BILL NUMBER: AB 14	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Fuentes

                        DECEMBER 1, 2008

   An act to repeal and add Section 22659.5 of the Vehicle Code,
relating to vehicles.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 14, as introduced, Fuentes. Vehicles: nuisance abatement:
impoundment.
   Existing law authorizes a city, county, or city and county to
establish a 5-year pilot program that implements a procedure to
declare a motor vehicle to be a public nuisance when the motor
vehicle is used in the commission of specified crimes related to
prostitution.
   This bill would repeal the provisions authorizing the pilot
program and would instead authorize a city, county, and city or
county to adopt an ordinance declaring a motor vehicle to be a
nuisance subject to impoundment for not more than 30 days when the
motor vehicle is involved in the commission of specified crimes
related to prostitution. The bill would require the ordinance to
include specified provisions related to notice and provision of a
poststorage hearing, and the release of the impounded vehicle.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 22659.5 of the Vehicle Code is repealed.

   22659.5.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any
city, any county, or any city and county, may adopt an ordinance
establishing a five-year pilot program that implements procedures for
declaring any motor vehicle a public nuisance when the vehicle is
used in the commission of an act in violation of Section 266h or 266i
of the Penal Code or subdivision (b) of Section 647 of that code,
and there is a conviction of Section 266h or 266i of the Penal Code
or subdivision (b) of Section 647 of that code, or a provision
involving any lesser included offense to which the defendant enters a
plea of guilty or nolo contendere as part of a plea agreement
subsequent to the defendant having been charged with a violation of
Section 266h or 266i of the Penal Code or subdivision (b) of Section
647 of that code.
   (b) In addition to the authority provided by subdivision (h) of
Section 22651, the ordinance may also include procedures to enjoin
and abate the declared nuisance by ordering the defendant not to use
the vehicle again for purposes of violating Section 266h or 266i of
the Penal Code or subdivision (b) of Section 647 of that code and
authorizing the temporary impoundment of the vehicle that the court
has declared a nuisance if the defendant violates the order. The
impoundment shall not exceed 48 hours.
   (c) The only action that may be taken to enjoin and abate the
declared nuisance are those actions specified in subdivision (b).
   (d) Any procedures implemented pursuant to this section shall
ensure that no vehicle is declared a nuisance if the vehicle is
stolen, unless it is not possible to reasonably ascertain the
identity of any owner of the vehicle. 
  SEC. 2.  Section 22659.5 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
   22659.5.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a city or a
county may adopt an ordinance declaring a motor vehicle to be a
public nuisance subject to seizure and 30-day impoundment when the
motor vehicle is used in the commission or attempted commission of an
act that violates Section 266h or 266i of, or subdivision (b) of
Section 647 of, the Penal Code, if the owner or operator of the
vehicle has had a prior conviction under one of these provisions. The
vehicle may only be impounded pursuant to a valid arrest of the
driver for a violation of one of these provisions. An ordinance
adopted pursuant to this section shall, at a minimum, contain all of
the following provisions:
   (a) Within two working days after impoundment, the impounding
agency shall send a notice by certified mail, return receipt
requested, to the legal owner of the vehicle, at the address obtained
from the department, informing the owner that the vehicle has been
impounded. The notice shall also include notice of the opportunity
for a poststorage hearing to determine the validity of the storage or
to determine mitigating circumstances establishing that the vehicle
should be released. The impounding agency shall be prohibited from
charging for more than five days' storage if it fails to notify the
legal owner within two working days after the impoundment when the
legal owner redeems the impounded vehicle. The impounding agency
shall maintain a published telephone number that provides information
24 hours a day regarding the impoundment of vehicles and the rights
of a legal owner and a registered owner to request a hearing. The
notice shall include all of the following information:
   (1) The name, address, and telephone number of the agency
providing the notice.
   (2) The location of the place of storage and description of the
vehicle, that shall include, if available, the model or make, the
manufacturer, the license plate number, and the mileage.
   (3) The authority and purpose for the removal of the vehicle.
   (4) A statement that, in order to receive a poststorage hearing,
the owners, or their agents, shall request the hearing in person,
writing, or by telephone within 10 days of the date appearing on the
notice.
   (b) The poststorage hearing shall be conducted within 48 hours of
the request, excluding weekends and holidays. The public agency may
authorize one of its own officers or employees to conduct the hearing
if that hearing officer is not the same person who directed the
seizure of the vehicle.
   (c) Failure of the legal and the registered owners, or their
agents, to request or to attend a scheduled hearing shall satisfy the
poststorage hearing requirement.
   (d) The agency employing the person who directed the storage shall
be responsible for the costs incurred for towing and storage if it
is determined in the poststorage hearing that reasonable grounds for
the storage are not established.
   (e) Any period during which a vehicle is subjected to storage
under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall be included
as part of the period of impoundment.
   (f) The impounding agency shall release the vehicle to the
registered owner or his or her agent prior to the end of the
impoundment period under any of the following circumstances:
   (1) The driver of the impounded vehicle was arrested without
probable cause.
   (2) The vehicle is a stolen vehicle.
   (3) The vehicle is subject to bailment and was driven by an
unlicensed employee of a business establishment, including a parking
service or repair garage.
   (4) The driver of the vehicle is not the sole registered owner of
the vehicle and the vehicle is being released to another registered
owner of the vehicle who agrees not to allow the driver to use the
vehicle until after the end of the impoundment period.
   (5) The registered owner of the vehicle was neither the driver nor
a passenger of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation, or
was unaware that the driver was using the vehicle to engage in
activities subject to Section 266h or 266i of, or subdivision (b) of
Section 647 of, the Penal Code.
   (6) A spouse, registered domestic partner, or other affected third
party objects to the impoundment of the vehicle on the grounds that
it would create a hardship if the subject vehicle is the sole vehicle
in a household. The hearing officer shall release the vehicle where
the hardship to a spouse, registered domestic partner, or other
affected third party created by the impoundment of the subject
vehicle, or the length of the impoundment, outweigh the seriousness
and the severity of the act in which the vehicle was used.
   (g) Notwithstanding any provision of law, if a motor vehicle is
released prior to the conclusion of the impoundment period because
the driver was arrested without probable cause, neither the arrested
person nor the registered owner of the motor vehicle is responsible
for towing and storage charges nor shall the motor vehicle be sold to
satisfy those charges.
   (h) The registered owner or his or her agent shall be responsible
for all towing and storage charges related to the impoundment.
   (i) A vehicle removed and seized under an ordinance adopted
pursuant to this section shall be released to the legal owner of the
vehicle or the legal owner's agent prior to the end of the
impoundment period if all of the following conditions are met:
   (1) The legal owner is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit union,
acceptance corporation, or other licensed financial institution
legally operating in this state, or is another person who is not the
registered owner and holds a security interest in the vehicle.
   (2) The legal owner or the legal owner's agent pays all towing and
storage fees related to the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle.
   (3) The legal owner or the legal owner's agent presents either
lawful foreclosure documents or an affidavit of repossession for the
vehicle, and a security agreement or title showing proof of legal
ownership for the vehicle.
   (j) A legal owner, who meets the requirements for release of a
vehicle pursuant to subdivision (i), or the legal owner's agent,
shall not be required to request a poststorage hearing as a
requirement for release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the
legal owner's agent.
   (k) (1) A legal owner, who meets the requirements for release of a
vehicle pursuant to subdivision (i), or the legal owner's agent,
shall not release the vehicle to the registered owner of the vehicle
or an agent of the registered owner, unless the registered owner is a
rental car agency, until after the termination of the impoundment
period.
   (2) Prior to relinquishing the vehicle, the legal owner may
require the registered owner to pay all towing and storage charges
related to the seizure and impoundment.
   (l) (1) A vehicle removed and seized pursuant to an ordinance
adopted pursuant to this section shall be released to a rental car
agency prior to the end of the impoundment period if the agency is
either the legal owner or registered owner of the vehicle and the
agency pays all towing and storage fees related to the seizure and
impoundment of the vehicle.
   (2) The owner of a rental vehicle that was seized under an
ordinance adopted pursuant to this section may continue to rent the
vehicle upon recovery of the vehicle. However, the rental car agency
shall not rent another vehicle to the driver of the vehicle that was
seized until the impoundment period has expired.
   (3) The rental car agency may require the person to whom the
vehicle was rented to pay all towing and storage charges related to
the seizure and impoundment.