Bill Amendment: MS SB2848 | 2026 | Regular Session
Bill Title: Towing and sale of motor vehicles; revise records and notification requirements related to.
Status: 2026-04-08 - Approved by Governor [SB2848 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2026-SB2848-House_Committee_Amendment_No_1.html
Pending
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO 1 PROPOSED TO
Senate Bill No. 2848
BY: Committee
Amend by striking all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
SECTION 1. Section 85-7-251, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
85-7-251. (1) (a) No motor vehicle may be towed except by request of the owner of the motor vehicle, at the direction of a law enforcement officer or by request of a real property owner upon whose property the motor vehicle has been left.
(b) All towing companies shall record, upon receipt of any request to tow a motor vehicle, the name, phone number and/or email address of the person who made the request, and whether such request was made by the owner of the motor vehicle, a law enforcement officer or the owner of the property from which the motor vehicle is being towed. Failure of a tow company to record the information required by this paragraph shall result in a waiver of all storage and towing fees described in this section, unless the company can prove that the request for towing was made by the owner of the motor vehicle.
(c) Except as
otherwise provided in paragraph (1)(b) of this section, the owner of a motor
vehicle that has been towed at his or her request * * *, at the direction of a law
enforcement officer, or * * *towed upon request of a real property owner upon whose
property a vehicle has been left * * *,
shall be liable for the reasonable price of towing and storage of such vehicle;
and the towing company to whom the price of such labor and storage costs may be
due shall have the right to retain possession of such motor vehicle until the
price is paid.
(2) Within twenty-four (24)
hours, the towing company shall report to the local law enforcement agency
having jurisdiction any vehicle that has been towed and shall provide the
information required by paragraph (1)(b) of this section, unless the
vehicle was towed at the request of the owner of the vehicle. If the owner of
a towed vehicle has not contacted the towing company within * * * two (2) business days of the
initial tow, the towing company shall obtain from the appropriate authority the
names and addresses of any owner and lienholder. If the information from the
appropriate authority fails to disclose the owner or lienholder, a good faith
effort shall be made by the towing company to locate ownership, including a
check for tag information, inspection sticker, or any papers in the vehicle
that may indicate ownership. Upon location of the owner and lienholder, the
towing company using a third-party vendor that meets the requirements of the
department, shall notify them by * * * certified mail of the amount
due for towing, postmarked no later than the * * * seventh day following the initial
tow. If such amount shall not be paid within thirty (30) days from the initial
tow, the towing company to whom such charges are payable shall using a third-party
vendor that meets the requirements of the department, notify by certified
mail any legal owner and holder of any lien, as disclosed by the motor vehicle
title records or other investigation, of notice of sale of the property. For
all notifications required to be sent to owners and lienholders, the third-party
vendor must utilize the format and transmit the data required by the department.
If such property has not been redeemed within ten (10) days after the mailing
of the second certified letter, the towing company may commence sale of
the property at public auction. The towing company shall publish for two (2)
consecutive weeks a notice of sale in the newspaper having circulation in the
county where the vehicle was initially towed. The proceeds of the sale of such
property in excess of the amount needed to pay the towing, reasonable storage
and necessary expenses of the procedures required by this section shall be held
by the towing company for a period of six (6) months, and, if not reclaimed by
the owner thereof within such time, shall become the property of the county and
be paid to the chancery clerk of the county in which the sale was held to be
deposited into the county general fund, subject, however, to any rights of the
recorded lienholder.
(3) The failure to make a
good faith effort to comply with the requirements of this section shall * * * prohibit the imposition of any
storage charges or towing charges against the towed vehicle.
(4) Every towing company shall maintain accurate records for a period of three (3) years, which records shall identify the vehicles it has towed and stored the name, phone number and/or email address of the person who made the request, and whether the such request was made by the owner of the motor vehicle, a law enforcement officer or the owner of the property from which the motor vehicle was towed and all procedures that it has taken to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 2. Section 63-23-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
63-23-5. (1) Any automobile dealer, wrecker service, or repair service owner, or any person or party on whose property a motor vehicle is lawfully towed at the written request of a law enforcement officer, who shall have an abandoned motor vehicle on his property, may sell, free and clear of all claims such motor vehicle by public auction, or if the abandoned motor vehicle has no market value, may dispose of the same after having received at least two (2) written statements from licensed automobile dealers as to the worthlessness of such motor vehicle and after compliance with subsection (2) of this section and Section 63-23-9. An abandoned motor vehicle as defined by Section 63-23-3(b) shall not be sold at auction until thirty (30) days from date of removal from a public street, road or highway.
(2) The person authorized
to execute the sale or disposal of an abandoned motor vehicle shall notify by
certified mail using a third-party vendor that meets the requirements of the
department, within * * * seven (7) days of receipt of such vehicle, any
Mississippi lienholder on such vehicle that unless a claim on the vehicle is made
within thirty (30) days of receipt of such notice, the vehicle will be
sold or destroyed. If no claim is made on the vehicle within thirty (30)
days following receipt of such required notifications to lienholders under this
section, the third-party vendor shall immediately notify the department that no
claim has been made and provide the department with electronic copies of all
notifications required to be sent to lienholders, and the department shall
immediately remove any and all outstanding liens from the motor vehicle in the
department's automated statewide motor vehicle registration system, provided
the third-party vendor provides adequate evidence that any lienholders were
notified in compliance with this section. For all notifications required to be
sent to lienholders, the third-party vendor must utilize the format and
transmit the data required by the department.
(3) After the sale of any vehicle as set out hereinabove is made, the person or officer designated and making the sale of such property shall promptly upon completion of the sale deliver to the chancery clerk a list or itemization of the property sold, the amount paid for each item, the person to whom each item was sold, and all monies received from such sale, the gross charges levied by the person making the sale against the property sold and the net amount paid over to the chancery clerk. Any sale made by any person, officer, corporation or association, shall have attached to the report of sale a sworn statement certifying as to the date such personal property or items sold first came into his possession or was abandoned on his premises and the date said personal property or item was sold.
(4) The proceeds of the sale in excess of repair, towing and storage expenses and all expenses incurred in connection with a sale when a sale is made under the provisions of this chapter, shall escheat to the county and shall be paid over to the chancery clerk to be placed into the general fund of the county in which the vehicle is abandoned. However, in those municipalities availing themselves of the provisions of Section 21-39-21, the proceeds of the sale in excess of the repairs, towing, storage or other necessary expenses incurred shall escheat to the general fund of the municipality.
(5) Every towing company shall maintain accurate records for a period of three (3) years, which records shall identify the vehicles it has towed and stored and all procedures that it has taken to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 3. Section 63-23-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
63-23-9. The last-known
registered owner of an abandoned motor vehicle and all lienholders of record,
when such information is reasonably obtainable, shall be notified by * * * certified mail that such vehicle
will be sold pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. Said notice shall give
such owner and lienholders the date, time and place of sale and name of the
person or party who has custody of such vehicle.
If the identity of the last registered owner cannot be determined, or if the registration contains no address for the owner, or if it is impossible to determine with reasonable certainty the identity and addresses of all lienholders, notice by three (3) publications once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the motor vehicle was abandoned shall be sufficient to meet all requirements of notice pursuant to this chapter.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.
Further, amend by striking the title in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 85-7-251, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE TOWING COMPANIES TO RECORD CERTAIN INFORMATION FROM ANY PERSON WHO REQUESTS THE COMPANY'S SERVICES; TO AMEND SECTION 63-23-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE NOTIFICATION REQUIRED BY TOWING COMPANIES BEFORE PROPERTY IS SOLD; TO AUTHORIZE THIRD-PARTY VENDORS TO ASSIST IN NOTIFICATION WHEN NO CLAIMS HAVE BEEN MADE TO VEHICLES; TO AMEND SECTION 63-23-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
