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SB556 SUB1 Senate Bill 556 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

Senate Bill No. 556

(By Senators Love, Edgell, Bailey, Minard, Fanning,

Jenkins, Caruth and Hunter)
____________

[Originating in the Committee on Transportation and

Infrastructure; reported February 22, 2008.]

____________


A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §24A-2A-1, §24A-2A-2, §24A-2A-3 and §24A-2A-4, all relating to the disposition of unlawfully parked vehicles by common carriers engaged in the business of towing, hauling or carrying wrecked or disabled vehicles and mobile homes; defining certain terms; providing for prior written authorization for the towing of motor vehicles without the consent of the owner or operator; providing for criminal background checks for operators of towing vehicles; providing the local law-enforcement agency with information regarding a vehicle that has been towed and stored; establishing procedures for redeeming a towed motor vehicle and the personal property in the towed motor vehicle; and directing the Public Service Commission to conduct a study of statutory law regarding the towing of vehicles and to provide findings and recommendations to the Legislature.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §24A-2A-1, §24A-2A-2, §24A-2A-3, and §24A-2A-4, to read as follows:
CHAPTER 24A. MOTOR CARRIERS OF PASSENGERS

AND PROPERTY FOR HIRE.

ARTICLE 2A. Disposition of towed vehicles by common carriers engaged in the business of towing, hauling or carrying wrecked or disabled vehicles and mobile homes.

§24A-2A-1. Definitions.
For the purposes of this article, the words or terms defined in this section, and any variation of those words or terms required by the context, have the meanings ascribed to them in this section. These definitions are applicable unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context.
(1) "Nonconsent tow" means the tow of a motor vehicle by a wrecker vehicle if that tow is performed without a direct request by the owner or operator of the motor vehicle to the tower, and includes a third-party tow of a motor vehicle by a wrecker vehicle if that tow is performed at the request of any person other than the owner or operator of the motor vehicle to be towed.
(2) "Tower" means any person who, after properly filing a completed application for a certificate of convenience in this state to transport motor vehicles by wrecker vehicle for hire, with the appropriate application fee, has received a letter from the commission's transportation division informing the person that he or she has been authorized to transport motor vehicles in wrecker service for hire, over the public highways of West Virginia, between all points and places of West Virginia in intrastate commerce.
(3) "Towing service" means an authorized wrecker company that transports motor vehicles by wrecker vehicle for hire.
§24A-2A-2. Regulation of business of towing, hauling or carrying wrecked or disabled vehicles.

(a) A non-consent tow of a motor vehicle from private property may not be performed unless the authorized wrecker company that is to tow the vehicle shall have received a prior written request from the owner of the private property, or his or her lessee or agent, to perform a non-consent tow. A copy of the written request for non-consent towing must have been filed by the wrecker company with the Public Service Commission prior to performing a non-consent tow.
(B) As a condition of employment of a person as an operator of a towing vehicle or wrecker vehicle, a wrecker company shall require a criminal records investigation of the applicant. This requirement is applicable to all initial hires to determine suitability for employment. Applicants are required to disclose criminal history information as a part of the application process. No candidate for an operator's position shall be employed until a satisfactory background investigation has been completed. Only "conditional" offers can be extended until a background investigation has been completed. If it is found that the applicant has been convicted of a felony, it shall be reported to the Public Service Commission. In cases where employment may have been initiated prior to the enactment of this statutory requirement for a criminal records investigation, the Public Service Commission may conduct such criminal background investigations as it deems necessary to determine the employee's suitability for continued employment.
(c) Upon completion of a non-consent tow, the towing vehicle operator must contact the local law-enforcement agency upon arrival at the towing destination, report the private property from the vehicle which has been towed, the make, model and license number of the vehicle, and the address and location of the facility to which the vehicle has been towed and is stored.
(d) The tow company shall accept cash, credit cards, debit cards or money orders as payment for the recovery of the vehicle by the owner of the vehicle.
(e) The tow company may not charge a storage fee for the initial twenty-four hours of service immediately following the tow.
§24A-2A-3. Redeeming a motor vehicle.
(a) A tower shall permit the owner or operator of a motor vehicle that the tower has towed to:
(1) Redeem the motor vehicle:
(A) Immediately between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, except legal holidays; and
(B) At all other hours, within 30 minutes after asking the tower to release the motor vehicle;
(2) Contact the tower at any time to receive information about the location of the motor vehicle and instructions for obtaining release of the motor vehicle; and
(3) Obtain all personal property in the motor vehicle within 24 hours after asking the tower to release the personal property, without redeeming the motor vehicle.
(b) A tower shall not require, as a condition of towing a motor vehicle or releasing a motor vehicle or personal property in the motor vehicle, that the owner or operator of the motor vehicle agree not to dispute:
(1) The reason for the tow;
(2) The validity or amount of charges; or
(3) The responsibility of the tower for the condition of the motor vehicle or personal property in the motor vehicle.
(c) A tower shall not hold a towed motor vehicle, including the personal property inside the vehicle, in an unsafe manner.
§24A-2A-4. Public Service Commission to conduct study of statutory law and recommend legislation.

(a) The Public Service Commission is hereby directed to conduct a study of the body of statutory law of sister states that has been enacted with the goal of prohibiting the predatory towing of motor vehicles without the consent of the owners or operators of such vehicles.
Such study should identify and define actions taken by predatory towing services as a means to extract large monetary charges from the owners of vehicles that have been towed without the consent of the owners or operators. The Commission shall recommend to the legislature a proposed list of prohibited acts which should be made applicable to any wrecker company or any other person who undertakes, under a certificate of convenience and necessity to transport motor vehicles by wrecker vehicle for hire in this state.
The Commission shall recommend information required to be disclosed to the owner or operator of a motor vehicle that has been towed and impounded.
The Commission shall recommend proposed legislation that will assist members of the public in expediting the recovery of any impounded motor vehicle and any personal property located in that vehicle.
The Commission shall address the issue of when and where warning signs should be required that prohibit or restrict leaving or parking a motor vehicle in a parking facility.
The Commission shall recommend procedures that would be applicable to towing a motor vehicle from a parking facility or private property and placing it in storage, and would identify the rights and obligations of the towing company and the owner of the vehicle.
(b) The findings and recommendations of the Public Service Commission as provided for in subsection (a) of this section shall be filed with the respective Clerks of the Senate and the House of Delegates, on or before the November 1, 2008.
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