1-1 By: Patterson S.B. No. 560
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed February 14, 1995; February 15, 1995,
1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence;
1-4 February 28, 1995, reported favorably, as amended, by the following
1-5 vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; February 28, 1995, sent to printer.)
1-6 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 By: Cain
1-7 Amend S.B. No. 560 by adding after "and this rule is hereby
1-8 suspended" in SECTION 4 the following:
1-9 "and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after
1-10 its passage, and it is so enacted".
1-11 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-12 AN ACT
1-13 relating to disposal of abandoned vehicles.
1-14 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-15 SECTION 1. Subsections (b) and (d), Section 5.05, Chapter
1-16 741, Acts of the 67th Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article
1-17 4477-9a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), are amended to read as
1-18 follows:
1-19 (b) If a garagekeeper or storage facility acquires
1-20 possession of a motor vehicle for a purpose other than repair, the
1-21 garagekeeper or storage facility is entitled to towing,
1-22 preservation, and notification charges and to reasonable storage
1-23 fees, in addition to storage fees earned pursuant to contract, for
1-24 a maximum of five days only until notification is mailed to the
1-25 last known registered owner and all lien holders of record as
1-26 provided by Subsection (a) of this section. After such notice is
1-27 mailed, storage fees may continue until the vehicle is removed and
1-28 all accrued charges are paid. A garagekeeper who fails to report
1-29 the possession of an abandoned vehicle to the police department
1-30 within seven days <48 hours> after the date it becomes abandoned
1-31 may no longer claim reimbursement for storage of the vehicle.
1-32 (d) An abandoned vehicle left in a storage facility and not
1-33 reclaimed after notice is sent in the manner provided by Section
1-34 5.03 of this article shall be taken into custody by the police
1-35 department and used for police department purposes as provided by
1-36 Section 5.031 of this article or sold in the manner provided by
1-37 Section 5.04 of this article. The proceeds of a sale under this
1-38 section shall first be applied to the garagekeeper's charges for
1-39 servicing, storage, and repair, but as compensation for the expense
1-40 incurred by the police department in placing the vehicle in custody
1-41 and the expense of auction, the police department shall retain two
1-42 percent of the gross proceeds of the sale of each vehicle
1-43 auctioned, unless the gross proceeds are less than $10. If the
1-44 gross proceeds are less than $10, the department shall retain the
1-45 $10 to defray expenses of custody and auction. If the Department
1-46 of Public Safety conducts the auction, the compensation shall be
1-47 deposited in the state treasury and shall be used to defray the
1-48 expense incurred. Surplus proceeds remaining from an auction shall
1-49 be distributed in accordance with Section 5.04 of this article. If
1-50 the police department does not take the vehicle into custody before
1-51 the 31st day after the date the notice is sent under Subsection (c)
1-52 of this section, the police department may not take the vehicle
1-53 into custody and the storage facility may dispose of the vehicle as
1-54 provided by Chapter 70, Property Code, except that the notice under
1-55 Subsection (c) of this section satisfies the notice requirements of
1-56 that chapter.
1-57 SECTION 2. This Act applies only to a vehicle for which a
1-58 notice is sent under Subsection (c), Section 5.05, Chapter 741,
1-59 Acts of the 67th Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article
1-60 4477-9a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), on or after the effective
1-61 date of this Act. A vehicle for which a notice is sent under
1-62 Subsection (c) of Section 5.05 before the effective date of this
1-63 Act is governed by the law in effect when the notice was sent, and
1-64 that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
1-65 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
1-66 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
1-67 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-68 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-1 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-2 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
2-3 * * * * *