BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1222 Hearing Date: 7/7/2015
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|Author: |Bloom |
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|Version: |6/23/2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Erin Riches |
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SUBJECT: Tow trucks
DIGEST: This bill imposes additional requirements on tow trucks
responding to accident scenes.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Allows a tow truck owner or operator to stop or park the tow
truck on a highway to render assistance to a disabled
vehicle.
2) Makes it a misdemeanor for a tow truck owner or operator to
stop at an accident scene or near a disabled vehicle to
solicit towing services, either directly or indirectly, or to
furnish any towing services, unless summoned to the scene,
requested to stop, or flagged down by the owner or operator
of a disabled vehicle or requested to perform the service by
a law enforcement officer or public agency.
3) Makes it a misdemeanor for a tow truck owner or operator to
move any vehicle from a highway, street, or public property
without the express authorization of the owner or operator of
the vehicle or a law enforcement officer or public agency,
when the vehicle has been left unattended or when there is an
injury as the result of an accident.
4) Exempts a vehicle owned or operated by, or under contract
AB 1222 (Bloom) Page 2 of ?
to, a motor club that stops to provide services for which
compensation is neither requested nor received, provided
those services do not include towing other than that
necessary to remove the vehicle to the nearest safe shoulder.
Allows the owner or operator of such vehicle to contact a
law enforcement agency or other public agency on behalf of a
motorist, but prohibits them from referring a motorist to a
tow truck owner or operator unless the motorist is a member
of the motor club, the motorist is referred to a tow truck
owner or operator under contract with the motor club, and, if
there is a dispatch facility that services the area and is
owned or operated by the motor club, the referral is made
through that dispatch facility.
5) Also exempts a tow truck operator employed by a law
enforcement or other public agency, as well as a tow truck
owner or operator acting under contract with a law
enforcement or other public agency to abate abandoned
vehicles, or to provide towing service or emergency road
service to motorists while involved in freeway service patrol
operations.
This bill:
1) Makes it a misdemeanor for a tow truck owner, operator, or
company (hereafter referred to as a tow truck), unless
summoned to an accident scene or requested to stop by the
owner or operator of a disabled vehicle (hereafter referred
to as a driver), to stop at an accident scene or near a
disabled vehicle to solicit or provide towing services, move
an unattended vehicle, or accrue charges for these services.
2) Requires a tow truck summoned to the scene by a driver to
possess all of the following information in writing prior to
arriving at the scene:
a) The make, model, year, and license plate number of the
disabled vehicle;
b) The date and time the tow truck was summoned to the
scene; and
c) The name of the person who took the call.
1) Exempts a tow truck summoned to the scene by a motor club
pursuant to the request of the owner or operator of a
disabled vehicle, from the requirements of provision (2) if
AB 1222 (Bloom) Page 3 of ?
it possesses all the following in writing:
a) The business name of the motor club;
b) The identification number the motor club assigns to
the referral; and
c) The date and time the tow truck was summoned to the
scene by the motor club.
1) Requires a tow truck requested to stop at the scene by a
driver to possess all of the following information in writing
upon arriving at the scene:
a) The first and last name and telephone number of the
driver;
b) The make, model, and license plate number, if one is
displayed, of the disabled vehicle;
c) The date and time the tow truck was requested to stop;
and
d) The name of the person who took the call.
1) Requires a tow truck summoned or requested by a law
enforcement officer or public agency to possess the following
in writing before leaving the scene:
a) The identity of the law enforcement agency or public
agency;
b) The log number, call number, incident number, or
dispatch number assigned to the incident by the law
enforcement agency or public agency, the surname and badge
number of the law enforcement officer, or the surname and
employee identification number of the public agency
employee; and
c) The date and time of the summons, request, or
authorization.
1) Requires the tow truck, if the driver is present, to provide
a written itemized estimate of all charges and services to be
performed, prior to attaching the vehicle to the tow truck,
including:
a) The name, address, telephone number, and motor carrier
permit number of the towing company;
b) The license plate of the tow truck;
c) The first and last name of the tow truck owner,
operator, or driver; and
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d) A description and cost of all services, including but
not limited to charges for labor, equipment, mileage from
dispatch to return, and storage fees.
1) Requires the tow truck to obtain the driver's signature on
the itemized estimate and provide a copy to the driver.
2) Exempts from provision (7) a tow truck summoned to the scene
by a motor club by a driver or summoned by a law enforcement
agency or a public agency.
3) Prohibits a tow truck from charging a fee for towing or
storage, or both, of a vehicle that exceeds the greater of
the following:
a) The fee that would have been charged for towing or
storage, or both, made at the request of a law enforcement
agency under an agreement between a tow truck and the law
enforcement agency that exercises primary jurisdiction in
the area in which the vehicle was removed or attempted to
be removed.
b) The fee that would have been charged for towing or
storage, or both, under the rate approved for that tow
truck by CHP for that jurisdiction.
1) Exempts from provision (10) the towing or transportation of
a vehicle or temporary storage of a vehicle in transit, if
the service is performed with the prior consent of a driver.
2) Prohibits any charge in excess of the estimated price
without the prior consent of a driver.
3) Requires all charges to be recorded on an invoice.
4) Requires the tow truck to make available to law enforcement,
within 48 hours of a request, written information from the
time it appears on the scene until the time the vehicle is
towed and released to a third party, and to maintain this
information for three years.
5) Provides that a person who violates these provisions is
guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum fine of
$2,500, a maximum of three months in county jail, or both.
6) Requires a business taking possession of a vehicle from a
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tow truck to document:
a) The name, address, and telephone number of the tow
company;
b) The name and driver's license of the tow truck
operator;
c) The make, model, and license plate or vehicle
identification number; and
d) The date and time that possession was taken of the
vehicle.
1) Requires a business taking possession of a vehicle from a
tow truck to make written information available to law
enforcement or the Bureau of Automotive Repair within 48
hours of a request, and to maintain this information for
three years. Provides that a person who willfully violates
this provision is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a
maximum fine of $2,500, a maximum of three months in county
jail, or both.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. The author states that in 2006, the Los Angeles City
Attorney's Office sponsored legislation (see below) to curb the
practice of predatory towing, in which tow trucks would tow
vehicles from parking lots late at night to a tow yard and then
charge excessive fees to vehicle owners. This statute has been
used successfully by prosecuting agencies across the state. The
author states, however, that a new type of towing scam has
emerged in which a tow truck driver appears unsolicited at an
accident scene and convinces the vehicle owner to sign a release
giving the tow truck driver permission to tow the vehicle. The
tow truck driver then transports the vehicle to an affiliated
repair shop or storage yard, which charges thousands of dollars
in "storage" fees to the vehicle owner.
Existing law does not require a tow truck owner or operator to
provide proof that they were solicited to the scene. Nor does
it require the facility where the vehicle is towed to obtain the
identity of the tow truck driver, making it nearly impossible
for law enforcement to investigate allegations that the tow
truck driver was a part of a scheme to extract excessive fees.
In addition, the vehicle owner often fails to ask the amount of
towing costs up front and the tow truck driver is not required
to disclose them. The Los Angeles Police Commission has
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received numerous complaints about these issues from consumers,
rental car companies, and legitimate tow businesses.
The author states that his bill will provide law enforcement
with the necessary tools to stop this practice by requiring tow
companies to obtain, maintain, and provide proof that they were
solicited to the accident scene. This bill will also protect
consumers by requiring tow truck drivers to disclose the towing
and storage costs prior to towing the vehicle.
Negotiated language. The author states that he has negotiated
extensively with interested parties to alleviate concerns and
remove all opposition. The California Tow Truck Association
states that it has removed its opposition based on the following
amendments, reflected in the current version of this bill: (1)
removal of provisions that would expand a local agency's
regulatory authority over a tow company to anyone that is
operating within its jurisdiction; (2) removal of provisions
allowing for impoundment of tow trucks for a violation of local
regulations; (3) addition of provisions recognizing that towing
companies legitimately summoned to the scene by law enforcement
or a motor club are not the source of abuse in this area; (4)
removal of provisions that would subject a towing company to a
loss of its lien for even minor violations in this area; and (5)
removal of "flagged down" language, which promoted abuse in this
area.
Related Legislation:
AB 529 (Lowenthal, Chapter 500, Statutes of 2013) - which
revised the Biennial Inspection of Terminals Program
administered by CHP, included a provision to bring tow trucks
into the program.
AB 2210 (Goldberg, Chapter 609, Statutes of 2006) - provided
enhanced protections to motorists from unfair vehicle towing
practices and unauthorized vehicle towing from private property.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
July 1, 2015.)
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SUPPORT:
Los Angeles City Attorney Michael N. Feuer (sponsor)
California District Attorneys Association
City of Los Angeles
League of California Cities
National Insurance Crime Bureau
Official Police Garage Association of Los Angeles
OPPOSITION:
None received
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