Bill Text: IL HB4704 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that the Transportation Division of the Illinois Commerce Commission shall establish a statewide database in which any licensed tow operator may enter information regarding vehicles towed for safety or relocation purposes. Provides that the database shall allow each tow operator to have its own login in order to facilitate the entry of information via a mobile device; may integrate with existing law enforcement databases; may have a vehicle identification number validation feature to permit only valid vehicle identification numbers to be submitted to the database; shall include the name of the tow company that took possession of the vehicle; and shall be available to the public. Provides that, within one hour after a vehicle is relocated, a commercial or safety relocator shall notify the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction in the area from which the vehicle was relocated by electronically entering the information into the database. Provides that the commercial or safety relocator shall maintain records documenting the notification. Provides that a commercial or safety relocator in possession of a vehicle that has remained unclaimed for a period of 15 days after having been towed shall, within 5 days after the expiration of that period, report the vehicle as unclaimed by entering the information into the database. Provides that the notification shall include specified information. Provides that a commercial or safety relocator that fails to enter the information into the database as required may not (i) charge or collect any amount in connection with the relocation, processing, or storage of the vehicle or (ii) dispose of the unclaimed vehicle.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-05 - House Committee Amendment No. 1 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB4704 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB4704-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4704 Introduced , by Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
625 ILCS 5/18a-300.5 new
625 ILCS 5/18c-1204 from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-1204
625 ILCS 5/18d-137 new
Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that the Transportation Division of the Illinois Commerce Commission shall establish a statewide database in which any licensed tow operator may enter information regarding vehicles towed for safety or relocation purposes. Provides that the database shall allow each tow operator to have its own login in order to facilitate the entry of information via a mobile device; may integrate with existing law enforcement databases; may have a vehicle identification number validation feature to permit only valid vehicle identification numbers to be submitted to the database; shall include the name of the tow company that took possession of the vehicle; and shall be available to the public. Provides that, within one hour after a vehicle is relocated, a commercial or safety relocator shall notify the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction in the area from which the vehicle was relocated by electronically entering the information into the database. Provides that the commercial or safety relocator shall maintain records documenting the notification. Provides that a commercial or safety relocator in possession of a vehicle that has remained unclaimed for a period of 15 days after having been towed shall, within 5 days after the expiration of that period, report the vehicle as unclaimed by entering the information into the database. Provides that the notification shall include specified information. Provides that a commercial or safety relocator that fails to enter the information into the database as required may not (i) charge or collect any amount in connection with the relocation, processing, or storage of the vehicle or (ii) dispose of the unclaimed vehicle.
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A BILL FOR
HB4704 LRB103 36305 MXP 66403 b
AN ACT concerning transportation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by
changing Section 18c-1204 and by adding Sections 18a-300.5 and
18d-137 as follows:
(625 ILCS 5/18a-300.5 new)
Sec. 18a-300.5. Electronic notification.
(a) Not later than one hour after a vehicle is relocated,
the relocator shall electronically notify the law enforcement
agency having jurisdiction in the area from which the vehicle
was relocated by entering the information set forth in
subsection (c) into the statewide, publicly available database
created under subsection (4) of Section 18c-1204. Relocators
shall maintain records documenting the notification made under
this subsection.
(b) A relocator in possession of a vehicle that has
remained unclaimed for a period of 15 days after having been
towed shall report, within 5 days after the expiration of that
period, the vehicle as unclaimed by entering the information
into the statewide, publicly available database created under
subsection (4) of Section 18c-1204.
(c) The notification required by this Section shall

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include the following:
(1) the name, address, and telephone number of the
relocator;
(2) the license number of the relocator;
(3) the color, make, model, vehicle identification
number, and license number of the vehicle relocated;
(4) the date and time of the relocation;
(5) the address of the property from which the vehicle
was relocated;
(6) the address to which the vehicle was relocated;
and
(7) other information as required by the Illinois
Commerce Commission.
(d) A relocator that fails to comply with this Section may
not:
(1) charge or collect any amount in connection with
the relocation, processing, or storage of the vehicle; or
(2) dispose of an unclaimed vehicle under Section
4-208 or 4-209.
(625 ILCS 5/18c-1204) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-1204)
Sec. 18c-1204. Transportation Division.
(1) Establishment. There shall be established within the
staff of the Commission a Transportation Division in which
primary staff responsibility for the administration and
enforcement of this Chapter and Chapter 18a shall be vested.

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The Transportation Division shall be headed by a division
manager responsible to the executive director.
(2) Structure. The Transportation Division shall consist
of 4 programs and 2 offices. The 4 programs shall be
Compliance, Review and Examination, Docketing and Processing,
and Rail Safety. Each program shall be headed by a program
director and responsible to the division manager, except that
in the Compliance Program the 3 staff supervisors shall each
be responsible to the division manager. The 2 offices shall be
the Office of Transportation Counsel and the Office of the
Division Manager. The Office of Transportation Counsel shall
be headed by a Chief Counsel responsible to the Division
Manager. The Division Manager shall coordinate the activities
and responsibilities of the Office of Transportation Counsel
with the executive director and the personal assistant serving
as staff counsel to the executive director in the office of the
executive director, and with the Commission.
(a) The Compliance Program.
(i) The Compliance Program shall consist of a
police staff, a rate auditing staff, and a civil
penalties staff. These staffs shall be headed by a
Chief of Police, a Supervisor of Tariffs and Audits,
and a Supervisor of Civil Penalties, respectively.
(ii) The police staff shall be divided into
districts with a field office in each district. Each
district shall be headed by a working supervisor

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responsible to the Chief of Police. All staff
responsibility for enforcement of this Chapter, except
with regard to rail safety, shall be vested in the
Compliance Program.
(b) The Review and Examination Program.
(i) Staff responsibility for review of all
nonhearing matters under this Chapter and Chapter 18a
and examination of all matters assigned for hearing
under this Chapter and Chapter 18a shall be vested in
the Review and Examination Program, except as
otherwise provided in Section 18c-1204b.
(ii) Hearing examiners in the program shall have
responsibility for developing a full, complete and
impartial record on all issues to be decided in a
proceeding; recommending disposition of the issues or
making an initial decision on them, as provided in
this Chapter; and setting forth in writing the basis
for their recommendations or initial decisions. The
program director shall be the chief hearing examiner
for matters under this Chapter and Chapter 18a with
responsibility to insure consistency of
recommendations and initial decisions.
(c) The Processing and Docketing Program. All staff
responsibility for docketing and processing filings,
accounting of receipts and expenditures, issuing, file
maintenance and other processing functions under this

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Chapter and Chapter 18a shall be vested in the Processing
Program.
(d) The Rail Safety Program. Staff responsibility for
administration and enforcement of the rail safety
provisions of this Chapter shall be vested in the Rail
Safety Program.
(e) The Office of Transportation Counsel.
(i) All Commission staff responsibility for
provision of legal services in connection with any
matter under this Chapter, excepting any matter under
subchapters 7 and 8 of this Chapter, or in connection
with any matter under Chapter 18a shall, except with
regard to functions vested in the review and
examination program under paragraph (b) of this
subsection, be vested exclusively in the Office of
Transportation Counsel.
(ii) The Office of Transportation Counsel shall,
when directed through the division manager to do so,
represent the Commission or Commission staff in
administrative or judicial proceedings and render
staff advisory opinions to the executive director and
the Commission.
(f) Levels of Administration. No additional levels of
administration, supervision or authority shall be
superimposed, or remain superimposed, between levels
prescribed under this Section, and no organizational units

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may be created within the Transportation Division except
as prescribed under this Section.
(3) Additional Functions. Staff functions relating to
rulemaking, policy recommendations and advisory committees
under this Chapter and Chapter 18a shall be vested in the
Transportation Division.
The staff shall prepare and distribute to the General
Assembly, in April of each year, a report on railway accidents
in Illinois which involve hazardous materials. The report
shall include the location, substance involved, amounts
involved, and the suspected reason for each accident. The
report shall also reveal the rail line and point of origin of
the hazardous material involved in each accident.
(4) Towed Vehicle Database. The Transportation Division
shall establish a statewide database in which any licensed tow
operator may enter information regarding vehicles towed for
safety or relocation purposes. The database shall allow each
tow operator to have its own login in order to facilitate the
entry of information via a mobile device. The database may
integrate with existing law enforcement databases. The
database may have a vehicle identification number validation
feature to permit only valid vehicle identification numbers to
be submitted to the database. The database shall include the
name of the tow company that took possession of the vehicle.
The database shall be available to the public.
(Source: P.A. 88-415.)

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(625 ILCS 5/18d-137 new)
Sec. 18d-137. Electronic notification.
(a) Not later than one hour after a vehicle is relocated,
the safety relocator shall electronically notify the law
enforcement agency having jurisdiction in the area from which
the vehicle was relocated by entering the information set
forth in subsection (c) into the statewide, publicly available
database created under subsection (4) of Section 18c-1204.
Safety relocators shall maintain records documenting the
notification made under this subsection.
(b) A safety relocator in possession of a vehicle that has
remained unclaimed for a period of 15 days after having been
towed shall report, within 5 days after the expiration of that
period, the vehicle as unclaimed by entering the information
into the statewide, publicly available database created under
subsection (4) of Section 18c-1204.
(c) The notification required by this Section shall
include the following:
(1) the name, address, and telephone number of the
safety relocator;
(2) the license number of the safety relocator;
(3) the color, make, model, vehicle identification
number, and license number of the vehicle relocated;
(4) the date and time of the relocation;
(5) the address of the property from which the vehicle

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