1-1 By: Bosse (Senate Sponsor - Gallegos) H.B. No. 2243
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 2, 2001;
1-3 May 3, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on State
1-4 Affairs; May 11, 2001, reported favorably, as amended, by the
1-5 following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to printer.)
1-6 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 By: Gallegos
1-7 Amend H.B. 2243 on page 1, line 29, between the words "least" and
1-8 "years," by striking the number "15" and replacing it with "10".
1-9 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-10 AN ACT
1-11 relating to the Vehicle Storage Facility Act.
1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13 SECTION 1. Section 2, Vehicle Storage Facility Act (Article
1-14 6687-9a, Revised Statutes), is amended by amending Subdivision (6)
1-15 and adding Subdivision (10) to read as follows:
1-16 (6) "Owner of a vehicle" means:
1-17 (A) a person in whose name the vehicle is
1-18 registered under Chapter 501, Transportation Code;
1-19 (B) a person in whose name the vehicle is
1-20 registered under Chapter 502, Transportation Code, or a member of
1-21 the person's immediate family;
1-22 (C) a person who holds the vehicle through a
1-23 valid lease agreement; [or]
1-24 (D) an unrecorded lienholder whose right to
1-25 possess the vehicle exists through a chattel mortgage; or
1-26 (E) a lienholder who holds an affidavit of
1-27 repossession and has the right to repossess the vehicle.
1-28 (10) "Abandoned nuisance vehicle" means a motor
1-29 vehicle that is at least 15 years old and is of a condition only to
1-30 be demolished, wrecked, or dismantled.
1-31 SECTION 2. Section 13, Vehicle Storage Facility Act (Article
1-32 6687-9a, Revised Statutes), is amended by amending Subsections (g)
1-33 and (i) and adding Subsections (k) and (l) to read as follows:
1-34 (g) Notice by publication must contain [all of] the vehicle
1-35 description, the total charges, the full name, street address, and
1-36 telephone number of the facility, and the department registration
1-37 number. No other information is required to be published [by this
1-38 section]. The publication may contain a list of more than one
1-39 vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor. Only one notice is
1-40 required to be published for an abandoned nuisance vehicle.
1-41 (i) The operator of the storage facility may charge the
1-42 owner of the vehicle a reasonable fee for giving the notice
1-43 required by this section and an additional reasonable fee if the
1-44 notice was required under Subsection (k) of this section.
1-45 (k) If publication is required for the second notice, the
1-46 published notice must contain the vehicle description, the total
1-47 charges, the full name, street address, and telephone number of the
1-48 facility, the department registration number, and a statement that
1-49 failure of the owner or lienholder to claim the vehicle before the
1-50 date of sale is a waiver of all right, title, and interest in the
1-51 vehicle and is consent to the sale of the vehicle at a public sale.
1-52 (l) A vehicle storage facility that holds an abandoned
1-53 nuisance vehicle is not required to send or publish a second notice
1-54 and is entitled to dispose of the vehicle on the 30th day after the
1-55 date the first letter is mailed or notice is published. The
1-56 vehicle storage facility may notify the department that notices
1-57 under Chapter 683, Transportation Code, have been provided and
1-58 shall pay a fee of $10 to the department, or, in the alternative,
1-59 the vehicle storage facility may notify the appropriate law
1-60 enforcement agency and pay a fee of $10 to that agency. The law
1-61 enforcement agency may sign a document issued by the department.
1-62 SECTION 3. Section 14, Vehicle Storage Facility Act (Article
1-63 6687-9a, Revised Statutes), is amended by amending Subsections (a)
2-1 and (c) and adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
2-2 (a) The operator of a vehicle storage facility may not
2-3 charge an owner more than $32 [$25] for notification under Section
2-4 13 of this article. In addition, if notice by publication is
2-5 required by this Act, and the cost of publication exceeds 50
2-6 percent of the notification fee, the vehicle storage facility may
2-7 recover the additional amount of the cost of publication from the
2-8 vehicle owner or agent.
2-9 (c) The operator of a vehicle storage facility may not
2-10 charge less than $5 or more than $15 for each day or part of a day
2-11 for storage of a vehicle, except that a vehicle storage facility
2-12 shall charge a fee of $30 for each day or part of a day for storage
2-13 of a vehicle that is longer than 25 feet. A daily storage fee may
2-14 be charged for a day regardless of whether the vehicle is stored
2-15 for 24 hours of the day, except that a daily storage fee may not be
2-16 charged for more than one day if the vehicle remains at the vehicle
2-17 storage facility less than 12 hours. For the purposes of this
2-18 subsection, a day is considered to begin and end at midnight.
2-19 (h) Any fee that is required to be submitted to a law
2-20 enforcement agency, the agency's authorized agent, or a
2-21 governmental entity may be collected by the operator of the vehicle
2-22 storage facility in addition to other fees authorized by this
2-23 section.
2-24 SECTION 4. Section 14B, Vehicle Storage Facility Act
2-25 (Article 6687-9a, Revised Statutes), is amended by amending
2-26 Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
2-27 (b) An operator entitled to dispose of a vehicle under this
2-28 section may sell the vehicle at a public sale without being
2-29 required to obtain a release or discharge of any lien on the
2-30 vehicle, regardless of whether notice was provided by mail or by
2-31 publication in accordance with this Act. The proceeds from the
2-32 sale of the vehicle shall be applied to the charges incurred for
2-33 the vehicle under Section 14 of this article. The operator shall
2-34 pay excess proceeds, if any, to the person entitled to them.
2-35 (c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) of this section, the
2-36 operator of a vehicle storage facility may dispose of a vehicle for
2-37 which notice was given under Section 13 of this article as provided
2-38 by this section if the vehicle is an abandoned nuisance vehicle and
2-39 before the 30th day after the date the notice was sent, the vehicle
2-40 storage facility submits an application to the department for
2-41 disposal of the vehicle.
2-42 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
2-43 * * * * *