BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 519|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 519
Author: Solorio (D)
Amended: 8/20/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM : 11-0, 6/23/09
AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Kehoe, Oropeza, Pavley, Simitian, Wolk
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 7/14/09
AYES: Corbett, Harman, Florez, Leno, Walters
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/21/09 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Towing charges and access to towed vehicles
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires towing companies to provide
consumers with a Towing Fees and Access Notice and an
itemized invoice of all towing and storage fees, as
specified. The bill also specifies who is authorized to
retrieve or inspect a towed vehicle and relives the towing
company of responsibility for determining the authenticity
of documents provided to demonstrate a person's authority.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/20/10 exempt from the bill
CONTINUED
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transactions that involve storage of a vehicle unrelated to
a tow, exempt registered automotive repair dealers that do
not provide towing services from the requirement to post
the Towing Fees and Access Notice on the premises, and
provide that a registered automotive repair dealer who was
not the tower and who passes on from the tower to the
consumer any of the information required on the itemized
invoice shall not be responsible for the accuracy of those
items of information that are passed on unaltered.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/9/10 replace Assemblymember
Duvall with Assemblymember Solorio as the author and make
grammatical changes.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that every person has a
lien dependent upon possession for the compensation to
which the person is legally entitled for towing, storage,
or labor associated with recovery or load salvage of a
vehicle that has been authorized to be removed by a public
agency, a private property owner, or registered owner of
the vehicle. Existing law provides that no charge
exceeding that for one day of storage may be imposed if, 24
hours or less after the vehicle is placed in storage, the
vehicle is released.
Existing law provides that if a request to release the
vehicle is made and the appropriate fees are tendered and
documentation establishing that the person requesting
release is entitled to possession of the vehicle, or is the
owner's insurance representative, is presented within the
initial 24 hours of storage, and the storage facility fails
to comply with the request or is not open during business
hours, then only one day's charge may be required to be
paid until after the first business day.
This bill states that "documentation" that would entitle a
person to possession of the vehicle includes, but is not
limited to: a certificate of ownership; vehicle
registration; information in possession of the lienholder
including ownership information from the Department of
Motor Vehicles (DMV); a facially valid registration found
within the vehicle; or a notarized letter or statement from
the legal or registered owner providing authorization to
release to a particular person with a government-issued
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photographic identification card.
This bill provides that documentation which establishes
that a person is the owner's insurance representative
includes, but is not limited to, a faxed letter or other
letter form the owner's insurance company.
This bill that a lienholder is not liable for any claim or
dispute directly arising out of the reliance on
documentation specifically described in the bill for
purposes of releasing a vehicle.
This bill provides that if a lienholder releases a vehicle
in compliance with Civil Code Section 3068.1, various
vehicle code sections, or if the vehicle is authorized for
release by law enforcement or other governmental agency,
the lienholder has no civil liability of any kind for any
claim or dispute arising out of the release of the vehicle.
Existing law provides that a lien shall be extinguished and
no lien sale may be conducted if the lienholder, after a
written demand to inspect the vehicle by the legal owner or
lessor, fails to permit the inspection by the legal owner
or lessor, or his or her agent, within a period of time
after that demand.
This bill defines "agent" as including, but not limited to,
any person designated to inspect the vehicle by the request
of the legal owner or lessor, in writing or by telephone to
the lienholder. This bill provides that a lienholder is
not responsible for determining the authenticity of
documentation establishing a person's agency for purposes
of inspection of a vehicle.
Existing law allows a peace officer or a regularly employed
and salaried public agency employee who is engaged in
directing traffic or enforcing parking laws and
regulations, to remove a vehicle located within the
territorial limits in which the officer or employee may
act, under any of several specified circumstances. These
circumstances include a vehicle being left unattended and
constituting an obstruction to traffic, a vehicle that has
been reported as stolen or embezzled, and a vehicle that is
illegally parked and is blocking a private driveway or is
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preventing access by firefighting equipment to a fire
hydrant.
This bill codifies the language of a "Towing Fees and
Access Notice," which generally would inform consumers of
the amounts a towing company may charge, rights they have
prior to paying any towing or storage-related fees, the
right to have their vehicle released, and other related
information. The notice must be a standardized document
plainly printed in no less than 10-point type.
This bill requires a person that charges for towing to or
storage, or both, except for storage unrelated to a tow to:
1.Post the Towing Fees and Access Notice in the office area
and have copies readily available to the public. This
bill exempts a registered automotive repair dealer that
does not provide towing services from this requirement.
2.Provide, upon request, a copy of the Towing Fees and
Access Notice to any owner or operator of a towed or
stored vehicle.
3.Provide a distinct notice on an itemized invoice for any
towing or storage charges that states "Upon request, you
are entitled to receive a copy of the Towing Fees and
Access Notice."
This bill provides that prior to receiving payment for any
towing, recovery, or storage-related fees, a person shall
provide an itemized invoice of actual charges to the
vehicle owner or their agent. Provides if a registered
automotive repair dealer did not provide the tow, and
passes along, from the tower to the consumer, any of the
information required on the itemized invoice, the
automotive repair dealer is not responsible for the
accuracy of the items of information that remain unaltered.
This bill would define "itemized invoice" as a document
that contains specified information, including the name and
identification number of the towing company, date service
was initiated, vehicle description, the hourly rate, and a
clear, itemized, detailed explanation of any additional
services or fees.
This bill states that prior to paying any towing, recovery,
or storage-related fees, a vehicle owner or their agent
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shall have the right to all of the following:
1.Receive their personal property at no charge during
normal business hours;
2.Receive their vehicle during the first 72 hours of
storage and not pay a lien fee;
3.Request a copy of the Towing Fees and Access Notice; and
4.Be permitted to pay by cash or credit card, as specified.
This bill provides that any person who violates the above
provisions is civilly liable to a registered owner or legal
owner of the vehicle, or a registered owner's insurer, for
up two times the amount charged, but limit liability at
$500.
This bill exempts the towing or storage of a repossessed
vehicle pursuant to the Collateral Recovery Act from its
scope, and provides that the section does not relieve a
person from the obligation to comply with the provision of
any other law.
Background
Existing law generally provides for three different types
of tows: public, private property, and owner's request.
Towing companies generally have a lien against the vehicle
for costs related to towing, storage, or labor associated
with recovery or load salvage of the vehicle. The
different types of tows are as follows:
Public tows are done at the request of a peace
officer, traffic control officer, or parking control
officer in various circumstances, such as when the
vehicle impedes the flow of traffic or when the driver
is arrested or cited for specific offenses. The
charges for towing and storage related to a public tow
are set by the law enforcement agency that requested
the tow.
Private property tows occur when a private property
owner has a vehicle towed because it is illegally or
improperly parked on their property, subject to
specified conditions and procedures. The towing
company is currently limited in what they can charge
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for towing and storage related to a private property
tow by the rate approved by the law enforcement agency
or the towing company's approved rate from the
California Highway Patrol.
Lastly, an owner's request tow occurs when a vehicle
owner hires a tow-truck company to tow his or her
vehicle. The rates for towing and storage related to
this type of tow are generally established by mutual
agreement between the requestor and the towing company
but may be dictated by agreements established between
the requestor's motor club and the tower.
As the result of an 18 month collaborative effort,
this bill would require towing companies to provide
consumers with a Towing Fees and Access Notice, an
itemized invoice of all towing and storage fees, and
specify who is authorized to retrieve or inspect a
towed vehicle. This bill would also immunize the
towing companies from liability for releases under
certain circumstances, and state that they are not
responsible for determining the authenticity of
specified documents.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/10/10)
Allstate Insurance Company
Association of California Insurance Companies
State Farm
Personal Insurance Federation of California
Automobile Club of Southern California
AAA of Northern California
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/10/10)
California New Car Dealers Association
California Autobody Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office:
Towers are not licensed or professionally regulated in
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any way in California. Anyone with a business license
and appropriate classification of drivers license can
do tows.
For those towers who elect to be on rotation lists for
local law enforcement or CHP to use to find towers for
accidents and other non-consensual tows, these towers
need to abide by the provisions of their given
contract.
This bill attempts to put some predictability into the
practices of and billing for towing, as well as
penalties for noncompliant towers. This will help to
clean up the industry, as bad actors are sullying the
name of good ones.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California New Car Dealers
Association (CNCDA), in opposition, state that their
opposition would be removed if the bill were amended to
eliminate the requirement that entities who "merely pay for
a tow on behalf of a consumer, but who do not themselves
provide a tow, provide the required notice." CNDA further
states:
While we greatly appreciate the author's willingness to
hear our concerns, we regretfully have not resolved our
issue which boils down to the following: should entities
that merely pay for towing as a convenience for their
repair customers, such as new car dealers and auto body
shops, be put in the same position as towing companies
when it comes to the posting and notice requirements of
AB 519? We believe that the answer to this question is
no.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
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Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner,
Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson,
Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fuentes, Nava, Saldana
JA:nl 8/20/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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