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.
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