BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1222 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 27, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION Jim Frazier, Chair AB 1222 (Bloom) - As Amended April 29, 2015 SUBJECT: Tow trucks. SUMMARY: Adds provisions to curb "bandit towing" practices. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires that tow operators maintain specified documentation that they were summoned to the scene or flagged down to the scene of an accident or disabled vehicle and that they provide that documentation to law enforcement or specified investigating entities, upon request. 2)Requires tow operators to provide vehicle owners or operators, if present at the scene, a detailed estimate of charges and services to be performed before the tow operator attaches the vehicle to the tow truck, or, if the vehicle needs to be moved to clear the roadway, immediately after the vehicle is moved to a safe shoulder. Tow operators summoned to the scene by a motor club and tow operators operating under a contract with law enforcement are exempted from this provision. 3)Requires businesses taking possession of a towed vehicle to AB 1222 Page 2 maintain specified documentation from the tow operator and that they provide that documentation to law enforcement or specified investigating entities, upon request. 4)Caps towing and storage fees at rates permitted by law enforcement. 5)Requires tow operators to maintain copies of estimates, charging invoices, and proof of summons to the scene for a minimum of three years and requires that they make the information available to law enforcement and investigating agencies, upon request. 6)Establishes misdemeanor penalties, including 90 days in jail and/or a $2,500 fine, for tow operators that willfully violate these provisions. 7)Make related, clarifying amendments. EXISTING LAW: 1)Generally authorizes a local jurisdiction to license and regulate the operation of tow truck services whose place of AB 1222 Page 3 business or employment is within their jurisdiction and provides that failure obtain a license is punishable by seizure and impoundment of the tow truck. 2)Generally prohibits a tow operator from stopping or soliciting tow services at the scene of an accident or near a disabled vehicle unless called to the scene by the owner of the vehicle, law enforcement, or a public agency. FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown COMMENTS: "Bandit towing," or predatory towing as it is sometimes called, involves unauthorized towing of a vehicle. Bandit towing can include unauthorized removal of parked cars. It can also include towing a vehicle from the scene of an accident when the tow operator was not legally authorized to be at the scene. When a vehicle is towed by a bandit tower, a variety of scenarios can play out. For example, in some instances, bandits charge excessive towing fees or take a car to a vehicle storage facility and hold it for a prolonged period of time and then charge excessive storage fees when the owner comes to retrieve the vehicle. In other instances, bandit towers will take a vehicle to an unscrupulous auto shop, where costly and sometimes unnecessary repairs are performed. Nearly a decade ago there was a growing problem with bandit towing that involved the removal of legitimately parked cars. In these cases, a tower would remove the parked car, take it to a storage lot, and then charge inflated towing and storage fees. To address the problem, AB 2210 (Goldberg), Chapter 609, Statutes of 2006, required written approval before the tow operator could remove a parked car. If the tow was on private AB 1222 Page 4 property, the written approval had to come from the property owner and, if on public property, the written approval was required to be from law enforcement or a public agency. AB 2210, among other things, also required tow operators to maintain California Highway Patrol (CHP)-approved rates, vehicle storage facilities release towed vehicles after normal business hours, and set specified storage rate fees. According to the Los Angeles City Attorney's office, the sponsor of AB 1222, after AB 2210 took effect, incidences of predatory towing dropped dramatically in the Los Angeles area. It is believed, however, that many of these unscrupulous tow operators simply moved their operations "to the streets" and began illicitly towing disabled vehicles or vehicles involved in accidents. Generally, existing law makes it illegal for a tow operator to approach a disabled vehicle or arrive on the scene of an accident to provide tow services unless they are specifically summoned by law enforcement or called to the scene (or flagged down) by the vehicle's owner or operator. Many bandit towers, however, are known to monitor police radio frequencies to determine where an accident has occurred or where a disabled vehicle is stopped and then arrive on the scene to offer assistance. If asked, bandit towers typically convey to the vehicle operator that they were dispatched by law enforcement, a motor club, or an insurance company. If asked by law enforcement, bandit towers will typically relay that they were flagged down or otherwise summoned by the vehicle's operator. Because there is no requirement for documentation of how the tower was summoned to the scene, it is difficult to refute their claims or prosecute them. AB 1222 Page 5 The author has introduced AB 1222 in an effort to curb of predatory towing practices which, the sponsor indicates, is a growing problem in the Los Angeles area. Specifically, the sponsor notes that in a little over a year, 586 incidences of bandit towing were reported in California with most occurring in the Los Angeles area. Because many do not even realize they are involved in a scam, it is believed that the actual instances of bandit towing is far greater than the statistics indicate. The author worked closely with the California Tow Truck Association (CTTA) and other stakeholders to craft workable data collection requirements. The bill also requires tow companies to present vehicle operators with a detailed estimate of charges, limits the towing and storage fees, requires businesses taking possession of a towed vehicle to document the transaction, and provides misdemeanor penalties for willfully violating these requirements. Given that documentation procedures set forth in AB 2210 were successful, it is likely that this bill will help curb bandit towing practices and give law enforcement and prosecuting entities an adequate "paper trail" to follow up on and, if necessary, prosecute bandit towers. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION: AB 1222 Page 6 Support Official Police Garage Association of Los Angeles Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by:Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093