78R8088 JD-F
By: Harris S.B. No. 1175
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of tow trucks and to the authority of a
political subdivision of this state to regulate tow trucks;
providing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 643.053, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 643.053. FILING OF APPLICATION. An application under
Section 643.052 must be filed with the department and accompanied
by:
(1) an application fee of $100 plus a $10 fee for each
vehicle requiring registration other than a tow truck or a $25 fee
for each tow truck the motor carrier proposes to operate;
(2) evidence of insurance or financial responsibility
as required by Section 643.103(a); and
(3) any insurance filing fee required under Section
643.103(c).
SECTION 2. Sections 643.057(a), (b), and (d),
Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A motor carrier may not operate an additional vehicle
requiring registration unless the carrier pays a registration fee
of $10 for each additional vehicle other than a tow truck or $25 for
each tow truck and shows the department evidence of insurance or
financial responsibility for the vehicle in an amount at least
equal to the amount set by the department under Section 643.101.
(b) A motor carrier is not required to pay the applicable
[$10] registration fee under Subsection (a) for a vehicle for which
the same fee is required and that replaces a vehicle for which the
fee has been paid.
(d) The department may not collect more than $10 in
equipment registration fees for a vehicle other than a tow truck
registered under both this subchapter and Chapter 645 or more than
$25 if the vehicle is a tow truck.
SECTION 3. Section 643.058(c), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) A motor carrier may renew a registration under this
subchapter by:
(1) supplementing the application with any new
information required under Section 643.056;
(2) paying a $10 fee for each vehicle requiring
registration other than a tow truck or a fee of $25 for each tow
truck the carrier operates; and
(3) providing the department evidence of continuing
insurance or financial responsibility in an amount at least equal
to the amount set by the department under Section 643.101.
SECTION 4. Section 643.101, Transportation Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) The owner of a tow truck that is used to perform
nonconsent tows, as defined by Section 643.201, shall maintain
on-hook cargo insurance in the amount of at least $50,000.
SECTION 5. Subchapter E, Chapter 643, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Sections 643.203, 643.204, and 643.205 to read
as follows:
Sec. 643.203. REGULATION BY POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS OF FEES
FOR NONCONSENT TOWS. (a) In this section and in Sections 643.204
and 643.205, "nonconsent tow" has the meaning assigned by Section
643.201.
(b) The governing body of a political subdivision may
regulate the fees that may be charged or collected in connection
with a nonconsent tow originating in the territory of the political
subdivision.
(c) In an area in which no political subdivision regulates
the fees that may be charged or collected for a nonconsent tow from
private property, a towing company may charge and collect a fee for
the tow of a motor vehicle from private property in an amount not to
exceed an amount equal to 150 percent of the fee that the towing
company would have been authorized to charge for a nonconsent tow
made at the request of a peace officer of the political subdivision
in which the private property is located.
(d) In an area in which two or more political subdivisions
regulate the fees for a nonconsent tow under Subsection (b), the
governing bodies of the political subdivisions shall enter into a
written understanding that, with respect to a nonconsent tow that
originates in that area, provides for the establishment of a single
schedule of the maximum fees for nonconsent tows that originate in
that area. If the governing bodies fail to establish the single
schedule of fees for nonconsent tows that originate in that area,
only the fee regulations of the political subdivision that
establish the lowest maximum fees for a nonconsent tow may be
enforced in the area.
Sec. 643.204. STORAGE OF TOWED VEHICLES. (a) A towing
company that makes a nonconsent tow shall tow the vehicle to a
vehicle storage facility that is operated by a person who holds a
license to operate the facility under the Vehicle Storage Facility
Act (Article 6687-9a, Revised Statutes).
(b) A storage or notification fee imposed in connection with
a motor vehicle towed to a vehicle storage facility is governed by
the Vehicle Storage Facility Act (Article 6687-9a, Revised
Statutes).
(c) Except as provided by this chapter or the Vehicle
Storage Facility Act (Article 6687-9a, Revised Statutes), a fee may
not be charged or collected without the prior written consent of the
vehicle owner or operator.
(d) Notice of each towing or storage fee that is charged or
collected by a vehicle storage facility must be posted at the
facility. The notice must be in plain view of a person seeking to
claim a vehicle from the facility.
(e) Before January 31 of each year, a towing company shall
file with the department a schedule showing each towing fee that the
towing company charges or collects in connection with a nonconsent
tow. A change to a fee or the amount of a fee made by a political
subdivision that regulates nonconsent tows shall be reported to the
department by the towing company before the 30th day after the
effective date of the change.
Sec. 643.205. TOWING FEE STUDIES. (a) The governing body
of a political subdivision that regulates nonconsent tow fees shall
establish procedures by which a towing company may request that a
towing fee study be performed.
(b) The governing body of the political subdivision shall
establish or amend the allowable fees for nonconsent tows at
amounts that represent the fair value of the services of a towing
company and are reasonably related to any financial or accounting
information provided to the governing body.
SECTION 6. The heading to Section 643.253, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 643.253. OFFENSES AND PENALTIES [CRIMINAL PENALTY].
SECTION 7. Section 643.253, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (d)-(f) to read
as follows:
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (e), an [An] offense
under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
(d) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) violates an ordinance, resolution, order, rule, or
regulation of a political subdivision adopted under Section 643.201
or 643.203, for which the political subdivision does not prescribe
the penalty;
(2) charges or collects a fee in a political
subdivision that regulates the operation of tow trucks under
Section 643.201 or 643.203 that is not authorized or is greater than
the authorized amount of the fee;
(3) violates Section 643.205; or
(4) violates a rule of the department applicable to a
tow truck or towing company.
(e) An offense under Subsection (d) is a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine of not less than $200 or more than $1,000.
(f) In addition to any criminal penalty imposed on a person
who commits an offense under this section, the violation may be
grounds for the suspension or revocation by the department of a
permit issued to the person under this chapter.
SECTION 8. Sections 685.009(c) and (e), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) The issues [sole issue] in a hearing under this chapter
are [is] whether probable cause existed for the removal and
placement of the vehicle and, if the political subdivision
regulates the operation of tow trucks under Section 643.201 or
643.203, whether a towing charge imposed or collected in connection
with the removal or placement of the vehicle was greater than the
amount authorized for the tow by the political subdivision.
(e) The court may award:
(1) court costs to the prevailing party; [and]
(2) the reasonable cost of photographs submitted under
Section 685.007(b)(8) to a vehicle owner or operator who is the
prevailing party; and
(3) an amount equal to the amount that the towing
charge exceeded the amount authorized under Section 643.201 or
643.203 by the political subdivision in which the tow originated,
if applicable.
SECTION 9. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
(b) The change in law made by this Act applies only to an
offense committed on or after September 1, 2003.
(c) An offense committed before September 1, 2003, is
covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
this section, an offense was committed before September 1, 2003, if
any element of the offense was committed before that date.