By Carona S.B. No. 652
76R5045 WP-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the notice provided to an owner of a vehicle towed to a
1-3 vehicle storage facility.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 13, Vehicle Storage Facility Act (Article
1-6 6687-9a, Revised Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 13. NOTIFICATION OF OWNER. (a) The operator of a
1-8 vehicle storage facility who receives a vehicle that is registered
1-9 in this state and has been towed to the facility for storage shall,
1-10 not later than the fifth day but not before 24 hours after the date
1-11 the operator receives the vehicle, send a written notice to the
1-12 registered owner and the primary lienholder of the vehicle. [The
1-13 operator of the storage facility may charge the owner of the
1-14 vehicle a reasonable fee for sending the notice required by this
1-15 subsection.]
1-16 (b) The operator of a vehicle storage facility who receives
1-17 a vehicle that is registered outside this state or the United
1-18 States shall send a written notice to the vehicle's last registered
1-19 owner and all recorded lienholders not later than the 14th day but
1-20 not before 24 hours after the date the operator receives the
1-21 vehicle.
1-22 (c) It is a defense to an action initiated by the department
1-23 for a violation of this section that the facility has attempted in
1-24 writing to obtain information from the governmental entity in which
2-1 the vehicle is registered but was unsuccessful.
2-2 (d) [(b)] The notice must be sent by certified mail, return
2-3 receipt requested, and must contain:
2-4 (1) the date the vehicle was accepted for storage;
2-5 (2) the first day for which a storage fee is assessed;
2-6 (3) the daily storage rate;
2-7 (4) the type and amount of all other charges to be
2-8 paid when the vehicle is claimed;
2-9 (5) the full name, street address, and telephone
2-10 number of the facility;
2-11 (6) the hours during which the owner may claim the
2-12 vehicle; and
2-13 (7) the facility license number preceded by "Texas
2-14 Department of Transportation Vehicle Storage Facility License
2-15 Number."
2-16 (e) Notice by publication in a newspaper of general
2-17 circulation in the area from where the vehicle was towed may be
2-18 used if:
2-19 (1) the identity of the last registered owner cannot
2-20 be determined;
2-21 (2) the registration does not contain an address for
2-22 the last registered owner; or
2-23 (3) it is impossible to determine with reasonable
2-24 certainty the identity and address of each lienholder.
2-25 (f) Notice by publication under Subsection (e) of this
2-26 section is not required if a notice given under Subsection (a) or
2-27 (b) of this section is returned because:
3-1 (1) it was unclaimed or refused; or
3-2 (2) the addressee moved without leaving a forwarding
3-3 address.
3-4 (g) Notice by publication must contain all of the
3-5 information required by this section. The publication may contain
3-6 a list of more than one vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor.
3-7 (h) Notice under Subsection (a) or (b) of this section is
3-8 considered to have been given on the date indicated on the postmark
3-9 and [(c) A notice] is considered to be timely filed if the
3-10 postmark shows that it was mailed within the [five-day] period
3-11 provided by Subsection (a) or (b) of this section, as applicable,
3-12 or if publication was made as authorized by Subsection (e) of this
3-13 section.
3-14 (i) The operator of the storage facility may charge the
3-15 owner of the vehicle a reasonable fee for giving the notice
3-16 required by this section.
3-17 (j) [(d)] If a vehicle for which notice was given [sent]
3-18 under [Subsection (a) of] this section has not, before the 31st
3-19 [61st] day after the date notice was mailed or published, been
3-20 claimed by a person permitted to claim the vehicle or been taken
3-21 into custody by a law enforcement agency under Chapter 683,
3-22 Transportation Code, the operator of the vehicle storage facility
3-23 shall send a second notice to the registered owner and primary
3-24 lienholder. The second notice must contain:
3-25 (1) the information required under Subsection (d)
3-26 [(b)] of this section;
3-27 (2) a statement of the right of the facility to
4-1 dispose of the vehicle under Section 14B of this article; and
4-2 (3) a statement that the failure of the owner or
4-3 lienholder to claim the vehicle before the 30th day after the date
4-4 the second notice was mailed is:
4-5 (A) a waiver by that person of all right, title,
4-6 and interest in the vehicle; and
4-7 (B) a consent to the sale of the vehicle at a
4-8 public sale.
4-9 SECTION 2. Section 14B(a), Vehicle Storage Facility Act
4-10 (Article 6687-9a, Revised Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
4-11 (a) The operator of a vehicle storage facility may dispose
4-12 of a vehicle for which notice was given [sent] under Section 13(j)
4-13 [13(d)] of this article as provided by this section if, before the
4-14 30th day after the date the notice was mailed, the vehicle has not
4-15 been:
4-16 (1) claimed by a person entitled to claim the vehicle;
4-17 or
4-18 (2) taken into custody by a law enforcement agency
4-19 under Chapter 683, Transportation Code.
4-20 SECTION 3. Section 14(d), Vehicle Storage Facility Act
4-21 (Article 6687-9a, Revised Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
4-22 (d) The operator of a vehicle storage facility may charge a
4-23 fee under Subsection (c):
4-24 (1) for not more than five days before the date notice
4-25 described by Section 13 of this article is mailed or published; and
4-26 (2) after the date notice is mailed or published, for
4-27 each day the vehicle is in storage until the vehicle is removed and
5-1 all accrued charges are paid.
5-2 SECTION 4. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
5-3 The change in law made by this Act applies only to a vehicle
5-4 received by a vehicle storage facility on or after the effective
5-5 date of this Act.
5-6 (b) A vehicle received before the effective date of this Act
5-7 is covered by the law in effect when the vehicle was received, and
5-8 the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
5-9 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
5-10 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-11 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-12 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-13 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.