1-1 By: Bosse (Senate Sponsor - Carona) H.B. No. 1376
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 16, 1999;
1-3 April 19, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
1-4 Economic Development; May 5, 1999, reported favorably by the
1-5 following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 5, 1999, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to the notice provided to an owner of a vehicle towed to a
1-9 vehicle storage facility.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Section 13, Vehicle Storage Facility Act (Article
1-12 6687-9a, Revised Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
1-13 Sec. 13. NOTIFICATION OF OWNER. (a) The operator of a
1-14 vehicle storage facility who receives a vehicle that is registered
1-15 in this state and has been towed to the facility for storage shall,
1-16 not later than the fifth day but not before 24 hours after the date
1-17 the operator receives the vehicle, send a written notice to the
1-18 registered owner and the primary lienholder of the vehicle. [The
1-19 operator of the storage facility may charge the owner of the
1-20 vehicle a reasonable fee for sending the notice required by this
1-21 subsection.]
1-22 (b) The operator of a vehicle storage facility who receives
1-23 a vehicle that is registered outside this state or the United
1-24 States shall send a written notice to the vehicle's last registered
1-25 owner and all recorded lienholders not later than the 14th day but
1-26 not before 24 hours after the date the operator receives the
1-27 vehicle.
1-28 (c) It is a defense to an action initiated by the department
1-29 for a violation of this section that the facility has attempted in
1-30 writing to obtain information from the governmental entity in which
1-31 the vehicle is registered but was unsuccessful.
1-32 (d) [(b)] The notice must be sent by certified mail, return
1-33 receipt requested, and must contain:
1-34 (1) the date the vehicle was accepted for storage;
1-35 (2) the first day for which a storage fee is assessed;
1-36 (3) the daily storage rate;
1-37 (4) the type and amount of all other charges to be
1-38 paid when the vehicle is claimed;
1-39 (5) the full name, street address, and telephone
1-40 number of the facility;
1-41 (6) the hours during which the owner may claim the
1-42 vehicle; and
1-43 (7) the facility license number preceded by "Texas
1-44 Department of Transportation Vehicle Storage Facility License
1-45 Number."
1-46 (e) Notice by publication in a newspaper of general
1-47 circulation in the area from where the vehicle was towed may be
1-48 used if:
1-49 (1) the identity of the last registered owner cannot
1-50 be determined;
1-51 (2) the registration does not contain an address for
1-52 the last registered owner; or
1-53 (3) it is impossible to determine with reasonable
1-54 certainty the identity and address of each lienholder.
1-55 (f) Notice by publication under Subsection (e) of this
1-56 section is not required if a notice given under Subsection (a) or
1-57 (b) of this section is returned because:
1-58 (1) it was unclaimed or refused; or
1-59 (2) the addressee moved without leaving a forwarding
1-60 address.
1-61 (g) Notice by publication must contain all of the
1-62 information required by this section. The publication may contain
1-63 a list of more than one vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor.
1-64 (h) Notice under Subsection (a) or (b) of this section is
2-1 considered to have been given on the date indicated on the postmark
2-2 and [(c) A notice] is considered to be timely filed if the
2-3 postmark shows that it was mailed within the [five-day] period
2-4 provided by Subsection (a) or (b) of this section, as applicable,
2-5 or if publication was made as authorized by Subsection (e) of this
2-6 section.
2-7 (i) The operator of the storage facility may charge the
2-8 owner of the vehicle a reasonable fee for giving the notice
2-9 required by this section.
2-10 (j) [(d)] If a vehicle for which notice was given [sent]
2-11 under [Subsection (a) of] this section has not, before the 31st
2-12 [61st] day after the date notice was mailed or published, been
2-13 claimed by a person permitted to claim the vehicle or been taken
2-14 into custody by a law enforcement agency under Chapter 683,
2-15 Transportation Code, the operator of the vehicle storage facility
2-16 shall send a second notice to the registered owner and primary
2-17 lienholder. The second notice must contain:
2-18 (1) the information required under Subsection (d)
2-19 [(b)] of this section;
2-20 (2) a statement of the right of the facility to
2-21 dispose of the vehicle under Section 14B of this article; and
2-22 (3) a statement that the failure of the owner or
2-23 lienholder to claim the vehicle before the 30th day after the date
2-24 the second notice was mailed is:
2-25 (A) a waiver by that person of all right, title,
2-26 and interest in the vehicle; and
2-27 (B) a consent to the sale of the vehicle at a
2-28 public sale.
2-29 SECTION 2. Section 14B(a), Vehicle Storage Facility Act
2-30 (Article 6687-9a, Revised Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
2-31 (a) The operator of a vehicle storage facility may dispose
2-32 of a vehicle for which notice was given [sent] under Section 13(j)
2-33 [13(d)] of this article as provided by this section if, before the
2-34 30th day after the date the notice was mailed, the vehicle has not
2-35 been:
2-36 (1) claimed by a person entitled to claim the vehicle;
2-37 or
2-38 (2) taken into custody by a law enforcement agency
2-39 under Chapter 683, Transportation Code.
2-40 SECTION 3. Section 14(d), Vehicle Storage Facility Act
2-41 (Article 6687-9a, Revised Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
2-42 (d) The operator of a vehicle storage facility may charge a
2-43 fee under Subsection (c):
2-44 (1) for not more than five days before the date notice
2-45 described by Section 13 of this article is mailed or published; and
2-46 (2) after the date notice is mailed or published, for
2-47 each day the vehicle is in storage until the vehicle is removed and
2-48 all accrued charges are paid.
2-49 SECTION 4. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-50 The change in law made by this Act applies only to a vehicle
2-51 received by a vehicle storage facility on or after the effective
2-52 date of this Act.
2-53 (b) A vehicle received before the effective date of this Act
2-54 is covered by the law in effect when the vehicle was received, and
2-55 the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
2-56 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
2-57 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-58 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-59 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-60 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
2-61 * * * * *