87R3892 BEE-F
 
  By: Hernandez H.B. No. 914
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the authority of certain municipal employees to request
  the removal and storage of certain abandoned or illegally parked or
  operated vehicles.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 215, Local Government
  Code, is amended by adding Section 215.0731 to read as follows:
         Sec. 215.0731.  AUTHORITY FOR REMOVAL AND STORAGE OF CERTAIN
  ILLEGALLY OPERATED VEHICLES FOR HIRE. Under an ordinance of a
  municipality regulating the operation of vehicles for hire in the
  municipality, including a regulation adopted by a municipality
  under Section 2402.003(b) or (c), Occupations Code, to aid in the
  enforcement of the ordinance:
               (1)  the municipality may authorize a designated
  employee to request the removal of a vehicle operated in violation
  of the ordinance; and
               (2)  a towing company may remove, and a vehicle storage
  facility may store, a vehicle requested to be removed by an employee
  under Subdivision (1) without authorization by a peace officer for
  the removal or storage.
         SECTION 2.  Section 2308.354, Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 2308.354.  AUTHORITY FOR REMOVAL OF VEHICLE FROM PUBLIC
  ROADWAY. (a) Under an ordinance of a municipality regulating the
  parking of vehicles in the municipality, to aid in the enforcement
  of the ordinance, an employee designated by the municipality may be
  authorized to:
               (1)  immobilize a vehicle parked in the municipality;
  [and]
               (2)  remove an immobilized vehicle from a public
  roadway in the municipality; and
               (3)  request the removal and storage of a vehicle that
  is located in an area where on-street parking is regulated by the
  ordinance and that:
                     (A)  is parked illegally; or
                     (B)  is parked legally and:
                           (i)  has been unattended for more than 48
  hours; and
                           (ii)  the employee has reasonable grounds to
  believe is abandoned.
         (b)  A parking facility owner or towing company may not
  remove a vehicle from a public roadway except under:
               (1)  this chapter or a municipal ordinance that
  complies with Section 2308.208; or
               (2)  the direction of a peace officer, a municipal
  employee under Subsection (a)(3), or the owner or operator of the
  vehicle.
         (c)  Subsection [In addition to the authority granted under
  Subsection (a) and to aid in the enforcement of an ordinance
  regulating the parking of vehicles, a municipality with a
  population of 1.9 million or more may authorize a designated
  employee to request the removal of a vehicle parked illegally in an
  area designated as a tow-away zone in a residential area where
  on-street parking is regulated by the ordinance.
         [(d)  Subsections] (a) does [and (c) do] not apply to a
  vehicle owned by an electric, gas, water, or telecommunications
  utility while the vehicle is parked for the purpose of conducting
  work on a facility of the utility that is located below, above, or
  adjacent to the street.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.