87R11004 BEE-D
 
  By: Neave H.B. No. 3982
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the regulation of motor vehicle towing and booting.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 2308.253(d), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (d)  A [Except as provided by a contract described by
  Subsection (e), a] parking facility owner may not have a vehicle
  towed from the parking facility merely because the vehicle does not
  display an unexpired license plate or registration insignia issued
  for the vehicle under Chapter 502, Transportation Code, or the
  vehicle registration law of another state or country.
         SECTION 2.  Section 2308.301(b), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  Except as provided by Section 2308.305, an unauthorized
  vehicle may be towed under Section 2308.252(a)(1) or booted under
  Section 2308.257 only if each sign prohibiting unauthorized
  vehicles:
               (1)  is made of weather-resistant material;
               (2)  is at least 18 inches wide and 24 inches tall;
               (3)  contains the international symbol for towing
  vehicles;
               (4)  contains a statement describing who may park in
  the parking facility and prohibiting all others;
               (5)  bears the words, as applicable:
                     (A)  "Unauthorized Vehicles Will Be Towed or
  Booted at Owner's or Operator's Expense";
                     (B)  "Unauthorized Vehicles Will Be Towed at
  Owner's or Operator's Expense"; or
                     (C)  "Unauthorized Vehicles Will Be Booted at
  Owner's or Operator's Expense";
               (6)  contains a statement of the days and hours of
  towing and booting enforcement; [and]
               (7)  contains a number, including the area code, of a
  telephone that is answered 24 hours a day to enable an owner or
  operator of a vehicle to locate a towed vehicle or to arrange for
  removal of a boot from a vehicle; and
               (8)  contains a statement describing a person's right
  to request a court hearing to determine whether probable cause
  existed to remove, or install a boot on, a vehicle.
         SECTION 3.  Section 2308.302, Occupations Code, is amended
  by amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
  follows:
         (d)  Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (e) and
  (f), the next lower portion of the sign must contain the remaining
  information required by Section 2308.301(b) displayed in bright red
  letters at least one inch in height on a white background.
         (f)  A sign that otherwise meets the requirements of this
  subchapter meets the requirements of Section 2308.301(b)(8) if a
  separate sign installed directly above or below the sign contains
  the statement describing a person's right to request a hearing
  required by Section 2308.301(b)(8).
         SECTION 4.  Section 2308.404, Occupations Code, is amended
  by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
  follows:
         (c)  A towing company, booting company, or parking facility
  owner who intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly violates this
  chapter is liable to the owner or operator of the vehicle that is
  the subject of the violation for:
               (1)  an amount equal to $1,000 plus three times the
  amount of fees assessed in the vehicle's removal, towing, storage,
  or booting;
               (2)  the reasonable costs of photographs and other
  documentation related to the towing or booting submitted to the
  court by the vehicle owner or operator; and
               (3)  court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
         (d)  A vehicle owner or operator may bring a civil action
  pursuant to this section regardless of whether the owner or
  operator requests a hearing under Subchapter J.
         SECTION 5.  Subchapter I, Chapter 2308, Occupations Code, is
  amended by adding Section 2308.408 to read as follows:
         Sec. 2308.408.  PREDATORY TOWING AND BOOTING PROHIBITED.
  (a) In this section, "predatory towing" or "predatory booting"
  means the towing or booting, as applicable, of a vehicle that:
               (1)  involves an authorized or unauthorized vehicle
  that has been left unattended on a parking facility for 30 minutes
  or less;
               (2)  is made from or on, as applicable, a parking
  facility on which reserved or unreserved parking spaces remain
  available; and
               (3)  is a result of the monitoring of a parking facility
  by a towing company or operator or booting company or operator.
         (b)  A towing company or operator or booting company or
  operator may not engage in predatory towing or booting.
         (c)  An agreement between a parking facility owner and a
  towing company or operator or booting company or operator,
  including a standard written agreement required under Section
  2308.255(d), may not include a provision authorizing predatory
  towing or booting.
         (d)  The commission by rule shall establish standards
  regarding the monitoring of a parking facility as described by
  Subsection (a)(3).
         SECTION 6.  Section 2308.455, Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 2308.455.  CONTENTS OF NOTICE. The notice under
  Section 2308.454 must include:
               (1)  a statement of:
                     (A)  the person's right to submit a request within
  60 [14] days for a court hearing to determine whether probable cause
  existed to remove, or install a boot on, the vehicle;
                     (B)  the information that a request for a hearing
  must contain;
                     (C)  any filing fee for the hearing; and
                     (D)  the person's right to request a hearing in
  any justice court in:
                           (i)  the county from which the vehicle was
  towed; or
                           (ii)  for booted vehicles, the county in
  which the parking facility is located;
               (2)  the name, address, and telephone number of the
  towing company that removed the vehicle or the booting company that
  booted the vehicle;
               (3)  the name, address, telephone number, and county of
  the vehicle storage facility in which the vehicle was placed;
               (4)  the name, street address including city, state,
  and zip code, and telephone number of the person, parking facility
  owner, or law enforcement agency that authorized the removal of the
  vehicle; and
               (5)  the name, address, and telephone number of each
  justice court in the county from which the vehicle was towed or, for
  booted vehicles, the county in which the parking facility is
  located, or the address of an Internet website maintained by the
  Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System that
  contains the name, address, and telephone number of each justice
  court in that county.
         SECTION 7.  Sections 2308.456(a), (c), and (c-1),
  Occupations Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Subsections (c) and (c-1), a
  person entitled to a hearing under this chapter must deliver a
  written request for the hearing to the court before the 60th [14th]
  day after the date the vehicle was removed and placed in the vehicle
  storage facility or booted, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal
  holidays.
         (c)  If notice was not given under Section 2308.454, the
  60-day [14-day] deadline for requesting a hearing under Subsection
  (a) does not apply, and the owner or operator of the vehicle may
  deliver a written request for a hearing at any time.
         (c-1)  The 60-day [14-day] period for requesting a hearing
  under Subsection (a) does not begin until the date on which the
  towing company or vehicle storage facility provides to the vehicle
  owner or operator the information necessary for the vehicle owner
  or operator to complete the material for the request for hearing
  required under Subsections (b)(2) through (6).
         SECTION 8.  Section 2308.458, Occupations Code, is amended
  by amending Subsections (c) and (c-1) to read as follows:
         (c)  The issues in a hearing regarding a towed vehicle under
  this chapter are:
               (1)  whether probable cause existed for the removal and
  placement of the vehicle;
               (2)  whether a towing charge imposed or collected in
  connection with the removal or placement of the vehicle was greater
  than the amount authorized by the political subdivision under
  Section 2308.201 or 2308.202;
               (3)  whether a towing charge imposed or collected in
  connection with the removal or placement of the vehicle was greater
  than the amount authorized under Section 2308.203; [or]
               (4)  whether a towing charge imposed or collected in
  connection with the removal or placement of the vehicle was greater
  than the amount authorized under Section 2308.0575;
               (5)  whether a towing company or operator engaged in
  predatory towing, as defined by Section 2308.408(a); and
               (6)  whether a parking facility operator entered into
  an agreement with a towing company or operator authorizing
  predatory towing in violation of Section 2308.408(c).
         (c-1)  The issues in a hearing regarding a booted vehicle
  under this chapter are:
               (1)  whether probable cause existed for the booting of
  the vehicle; [and]
               (2)  whether a boot removal charge imposed or collected
  in connection with the removal of the boot from the vehicle was
  greater than the amount authorized by the political subdivision
  under Section 2308.2085;
               (3)  whether a booting company or operator engaged in
  predatory booting, as defined by Section 2308.408(a); and
               (4)  whether a parking facility operator entered into
  an agreement with a booting company or operator authorizing
  predatory booting in violation of Section 2308.408(c).
         SECTION 9.  Section 2308.253(e), Occupations Code, is
  repealed.
         SECTION 10.  Not later than December 1, 2021, the Texas
  Department of Licensing and Regulation shall adopt rules as
  necessary to implement Section 2308.408, Occupations Code, as added
  by this Act.
         SECTION 11.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only
  to the towing or booting of a vehicle initiated on or after January
  1, 2022. The towing or booting of a vehicle initiated before
  January 1, 2022, is governed by the law in effect at the time the
  towing or booting was initiated, and the former law is continued in
  effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 12.  (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
  this section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2022.
         (b)  Section 10 of this Act takes effect September 1, 2021.