1-1 By: Carona S.B. No. 652
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed February 23, 1999; February 24, 1999,
1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Economic Development;
1-4 March 25, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 4,
1-5 Nays 0; March 25, 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.
1-19 (b) The operator of a vehicle [the] storage facility who
1-20 receives a vehicle that is registered outside this state or the
1-21 United States shall send a written notice to the vehicle's last
1-22 registered owner and all recorded lienholders not later than the
1-23 14th day but not before 24 hours after the date the operator
1-24 receives the vehicle.
1-25 (c) It is a defense to an action initiated by the department
1-26 for a violation of this section that the facility has attempted in
1-27 writing to obtain information from the governmental entity in which
1-28 the vehicle is registered but was unsuccessful [may charge the
1-29 owner of the vehicle a reasonable fee for sending the notice
1-30 required by this subsection].
1-31 (d) [(b)] The notice must be sent by certified mail, return
1-32 receipt requested, and must contain:
1-33 (1) the date the vehicle was accepted for storage;
1-34 (2) the first day for which a storage fee is assessed;
1-35 (3) the daily storage rate;
1-36 (4) the type and amount of all other charges to be
1-37 paid when the vehicle is claimed;
1-38 (5) the full name, street address, and telephone
1-39 number of the facility;
1-40 (6) the hours during which the owner may claim the
1-41 vehicle; and
1-42 (7) the facility license number preceded by "Texas
1-43 Department of Transportation Vehicle Storage Facility License
1-44 Number."
1-45 (e) Notice by publication in a newspaper of general
1-46 circulation in the area from where the vehicle was towed may be
1-47 used if:
1-48 (1) the identity of the last registered owner cannot
1-49 be determined;
1-50 (2) the registration does not contain an address for
1-51 the last registered owner; or
1-52 (3) it is impossible to determine with reasonable
1-53 certainty the identity and address of each lienholder.
1-54 (f) Notice by publication under Subsection (e) of this
1-55 section is not required if a notice given under Subsection (a) or
1-56 (b) of this section is returned because:
1-57 (1) it was unclaimed or refused; or
1-58 (2) the addressee moved without leaving a forwarding
1-59 address.
1-60 (g) Notice by publication must contain all of the
1-61 information required by this section. The publication may contain
1-62 a list of more than one vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor.
1-63 (h) Notice under Subsection (a) or (b) of this section is
1-64 considered to have been given on the date indicated on the postmark
2-1 and [(c) A notice] is considered to be timely filed if the postmark
2-2 shows that it was mailed within the [five-day] period provided by
2-3 Subsection (a) or (b) of this section, as applicable, or if
2-4 publication was made as authorized by Subsection (e) of this
2-5 section.
2-6 (i) The operator of the storage facility may charge the
2-7 owner of the vehicle a reasonable fee for giving the notice
2-8 required by this section.
2-9 (j) [(d)] If a vehicle for which notice was given [sent]
2-10 under [Subsection (a) of] this section has not, before the 31st
2-11 [61st] day after the date notice was mailed or published, been
2-12 claimed by a person permitted to claim the vehicle or been taken
2-13 into custody by a law enforcement agency under Chapter 683,
2-14 Transportation Code, the operator of the vehicle storage facility
2-15 shall send a second notice to the registered owner and primary
2-16 lienholder. The second notice must contain:
2-17 (1) the information required under Subsection (d)
2-18 [(b)] of this section;
2-19 (2) a statement of the right of the facility to
2-20 dispose of the vehicle under Section 14B of this article; and
2-21 (3) a statement that the failure of the owner or
2-22 lienholder to claim the vehicle before the 30th day after the date
2-23 the second notice was mailed is:
2-24 (A) a waiver by that person of all right, title,
2-25 and interest in the vehicle; and
2-26 (B) a consent to the sale of the vehicle at a
2-27 public sale.
2-28 SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Section 14B, Vehicle Storage
2-29 Facility Act (Article 6687-9a, Revised Statutes), is amended to
2-30 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. Subsection (d), Section 14, Vehicle Storage
2-41 Facility Act (Article 6687-9a, Revised Statutes), is amended to
2-42 read as follows:
2-43 (d) The operator of a vehicle storage facility may charge a
2-44 fee under Subsection (c):
2-45 (1) for not more than five days before the date notice
2-46 described by Section 13 of this article is mailed or published; and
2-47 (2) after the date notice is mailed or published, for
2-48 each day the vehicle is in storage until the vehicle is removed and
2-49 all accrued charges are paid.
2-50 SECTION 4. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-51 The change in law made by this Act applies only to a vehicle
2-52 received by a vehicle storage facility on or after the effective
2-53 date of this Act.
2-54 (b) A vehicle received before the effective date of this Act
2-55 is covered by the law in effect when the vehicle was received, and
2-56 the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
2-57 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
2-58 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-59 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-60 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-61 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
2-62 * * * * *