BILL NUMBER: AB 2147	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 15, 2016
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  APRIL 21, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 14, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Eggman

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2016

   An act to add Section 22659.7 to the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2147, Eggman. Vehicles: impoundment: prostitution.
   Existing law authorizes a city, county, or city and county to
adopt an ordinance declaring a motor vehicle to be a nuisance subject
to an impoundment period of up to 30 days when the motor vehicle is
involved in the commission of any one or more of specified crimes
related to prostitution or illegal dumping of commercial quantities
of waste matter upon a public or private highway or road if the owner
or operator of the vehicle has had a prior conviction for the same
offense within the past 3 years. Existing law requires the ordinance
to include specified provisions related to notice, the payment of
towing, storage, and administrative fees, the provision of a
poststorage hearing, and the release of the impounded vehicle.
   This bill would also provide that a vehicle used in the commission
of a crime related to prostitution by a person buying or attempting
to buy sexual services is a nuisance subject to an impoundment period
of up to 30 days. The bill would impose the same procedures for
impoundment, storage, and release of the vehicle as are provided
under the ordinance-authorizing provisions described above, without
the requirement that an ordinance be passed in order to authorize
local authorities to make use of the impounding authority.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 22659.7 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
   22659.7.  Notwithstanding any other law, a motor vehicle is a
public nuisance subject to seizure by a local law enforcement agency
and an impoundment period of up to 30 days when the motor vehicle is
used in the commission or attempted commission of a violation of
subdivision (b) of Section 647 of the Penal Code by a person buying
or attempting to buy sexual services if the owner or operator of the
vehicle has had a prior conviction for the same offense within the
past three years. The vehicle may only be impounded pursuant to a
valid arrest by a local law enforcement agency of the driver for a
violation of subdivision (b) of Section 647 of the Penal Code for
buying or attempting to buy sexual services. The following procedures
shall apply:
   (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 the agency 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 calendar 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 or who arrested the defendant.
   (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 of
the vehicle 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
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 driver employed by 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 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
impounding the vehicle would create a hardship because 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 other 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 shall be responsible for
the towing and storage charges.
   (h) Except as provided in subdivision (g), 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 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 both 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.
   (j) (1) No lien sale processing fees shall be charged to the legal
owner who redeems the vehicle prior to the 15th day of the
impoundment period. Neither the impounding authority nor any person
having possession of the vehicle shall collect from the legal owner,
as described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (i), or the legal owner'
s agent, any administrative charges imposed pursuant to Section
22850.5 unless the legal owner voluntarily requested a poststorage
hearing.
   (2) A person operating or in charge of a storage facility where
vehicles are stored pursuant to this section shall accept a valid
bank credit card, debit card, or cash for payment of towing, storage,
and related fees by a legal or registered owner or the owner's agent
claiming the vehicle. A credit card or debit card shall be in the
name of the person presenting the card. For purposes of this section,
"credit card" is as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1747.02 of
the Civil Code. A credit card does not include a credit card issued
by a retail seller.
   (3) A person operating or in charge of a storage facility
described in paragraph (2) who violates paragraph (2) shall be
civilly liable to the owner of the vehicle or the person who tendered
the fees for four times the amount of the towing, storage, and
related fees, not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500).
   (4) A person operating or in charge of the storage facility
described in paragraph (2) shall have sufficient funds on the
premises of the primary storage facility during normal business hours
to accommodate, and make change for, a reasonable monetary
transaction.
   (5) Credit charges for towing and storage services shall comply
with Section 1748.1 of the Civil Code. Law enforcement agencies may
include the costs of providing for payment by credit when making
agreements with towing companies on rates.
   (6) A failure by a storage facility to comply with any applicable
conditions set forth in this subdivision shall not affect the right
of the legal owner or the legal owner's agent to retrieve the vehicle
if all conditions required of the legal owner or legal owner's agent
under this subdivision are satisfied.
   (k) (1) The legal owner or the legal owner's agent shall present
to the law enforcement agency, impounding agency, person in
possession of the vehicle, or any person acting on behalf of those
agencies, a copy of the assignment, as defined in subdivision (b) of
Section 7500.1 of the Business and Professions Code, a release from
the one responsible governmental agency, only if required by the
agency, a government-issued photographic identification card, and any
one of the following as determined by the legal owner or the legal
owner's agent: a certificate of repossession for the vehicle, a
security agreement for the vehicle, or title, whether or not
paperless or electronic, showing proof of legal ownership for the
vehicle. Any documents presented may be originals, photocopies, or
facsimile copies or may be transmitted electronically. The law
enforcement agency, impounding agency, or other governmental agency,
or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, shall not require
any documents to be notarized. The law enforcement agency, impounding
agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies may require
the agent of the legal owner to produce a photocopy or facsimile
copy of its repossession agency license or registration issued
pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 7500) of Division 3
of the Business and Professions Code, or to demonstrate, to the
satisfaction of the law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any
person acting on behalf of those agencies that the agent is exempt
from licensure pursuant to Section 7500.2 or 7500.3 of the Business
and Professions Code.
   (2) Administrative costs authorized under subdivision (a) of
Section 22850.5 shall not be charged to the legal owner of the type
specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (i) who redeems the vehicle
unless the legal owner voluntarily requests a poststorage hearing. A
city, county, city and county, or state agency shall not require a
legal owner or a legal owner's agent to request a poststorage hearing
as a requirement for release of the vehicle to the legal owner or
the legal owner's agent. The law enforcement agency, impounding
agency, or other governmental agency, or any person acting on behalf
of those agencies, shall not require any documents other than those
specified in this paragraph. The legal owner or the legal owner's
agent shall be given a copy of any documents he or she is required to
sign, except for a vehicle evidentiary hold log book. The law
enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf
of those agencies, or any person in possession of the vehicle, may
photocopy and retain the copies of any documents presented by the
legal owner or legal owner's agent. The legal owner shall indemnify
and hold harmless a storage facility from any claims arising out of
the release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owner's
agent and from any damage to the vehicle after its release, including
the reasonable costs associated with defending those claims.
   (l) 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.
   (m) (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.
   (n) (1) A vehicle removed and seized 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 pursuant to this
section may continue to rent the vehicle upon recovery of the
vehicle.
   (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.