BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1222| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- CONSENT Bill No: AB 1222 Author: Bloom (D) Amended: 6/23/15 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 7/7/15 AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva, McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 5/22/15 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Tow trucks SOURCE: Los Angeles City Attorney Michael N. Feuer 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 AB 1222 Page 2 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 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. AB 1222 Page 3 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 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 AB 1222 Page 4 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 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. AB 1222 Page 5 1) Exempts from provision (9) 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 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 AB 1222 Page 6 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 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 AB 1222 Page 7 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/Prior Legislation AB 529 (Lowenthal, Chapter 500, Statutes of 2013) -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 SUPPORT: (Verified 8/17/15) Los Angeles City Attorney Michael N. Feuer (source) California District Attorneys Association City of Los Angeles League of California Cities National Insurance Crime Bureau Official Police Garage Association of Los Angeles OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/17/15) None received FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: Yes AB 1222 Page 8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 5/22/15 AYES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Jones, O'Donnell, Olsen, Waldron, Weber Prepared by:Erin Riches / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121 8/18/15 16:45:50 **** END ****