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By: Pickett H.B. No. 560
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to vehicles left unattended on certain parking facilities
and to the removal and storage of those vehicles.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 684.012(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A parking facility owner may, without the consent of the
owner or operator of an unauthorized vehicle, cause the vehicle and
any property on or in the vehicle to be removed and stored at a
vehicle storage facility at the vehicle owner's or operator's
expense if:
(1) signs that comply with Subchapter C prohibiting
unauthorized vehicles are located on the parking facility at the
time of towing and for the preceding 24 hours and remain installed
at the time of towing;
(2) the owner or operator of the vehicle has received
actual notice from the parking facility owner that the vehicle will
be towed at the vehicle owner's or operator's expense if it is in or
not removed from an unauthorized space;
(3) the parking facility owner gives notice to the
owner or operator of the vehicle under Subsection (b); or
(4) the vehicle is:
(A) left in violation of Section 684.011 or
684.0125; or
(B) in or obstructing a portion of a paved
driveway or abutting public roadway used for entering or exiting
the facility.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 684, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 684.0125 to read as follows:
Sec. 684.0125. UNATTENDED VEHICLES ON PARKING FACILITY OF
APARTMENT COMPLEX; REMOVAL AND STORAGE OF VEHICLES. (a) This
section applies only to a parking facility serving or adjacent to an
apartment complex consisting of one or more residential apartment
units and any adjacent real property serving the apartment complex.
(b) The owner or operator of a vehicle may not leave
unattended on a parking facility a vehicle that:
(1) obstructs a gate that is designed or intended for
the use of pedestrians or vehicles;
(2) obstructs pedestrian or vehicular access to an
area that is used for the placement of a garbage or refuse
receptacle used in common by residents of the apartment complex;
(3) is in or obstructs a restricted parking area or
parking space designated under Subchapter C, including a space
designated for the use of employees or maintenance personnel of the
parking facility or apartment complex;
(4) is in a tow away zone, other than a fire lane
covered by Section 684.011(c), that is brightly painted and is
conspicuously and legibly marked with the warning "TOW AWAY ZONE"
in contrasting letters at least three inches tall;
(5) is a semitrailer, trailer, or truck-tractor, as
defined by Chapter 502, unless the owner or operator of the vehicle
is permitted under the terms of a rental or lease agreement with the
apartment complex to leave the unattended vehicle on the parking
facility; or
(6) is leaking a fluid that presents a hazard or threat
to persons or property.
(c) A parking facility owner may not have an emergency
vehicle described by Section 684.011(b) removed from the parking
facility.
(d) Except as provided by a contract described by Subsection
(e), a parking facility owner may not have a vehicle removed from
the parking facility merely because the vehicle does not display:
(1) an unexpired license plate or registration
insignia issued for the vehicle under Chapter 502 or the vehicle
registration law of another state or country; or
(2) a valid vehicle inspection certificate issued
under Chapter 548 or the vehicle inspection law of another state or
country.
(e) A contract provision providing for the removal from a
parking facility of a vehicle that does not display an unexpired
license plate or registration insignia or a valid inspection
certificate is valid only if the provision requires the owner or
operator of the vehicle to be given at least 10 days' written notice
that the vehicle will be towed from the facility at the vehicle
owner's or operator's expense if it is not removed from the parking
facility. The notice must be:
(1) delivered in person to the owner or operator of the
vehicle; or
(2) sent by certified mail, return receipt requested,
to that owner or operator.
(f) This section may not be construed:
(1) to authorize the owner or operator of a vehicle to
leave an unattended vehicle on property that is not designed or
intended for the parking of vehicles; or
(2) to limit or restrict the enforcement of Chapter
683, the abandoned motor vehicle law.
(g) A provision of an apartment lease or rental agreement
entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2004, that is in
conflict or inconsistent with this section is void and may not be
enforced.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2004.