Bill Text: TX HB3982 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the regulation of motor vehicle towing and booting.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-04-21 - Left pending in committee [HB3982 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB3982-Introduced.html
87R11004 BEE-D | ||
By: Neave | H.B. No. 3982 |
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relating to the regulation of motor vehicle towing and booting. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 2308.253(d), Occupations Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(d) A [ |
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towed from the parking facility merely because the vehicle does not | ||
display an unexpired license plate or registration insignia issued | ||
for the vehicle under Chapter 502, Transportation Code, or the | ||
vehicle registration law of another state or country. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 2308.301(b), Occupations Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(b) Except as provided by Section 2308.305, an unauthorized | ||
vehicle may be towed under Section 2308.252(a)(1) or booted under | ||
Section 2308.257 only if each sign prohibiting unauthorized | ||
vehicles: | ||
(1) is made of weather-resistant material; | ||
(2) is at least 18 inches wide and 24 inches tall; | ||
(3) contains the international symbol for towing | ||
vehicles; | ||
(4) contains a statement describing who may park in | ||
the parking facility and prohibiting all others; | ||
(5) bears the words, as applicable: | ||
(A) "Unauthorized Vehicles Will Be Towed or | ||
Booted at Owner's or Operator's Expense"; | ||
(B) "Unauthorized Vehicles Will Be Towed at | ||
Owner's or Operator's Expense"; or | ||
(C) "Unauthorized Vehicles Will Be Booted at | ||
Owner's or Operator's Expense"; | ||
(6) contains a statement of the days and hours of | ||
towing and booting enforcement; [ |
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(7) contains a number, including the area code, of a | ||
telephone that is answered 24 hours a day to enable an owner or | ||
operator of a vehicle to locate a towed vehicle or to arrange for | ||
removal of a boot from a vehicle; and | ||
(8) contains a statement describing a person's right | ||
to request a court hearing to determine whether probable cause | ||
existed to remove, or install a boot on, a vehicle. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 2308.302, Occupations Code, is amended | ||
by amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (f) to read as | ||
follows: | ||
(d) Except as provided by Subsections [ |
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(f), the next lower portion of the sign must contain the remaining | ||
information required by Section 2308.301(b) displayed in bright red | ||
letters at least one inch in height on a white background. | ||
(f) A sign that otherwise meets the requirements of this | ||
subchapter meets the requirements of Section 2308.301(b)(8) if a | ||
separate sign installed directly above or below the sign contains | ||
the statement describing a person's right to request a hearing | ||
required by Section 2308.301(b)(8). | ||
SECTION 4. Section 2308.404, Occupations Code, is amended | ||
by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read as | ||
follows: | ||
(c) A towing company, booting company, or parking facility | ||
owner who intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly violates this | ||
chapter is liable to the owner or operator of the vehicle that is | ||
the subject of the violation for: | ||
(1) an amount equal to $1,000 plus three times the | ||
amount of fees assessed in the vehicle's removal, towing, storage, | ||
or booting; | ||
(2) the reasonable costs of photographs and other | ||
documentation related to the towing or booting submitted to the | ||
court by the vehicle owner or operator; and | ||
(3) court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. | ||
(d) A vehicle owner or operator may bring a civil action | ||
pursuant to this section regardless of whether the owner or | ||
operator requests a hearing under Subchapter J. | ||
SECTION 5. Subchapter I, Chapter 2308, Occupations Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 2308.408 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 2308.408. PREDATORY TOWING AND BOOTING PROHIBITED. | ||
(a) In this section, "predatory towing" or "predatory booting" | ||
means the towing or booting, as applicable, of a vehicle that: | ||
(1) involves an authorized or unauthorized vehicle | ||
that has been left unattended on a parking facility for 30 minutes | ||
or less; | ||
(2) is made from or on, as applicable, a parking | ||
facility on which reserved or unreserved parking spaces remain | ||
available; and | ||
(3) is a result of the monitoring of a parking facility | ||
by a towing company or operator or booting company or operator. | ||
(b) A towing company or operator or booting company or | ||
operator may not engage in predatory towing or booting. | ||
(c) An agreement between a parking facility owner and a | ||
towing company or operator or booting company or operator, | ||
including a standard written agreement required under Section | ||
2308.255(d), may not include a provision authorizing predatory | ||
towing or booting. | ||
(d) The commission by rule shall establish standards | ||
regarding the monitoring of a parking facility as described by | ||
Subsection (a)(3). | ||
SECTION 6. Section 2308.455, Occupations Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 2308.455. CONTENTS OF NOTICE. The notice under | ||
Section 2308.454 must include: | ||
(1) a statement of: | ||
(A) the person's right to submit a request within | ||
60 [ |
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existed to remove, or install a boot on, the vehicle; | ||
(B) the information that a request for a hearing | ||
must contain; | ||
(C) any filing fee for the hearing; and | ||
(D) the person's right to request a hearing in | ||
any justice court in: | ||
(i) the county from which the vehicle was | ||
towed; or | ||
(ii) for booted vehicles, the county in | ||
which the parking facility is located; | ||
(2) the name, address, and telephone number of the | ||
towing company that removed the vehicle or the booting company that | ||
booted the vehicle; | ||
(3) the name, address, telephone number, and county of | ||
the vehicle storage facility in which the vehicle was placed; | ||
(4) the name, street address including city, state, | ||
and zip code, and telephone number of the person, parking facility | ||
owner, or law enforcement agency that authorized the removal of the | ||
vehicle; and | ||
(5) the name, address, and telephone number of each | ||
justice court in the county from which the vehicle was towed or, for | ||
booted vehicles, the county in which the parking facility is | ||
located, or the address of an Internet website maintained by the | ||
Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System that | ||
contains the name, address, and telephone number of each justice | ||
court in that county. | ||
SECTION 7. Sections 2308.456(a), (c), and (c-1), | ||
Occupations Code, are amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) Except as provided by Subsections (c) and (c-1), a | ||
person entitled to a hearing under this chapter must deliver a | ||
written request for the hearing to the court before the 60th [ |
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day after the date the vehicle was removed and placed in the vehicle | ||
storage facility or booted, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal | ||
holidays. | ||
(c) If notice was not given under Section 2308.454, the | ||
60-day [ |
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(a) does not apply, and the owner or operator of the vehicle may | ||
deliver a written request for a hearing at any time. | ||
(c-1) The 60-day [ |
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under Subsection (a) does not begin until the date on which the | ||
towing company or vehicle storage facility provides to the vehicle | ||
owner or operator the information necessary for the vehicle owner | ||
or operator to complete the material for the request for hearing | ||
required under Subsections (b)(2) through (6). | ||
SECTION 8. Section 2308.458, Occupations Code, is amended | ||
by amending Subsections (c) and (c-1) to read as follows: | ||
(c) The issues in a hearing regarding a towed vehicle under | ||
this chapter are: | ||
(1) whether probable cause existed for the removal and | ||
placement of the vehicle; | ||
(2) whether a towing charge imposed or collected in | ||
connection with the removal or placement of the vehicle was greater | ||
than the amount authorized by the political subdivision under | ||
Section 2308.201 or 2308.202; | ||
(3) whether a towing charge imposed or collected in | ||
connection with the removal or placement of the vehicle was greater | ||
than the amount authorized under Section 2308.203; [ |
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(4) whether a towing charge imposed or collected in | ||
connection with the removal or placement of the vehicle was greater | ||
than the amount authorized under Section 2308.0575; | ||
(5) whether a towing company or operator engaged in | ||
predatory towing, as defined by Section 2308.408(a); and | ||
(6) whether a parking facility operator entered into | ||
an agreement with a towing company or operator authorizing | ||
predatory towing in violation of Section 2308.408(c). | ||
(c-1) The issues in a hearing regarding a booted vehicle | ||
under this chapter are: | ||
(1) whether probable cause existed for the booting of | ||
the vehicle; [ |
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(2) whether a boot removal charge imposed or collected | ||
in connection with the removal of the boot from the vehicle was | ||
greater than the amount authorized by the political subdivision | ||
under Section 2308.2085; | ||
(3) whether a booting company or operator engaged in | ||
predatory booting, as defined by Section 2308.408(a); and | ||
(4) whether a parking facility operator entered into | ||
an agreement with a booting company or operator authorizing | ||
predatory booting in violation of Section 2308.408(c). | ||
SECTION 9. Section 2308.253(e), Occupations Code, is | ||
repealed. | ||
SECTION 10. Not later than December 1, 2021, the Texas | ||
Department of Licensing and Regulation shall adopt rules as | ||
necessary to implement Section 2308.408, Occupations Code, as added | ||
by this Act. | ||
SECTION 11. The changes in law made by this Act apply only | ||
to the towing or booting of a vehicle initiated on or after January | ||
1, 2022. The towing or booting of a vehicle initiated before | ||
January 1, 2022, is governed by the law in effect at the time the | ||
towing or booting was initiated, and the former law is continued in | ||
effect for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 12. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of | ||
this section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2022. | ||
(b) Section 10 of this Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |