Bill Text: MS SB2724 | 2026 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Towing companies; revise notice provisions to owners and lienholder, authorize civil penalty.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Failed) 2026-02-03 - Died In Committee [SB2724 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2026-SB2724-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Judiciary, Division A
By: Senator(s) England
Senate Bill 2724
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 85-7-251, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE NOTICE REQUIREMENT REQUIRED TO BE GIVEN BY TOWING COMPANIES TO AN OWNER OR LIENHOLDER OF A TOWED VEHICLE; TO AUTHORIZE A CIVIL PENALTY IMPOSED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE FOR FAILURE TO MAKE A GOOD FAITH EFFORT TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS 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. * * * Within five (5)
business days of the initial tow, the towing company shall obtain from the
appropriate authority the names and addresses of any owner and lienholder unless
the owner of a towed vehicle contacts the towing company. The towing company
within five (5) business days shall notify the lienholder using email through a
vendor approved by the Mississippi Department of Revenue. 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 shall notify them by registered 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 * * * twenty
(20) days from the initial tow, the towing company to whom such charges are
payable shall 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. If such property has not been redeemed within * * * twenty
(20) days after the mailing of the 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, and during
that time period, shall notify any owner, if known, or lienholder by email
through the vendor approved by the Department of Revenue for third-party
notification. 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 and subject the towing company to a civil penalty imposed by the Department of Insurance of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for the first occurrence and Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) for the second and subsequent offenses.
(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. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.
