Bill Text: MS HB1382 | 2026 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Towing companies; revise require notification before vehicle is sold.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Failed) 2026-02-03 - Died In Committee [HB1382 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2026-HB1382-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Judiciary A
By: Representative Lamar
House Bill 1382
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 85-7-251, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE NOTIFICATION REQUIRED BY TOWING COMPANIES BEFORE PROPERTY IS SOLD; TO AMEND SECTION 63-23-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 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.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 85-7-251, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
85-7-251. (1) The owner of a motor vehicle that has been towed at his request or 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 without permission of the real property owner, 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 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 preclude 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 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.
