray the
2-12 expense incurred. Surplus proceeds remaining from an auction shall
2-13 be distributed in accordance with Section 5.04 of this article. If
2-14 the police department does not take the vehicle into custody before
2-15 the 31st day after the date the notice is sent under Subsection (c)
2-16 of this section, the police department may not take the vehicle
2-17 into custody and the storage facility may dispose of the vehicle as
2-18 provided by Chapter 70, Property Code, except that the notice under
2-19 Subsection (c) of this section satisfies the notice requirements of
2-20 that chapter.
2-21 SECTION 2. This Act applies only to a vehicle for which a
2-22 notice is sent under Subsection (c), Section 5.05, Chapter 741,
2-23 Acts of the 67th Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article
2-24 4477-9a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), on or after the effective
2-25 date of this Act. A vehicle for which a notice is sent under
2-26 Subsection (c) of Section 5.05 before the effective date of this
2-27 Act is governed by the law in effect when the notice was sent, and
3-1 that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
3-2 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
3-3 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-4 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-5 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-6 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-7 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
3-8 passage, and it is so enacted.