WEST virginia legislature
2016 regular session
Originating
Senate Bill 704
By SENATORS BLAIR, WALTERS, FERNS, GAUNCH AND MULLINS
[Originating in the Committee on Government Organization; Reported on February 28, 2016]
A BILL to amend and reenact §24-6-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to dispatching of towing service for emergency towing of vehicles.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §24-6-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
article 6. local emergency telephone system.
§24-6-12. Dispatching of towing services for emergency towing of vehicles; exceptions.
(a) Every three years, the county commission of each
county or the municipality operating an emergency telephone system or an
enhanced emergency telephone system shall, in consultation with all public
safety units, public agencies and make an inventory of all available
towing services located within, and adjacent to, the area covered by the
emergency system and registered as common carriers pursuant to the
provisions of chapter twenty-four-a of this code,. establish a
policy that provides for the most prompt, fair, equitable and effective
response to requests or dispatches for emergency towing services. When
one or more towing services are present within the covered area, the responding
personnel of the emergency telephone system or the enhanced emergency telephone
system shall dispatch a towing service only from within the coverage area. The
personnel of the emergency telephone system or the enhanced emergency telephone
system shall dispatch each service on a rotating basis, to be rotated weekly.
A municipality that does not operate an emergency telephone system or enhanced
emergency telephone system shall dispatch or request dispatch towing service
through the system in accordance with the rotation established. When there is
no towing service located within the covered area, the personnel of the
emergency telephone system or the enhanced emergency telephone system shall
dispatch the towing service that is closest to the area covered by that system.
For purposes of this section, “covered areas” are areas within fire departments
primary response areas: Provided, That this section does not apply to
counties or municipalities that already use similar provisions or have a
rotation system in place.
(b) For each incident where towing services are required, the public agency procuring towing services shall maintain a public record of the name of the towing service utilized.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to mandate the use of local towing services for the benefit of the owners of vehicles requiring emergency towing services.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.