Amended IN Senate June 28, 2017 Amended IN Assembly April 27, 2017 Amended IN Assembly April 19, 2017 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20172018 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 1206Introduced by Assembly Member BocanegraFebruary 17, 2017 An act to add and repeal Section 22659.6 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAB 1206, as amended, Bocanegra. Vehicles: impoundment: pilot program.Existing law authorizes a city or county to adopt an ordinance declaring a motor vehicle to be a public nuisance subject to seizure and an impoundment of up to 30 days if the vehicle is used in the commission or attempted commission of the crimes of pimping, pandering, and soliciting, or agreeing to engage in, or engaging in, any act of prostitution, or illegal dumping of commercial quantities of waste matter upon a public or private highway or road, and the owner or operator of the vehicle had a prior conviction for the same offense within the past 3 years.This bill would authorize the City Cities of Los Angeles and Oakland to conduct a 24-month pilot program in which law enforcement officers may impound remove a vehicle used in the commission, or attempted commission, of pimping, pandering, or solicitation of prostitution. The bill would require the city, if it elects each of these cities, if they elect to implement the pilot program, to take specified actions, including, among others, offering a diversion program to prostitutes cited or arrested in the course of the pilot program. The bill would require any ordinance adopted by the City of Los Angeles pursuant to the bill each of these cities to include specified procedural guidelines for the impoundment removal and release retrieval of vehicles. The bill would require the city, each of these cities, within 6 months of the completion of the pilot program program, to issue a report, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2022.Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NO Bill TextThe people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1. Section 22659.6 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:22659.6. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the City of Los Angeles Cities of Los Angeles and Oakland may each adopt an ordinance to conduct a 24-month pilot program in which law enforcement officers of the city may, pursuant to a valid arrest, impound for up to 30 days, remove a vehicle used in the commission, or attempted commission, of pimping in violation of Section 266h of the Penal Code, pandering in violation of Section 266i of the Penal Code, or solicitation of prostitution in violation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 647 of the Penal Code.(b) If the City of Los Angeles either city elects to implement the pilot program described in subdivision (a), it shall do all of the following:(1) Offer a diversion program to prostitutes cited or arrested in the course of the pilot program.(2) Authorize the impoundment removal of a vehicle only if the individual committing, or attempting to commit, a crime described in subdivision (a) is the sole registered owner of the vehicle. If that individual is not the sole registered owner, the other registered owner or owners of the vehicle shall be provided an opportunity to take possession of the vehicle.(3) Reimburse an individual for the costs associated with towing and impounding the vehicle if he or she is not found guilty of the crime for which the vehicle was impounded or if the charge of committing, or attempting to commit, the crime for which the vehicle was impounded was dismissed.(c) (1) Within six months of the completion of the pilot program described in subdivision (a), the City of Los Angeles each of the participating cities shall issue a report that describes, at a minimum, all of the following:(A) The number of individuals cited, and the number of individuals arrested, during the pilot program for the commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(B) The number of vehicles impounded towed during the pilot program because they were used in the commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(C) The number of minor victims of a crime described in subdivision (a) that law enforcement encountered during the course of the pilot program.(D) Whether the implementation of the pilot program impacted the number of citations or arrests for commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(2) (A) The report described in paragraph (1) shall be submitted to the Legislature, including the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Committees on Public Safety, the Senate President pro Tempore, and the Speaker of the Assembly, and to the Governor and Attorney General.(B) A report to be submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.(d) An ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall contain, but not be limited to, the following provisions:(1)Within two working days after impoundment, the impounding agency shall send a notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to all legal and registered owners of the vehicle, at the addresses obtained from the department, informing them that the vehicle has been impounded. The notice shall also include notice of the opportunity for a poststorage hearing to determine the validity of the storage or to determine mitigating circumstances establishing that the vehicle should be released. The impounding agency shall be prohibited from charging for more than five days storage if it fails to notify the owners within two working days after the impoundment when an owner redeems the impounded vehicle. The impounding agency shall maintain a published telephone number that provides information 24 hours a day regarding the impoundment of vehicles and the rights of a legal owner and a registered owner to request a hearing. The notice shall include all of the following information:(A)The name, address, and telephone number of the agency providing the notice.(B)The location of the place of storage and description of the vehicle, that shall include, if available, the model or make, the manufacturer, the license plate number, and the mileage.(C)The authority and purpose for the removal of the vehicle.(D)A statement that, in order to receive a poststorage hearing, the owners, or their agents, shall request the hearing in person, writing, or by telephone within 10 days of the date appearing on the notice.(2)The poststorage hearing shall be conducted within 48 hours of the request, excluding weekends and holidays. The public agency may authorize one of its own officers or employees to conduct the hearing if that hearing officer is not the same person who directed the seizure of the vehicle.(3)Failure of the legal and the registered owners, or their agents, to request or to attend a scheduled hearing shall satisfy the poststorage hearing requirement.(4)The agency employing the person who directed the storage shall be responsible for the costs incurred for towing and storage if it is determined in the poststorage hearing that reasonable grounds for the storage are not established.(5)Any period during which a vehicle is subjected to storage under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall be included as part of the period of impoundment.(6)The impounding agency shall release the vehicle to the registered owner or his or her agent prior to the end of the impoundment period under any of the following circumstances:(A)The driver of the impounded vehicle was arrested without probable cause.(B)The vehicle is a stolen vehicle.(C)The vehicle is subject to bailment and was driven by an unlicensed employee of a business establishment, including a parking service or repair garage.(D)The driver of the vehicle is not the sole registered owner of the vehicle and the vehicle is being released to another registered owner of the vehicle who agrees not to allow the driver to use the vehicle until after the end of the impoundment period.(E)The registered owner of the vehicle was neither the driver nor a passenger of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation, or was unaware that the driver was using the vehicle to engage in activities subject to Section 266h or 266i of, or solicitation of prostitution in violation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 647 of, the Penal Code.(F)A spouse, registered domestic partner, or other affected third party objects to the impoundment of the vehicle on the grounds that it would create a hardship if the subject vehicle is the sole vehicle in a household. The hearing officer shall release the vehicle where the hardship to a spouse, registered domestic partner, or other affected third party created by the impoundment of the subject vehicle, or the length of the impoundment, outweighs the seriousness and the severity of the act in which the vehicle was used.(7)Notwithstanding any provision of law, if a motor vehicle is released prior to the conclusion of the impoundment period because the driver was arrested without probable cause, neither the arrested person nor the registered owner of the motor vehicle shall be responsible for the towing and storage charges.(8)Except as provided in paragraph (7), the registered owner or his or her agent shall be responsible for all towing and storage charges related to the impoundment.(9)A vehicle removed and seized under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section may be released to the legal owner of the vehicle or the legal owners agent prior to the end of the impoundment period if both of the following conditions are met:(A)The legal owner is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit union, acceptance corporation, or other licensed financial institution legally operating in this state, or is another person who is not the registered owner and holds a security interest in the vehicle.(B)The legal owner or the legal owners agent pays all towing and storage fees related to the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle.(10)(A)A lien sale processing fee shall not be charged to the legal owner who redeems the vehicle prior to the 15th day of the impoundment period. Neither the impounding authority nor any person having possession of the vehicle shall collect from the legal owner as described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, any administrative charges imposed pursuant to Section 22850.5, unless the legal owner voluntarily requested a poststorage hearing.(B)A person operating or in charge of a storage facility where vehicles are stored pursuant to this section shall accept a valid bank credit card, debit card, or cash for payment of towing, storage, and related fees by a legal or registered owner or the owners agent claiming the vehicle. A credit card or debit card shall be in the name of the person presenting the card. As used in this subparagraph, credit card is as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1747.02 of the Civil Code and does not include a credit card issued by a retail seller, and debit card is as defined in Section 1748.30 of the Civil Code.(C)A person operating or in charge of a storage facility described in subparagraph (B) who violates subparagraph (B) shall be civilly liable to the owner of the vehicle or the person who tendered the fees for four times the amount of the towing, storage, and related fees, not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500).(D)A person operating or in charge of the storage facility described in subparagraph (B) shall have sufficient funds on the premises of the primary storage facility during normal business hours to accommodate, and make change for, a reasonable monetary transaction.(E)Credit charges for towing and storage services shall comply with Section 1748.1 of the Civil Code. Law enforcement agencies may include the costs of providing for payment by credit when making agreements with towing companies on rates.(F)A failure by a storage facility to comply with any applicable conditions set forth in this subdivision shall not affect the right of the legal owner or the legal owners agent to retrieve the vehicle if all conditions required of the legal owner or legal owners agent under this subdivision are satisfied.(11)(A)The legal owner or the legal owners agent shall present to the law enforcement agency, impounding agency, person in possession of the vehicle, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, a copy of the assignment, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 7500.1 of the Business and Professions Code, a release from the one responsible governmental agency, only if required by the agency, a government-issued photographic identification card, and any one of the following as determined by the legal owner or the legal owners agent: a certificate of repossession for the vehicle, a security agreement for the vehicle, or a certificate of title, whether paperless or electronic, showing proof of legal ownership for the vehicle. Any documents presented may be originals, photocopies, or facsimile copies, or may be transmitted electronically. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or other governmental agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, shall not require any documents to be notarized. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies may require the agent of the legal owner to produce a photocopy or facsimile copy of its repossession agency license or registration issued pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 7500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, or to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies that the agent is exempt from licensure pursuant to Section 7500.2 or 7500.3 of the Business and Professions Code.(B)Administrative costs authorized under subdivision (a) of Section 22850.5 shall not be charged to the legal owner of the type specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (9) who redeems the vehicle unless the legal owner voluntarily requests a poststorage hearing. A city, county, city and county, or state agency shall not require a legal owner or a legal owners agent to request a poststorage hearing as a requirement for release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or other governmental agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, shall not require any documents other than those specified in this paragraph. The legal owner or the legal owners agent shall be given a copy of any documents he or she is required to sign, except for a vehicle evidentiary hold log book. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, or any person in possession of the vehicle, may photocopy and retain the copies of any documents presented by the legal owner or legal owners agent. The legal owner shall indemnify and hold harmless a storage facility from any claims arising out of the release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent and from any damage to the vehicle after its release, including the reasonable costs associated with defending any such claims.(12)A legal owner, who meets the requirements for release of a vehicle pursuant to paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, shall not be required to request a poststorage hearing as a requirement for release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent.(13)(A)A legal owner, who meets the requirements for release of a vehicle pursuant to paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, shall not release the vehicle to the registered owner of the vehicle or an agent of the registered owner, unless the registered owner is a rental car agency, until after the termination of the impoundment period.(B)Prior to relinquishing the vehicle, the legal owner may require the registered owner to pay all towing and storage charges related to the seizure and impoundment.(14)(A)A vehicle removed and seized pursuant to an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall be released to a rental car agency prior to the end of the impoundment period if the agency is either the legal owner or registered owner of the vehicle and the agency pays all towing and storage fees related to the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle.(B)The owner of a rental vehicle that was seized under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section may continue to rent the vehicle upon recovery of the vehicle. However, the rental car agency shall not rent another vehicle to the driver of the vehicle that was seized until the impoundment period has expired.(C)The rental car agency may require the person to whom the vehicle was rented to pay all towing and storage charges related to the seizure and impoundment.(1) At the time of arrest, the person shall be notified that his or her vehicle will be towed and given information on how the vehicle may be retrieved.(2) The registered owner or his or her agent may retrieve the vehicle at any time.(3) The registered owner or his or her agent is responsible for all towing and storage fees related to the seizure of a vehicle pursuant to this section.(4) If a vehicle is not claimed by the registered owner within 30 days and the legal owner is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit union, acceptance corporation, or other licensed financial institution legally operating in this state, or is another person who is not the registered owner but holds a security interest in the vehicle, the legal owner shall be given notice that the car has been seized and shall be given an opportunity to retrieve the vehicle. The vehicle shall be released to the legal owner upon payment of all towing and storage fees due.(e) This section shall not be construed to limit the authority of any peace officer to impound a vehicle pursuant to any applicable provision of this code.(e)(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2022, and as of that date is repealed.
Amended IN Senate June 28, 2017 Amended IN Assembly April 27, 2017 Amended IN Assembly April 19, 2017 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20172018 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 1206Introduced by Assembly Member BocanegraFebruary 17, 2017 An act to add and repeal Section 22659.6 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAB 1206, as amended, Bocanegra. Vehicles: impoundment: pilot program.Existing law authorizes a city or county to adopt an ordinance declaring a motor vehicle to be a public nuisance subject to seizure and an impoundment of up to 30 days if the vehicle is used in the commission or attempted commission of the crimes of pimping, pandering, and soliciting, or agreeing to engage in, or engaging in, any act of prostitution, or illegal dumping of commercial quantities of waste matter upon a public or private highway or road, and the owner or operator of the vehicle had a prior conviction for the same offense within the past 3 years.This bill would authorize the City Cities of Los Angeles and Oakland to conduct a 24-month pilot program in which law enforcement officers may impound remove a vehicle used in the commission, or attempted commission, of pimping, pandering, or solicitation of prostitution. The bill would require the city, if it elects each of these cities, if they elect to implement the pilot program, to take specified actions, including, among others, offering a diversion program to prostitutes cited or arrested in the course of the pilot program. The bill would require any ordinance adopted by the City of Los Angeles pursuant to the bill each of these cities to include specified procedural guidelines for the impoundment removal and release retrieval of vehicles. The bill would require the city, each of these cities, within 6 months of the completion of the pilot program program, to issue a report, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2022.Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NO
Amended IN Senate June 28, 2017 Amended IN Assembly April 27, 2017 Amended IN Assembly April 19, 2017
Amended IN Senate June 28, 2017
Amended IN Assembly April 27, 2017
Amended IN Assembly April 19, 2017
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20172018 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill No. 1206
Introduced by Assembly Member BocanegraFebruary 17, 2017
Introduced by Assembly Member Bocanegra
February 17, 2017
An act to add and repeal Section 22659.6 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
## LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1206, as amended, Bocanegra. Vehicles: impoundment: pilot program.
Existing law authorizes a city or county to adopt an ordinance declaring a motor vehicle to be a public nuisance subject to seizure and an impoundment of up to 30 days if the vehicle is used in the commission or attempted commission of the crimes of pimping, pandering, and soliciting, or agreeing to engage in, or engaging in, any act of prostitution, or illegal dumping of commercial quantities of waste matter upon a public or private highway or road, and the owner or operator of the vehicle had a prior conviction for the same offense within the past 3 years.This bill would authorize the City Cities of Los Angeles and Oakland to conduct a 24-month pilot program in which law enforcement officers may impound remove a vehicle used in the commission, or attempted commission, of pimping, pandering, or solicitation of prostitution. The bill would require the city, if it elects each of these cities, if they elect to implement the pilot program, to take specified actions, including, among others, offering a diversion program to prostitutes cited or arrested in the course of the pilot program. The bill would require any ordinance adopted by the City of Los Angeles pursuant to the bill each of these cities to include specified procedural guidelines for the impoundment removal and release retrieval of vehicles. The bill would require the city, each of these cities, within 6 months of the completion of the pilot program program, to issue a report, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2022.
Existing law authorizes a city or county to adopt an ordinance declaring a motor vehicle to be a public nuisance subject to seizure and an impoundment of up to 30 days if the vehicle is used in the commission or attempted commission of the crimes of pimping, pandering, and soliciting, or agreeing to engage in, or engaging in, any act of prostitution, or illegal dumping of commercial quantities of waste matter upon a public or private highway or road, and the owner or operator of the vehicle had a prior conviction for the same offense within the past 3 years.
This bill would authorize the City Cities of Los Angeles and Oakland to conduct a 24-month pilot program in which law enforcement officers may impound remove a vehicle used in the commission, or attempted commission, of pimping, pandering, or solicitation of prostitution. The bill would require the city, if it elects each of these cities, if they elect to implement the pilot program, to take specified actions, including, among others, offering a diversion program to prostitutes cited or arrested in the course of the pilot program. The bill would require any ordinance adopted by the City of Los Angeles pursuant to the bill each of these cities to include specified procedural guidelines for the impoundment removal and release retrieval of vehicles. The bill would require the city, each of these cities, within 6 months of the completion of the pilot program program, to issue a report, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2022.
## Digest Key
## Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1. Section 22659.6 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:22659.6. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the City of Los Angeles Cities of Los Angeles and Oakland may each adopt an ordinance to conduct a 24-month pilot program in which law enforcement officers of the city may, pursuant to a valid arrest, impound for up to 30 days, remove a vehicle used in the commission, or attempted commission, of pimping in violation of Section 266h of the Penal Code, pandering in violation of Section 266i of the Penal Code, or solicitation of prostitution in violation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 647 of the Penal Code.(b) If the City of Los Angeles either city elects to implement the pilot program described in subdivision (a), it shall do all of the following:(1) Offer a diversion program to prostitutes cited or arrested in the course of the pilot program.(2) Authorize the impoundment removal of a vehicle only if the individual committing, or attempting to commit, a crime described in subdivision (a) is the sole registered owner of the vehicle. If that individual is not the sole registered owner, the other registered owner or owners of the vehicle shall be provided an opportunity to take possession of the vehicle.(3) Reimburse an individual for the costs associated with towing and impounding the vehicle if he or she is not found guilty of the crime for which the vehicle was impounded or if the charge of committing, or attempting to commit, the crime for which the vehicle was impounded was dismissed.(c) (1) Within six months of the completion of the pilot program described in subdivision (a), the City of Los Angeles each of the participating cities shall issue a report that describes, at a minimum, all of the following:(A) The number of individuals cited, and the number of individuals arrested, during the pilot program for the commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(B) The number of vehicles impounded towed during the pilot program because they were used in the commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(C) The number of minor victims of a crime described in subdivision (a) that law enforcement encountered during the course of the pilot program.(D) Whether the implementation of the pilot program impacted the number of citations or arrests for commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(2) (A) The report described in paragraph (1) shall be submitted to the Legislature, including the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Committees on Public Safety, the Senate President pro Tempore, and the Speaker of the Assembly, and to the Governor and Attorney General.(B) A report to be submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.(d) An ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall contain, but not be limited to, the following provisions:(1)Within two working days after impoundment, the impounding agency shall send a notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to all legal and registered owners of the vehicle, at the addresses obtained from the department, informing them that the vehicle has been impounded. The notice shall also include notice of the opportunity for a poststorage hearing to determine the validity of the storage or to determine mitigating circumstances establishing that the vehicle should be released. The impounding agency shall be prohibited from charging for more than five days storage if it fails to notify the owners within two working days after the impoundment when an owner redeems the impounded vehicle. The impounding agency shall maintain a published telephone number that provides information 24 hours a day regarding the impoundment of vehicles and the rights of a legal owner and a registered owner to request a hearing. The notice shall include all of the following information:(A)The name, address, and telephone number of the agency providing the notice.(B)The location of the place of storage and description of the vehicle, that shall include, if available, the model or make, the manufacturer, the license plate number, and the mileage.(C)The authority and purpose for the removal of the vehicle.(D)A statement that, in order to receive a poststorage hearing, the owners, or their agents, shall request the hearing in person, writing, or by telephone within 10 days of the date appearing on the notice.(2)The poststorage hearing shall be conducted within 48 hours of the request, excluding weekends and holidays. The public agency may authorize one of its own officers or employees to conduct the hearing if that hearing officer is not the same person who directed the seizure of the vehicle.(3)Failure of the legal and the registered owners, or their agents, to request or to attend a scheduled hearing shall satisfy the poststorage hearing requirement.(4)The agency employing the person who directed the storage shall be responsible for the costs incurred for towing and storage if it is determined in the poststorage hearing that reasonable grounds for the storage are not established.(5)Any period during which a vehicle is subjected to storage under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall be included as part of the period of impoundment.(6)The impounding agency shall release the vehicle to the registered owner or his or her agent prior to the end of the impoundment period under any of the following circumstances:(A)The driver of the impounded vehicle was arrested without probable cause.(B)The vehicle is a stolen vehicle.(C)The vehicle is subject to bailment and was driven by an unlicensed employee of a business establishment, including a parking service or repair garage.(D)The driver of the vehicle is not the sole registered owner of the vehicle and the vehicle is being released to another registered owner of the vehicle who agrees not to allow the driver to use the vehicle until after the end of the impoundment period.(E)The registered owner of the vehicle was neither the driver nor a passenger of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation, or was unaware that the driver was using the vehicle to engage in activities subject to Section 266h or 266i of, or solicitation of prostitution in violation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 647 of, the Penal Code.(F)A spouse, registered domestic partner, or other affected third party objects to the impoundment of the vehicle on the grounds that it would create a hardship if the subject vehicle is the sole vehicle in a household. The hearing officer shall release the vehicle where the hardship to a spouse, registered domestic partner, or other affected third party created by the impoundment of the subject vehicle, or the length of the impoundment, outweighs the seriousness and the severity of the act in which the vehicle was used.(7)Notwithstanding any provision of law, if a motor vehicle is released prior to the conclusion of the impoundment period because the driver was arrested without probable cause, neither the arrested person nor the registered owner of the motor vehicle shall be responsible for the towing and storage charges.(8)Except as provided in paragraph (7), the registered owner or his or her agent shall be responsible for all towing and storage charges related to the impoundment.(9)A vehicle removed and seized under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section may be released to the legal owner of the vehicle or the legal owners agent prior to the end of the impoundment period if both of the following conditions are met:(A)The legal owner is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit union, acceptance corporation, or other licensed financial institution legally operating in this state, or is another person who is not the registered owner and holds a security interest in the vehicle.(B)The legal owner or the legal owners agent pays all towing and storage fees related to the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle.(10)(A)A lien sale processing fee shall not be charged to the legal owner who redeems the vehicle prior to the 15th day of the impoundment period. Neither the impounding authority nor any person having possession of the vehicle shall collect from the legal owner as described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, any administrative charges imposed pursuant to Section 22850.5, unless the legal owner voluntarily requested a poststorage hearing.(B)A person operating or in charge of a storage facility where vehicles are stored pursuant to this section shall accept a valid bank credit card, debit card, or cash for payment of towing, storage, and related fees by a legal or registered owner or the owners agent claiming the vehicle. A credit card or debit card shall be in the name of the person presenting the card. As used in this subparagraph, credit card is as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1747.02 of the Civil Code and does not include a credit card issued by a retail seller, and debit card is as defined in Section 1748.30 of the Civil Code.(C)A person operating or in charge of a storage facility described in subparagraph (B) who violates subparagraph (B) shall be civilly liable to the owner of the vehicle or the person who tendered the fees for four times the amount of the towing, storage, and related fees, not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500).(D)A person operating or in charge of the storage facility described in subparagraph (B) shall have sufficient funds on the premises of the primary storage facility during normal business hours to accommodate, and make change for, a reasonable monetary transaction.(E)Credit charges for towing and storage services shall comply with Section 1748.1 of the Civil Code. Law enforcement agencies may include the costs of providing for payment by credit when making agreements with towing companies on rates.(F)A failure by a storage facility to comply with any applicable conditions set forth in this subdivision shall not affect the right of the legal owner or the legal owners agent to retrieve the vehicle if all conditions required of the legal owner or legal owners agent under this subdivision are satisfied.(11)(A)The legal owner or the legal owners agent shall present to the law enforcement agency, impounding agency, person in possession of the vehicle, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, a copy of the assignment, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 7500.1 of the Business and Professions Code, a release from the one responsible governmental agency, only if required by the agency, a government-issued photographic identification card, and any one of the following as determined by the legal owner or the legal owners agent: a certificate of repossession for the vehicle, a security agreement for the vehicle, or a certificate of title, whether paperless or electronic, showing proof of legal ownership for the vehicle. Any documents presented may be originals, photocopies, or facsimile copies, or may be transmitted electronically. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or other governmental agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, shall not require any documents to be notarized. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies may require the agent of the legal owner to produce a photocopy or facsimile copy of its repossession agency license or registration issued pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 7500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, or to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies that the agent is exempt from licensure pursuant to Section 7500.2 or 7500.3 of the Business and Professions Code.(B)Administrative costs authorized under subdivision (a) of Section 22850.5 shall not be charged to the legal owner of the type specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (9) who redeems the vehicle unless the legal owner voluntarily requests a poststorage hearing. A city, county, city and county, or state agency shall not require a legal owner or a legal owners agent to request a poststorage hearing as a requirement for release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or other governmental agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, shall not require any documents other than those specified in this paragraph. The legal owner or the legal owners agent shall be given a copy of any documents he or she is required to sign, except for a vehicle evidentiary hold log book. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, or any person in possession of the vehicle, may photocopy and retain the copies of any documents presented by the legal owner or legal owners agent. The legal owner shall indemnify and hold harmless a storage facility from any claims arising out of the release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent and from any damage to the vehicle after its release, including the reasonable costs associated with defending any such claims.(12)A legal owner, who meets the requirements for release of a vehicle pursuant to paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, shall not be required to request a poststorage hearing as a requirement for release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent.(13)(A)A legal owner, who meets the requirements for release of a vehicle pursuant to paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, shall not release the vehicle to the registered owner of the vehicle or an agent of the registered owner, unless the registered owner is a rental car agency, until after the termination of the impoundment period.(B)Prior to relinquishing the vehicle, the legal owner may require the registered owner to pay all towing and storage charges related to the seizure and impoundment.(14)(A)A vehicle removed and seized pursuant to an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall be released to a rental car agency prior to the end of the impoundment period if the agency is either the legal owner or registered owner of the vehicle and the agency pays all towing and storage fees related to the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle.(B)The owner of a rental vehicle that was seized under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section may continue to rent the vehicle upon recovery of the vehicle. However, the rental car agency shall not rent another vehicle to the driver of the vehicle that was seized until the impoundment period has expired.(C)The rental car agency may require the person to whom the vehicle was rented to pay all towing and storage charges related to the seizure and impoundment.(1) At the time of arrest, the person shall be notified that his or her vehicle will be towed and given information on how the vehicle may be retrieved.(2) The registered owner or his or her agent may retrieve the vehicle at any time.(3) The registered owner or his or her agent is responsible for all towing and storage fees related to the seizure of a vehicle pursuant to this section.(4) If a vehicle is not claimed by the registered owner within 30 days and the legal owner is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit union, acceptance corporation, or other licensed financial institution legally operating in this state, or is another person who is not the registered owner but holds a security interest in the vehicle, the legal owner shall be given notice that the car has been seized and shall be given an opportunity to retrieve the vehicle. The vehicle shall be released to the legal owner upon payment of all towing and storage fees due.(e) This section shall not be construed to limit the authority of any peace officer to impound a vehicle pursuant to any applicable provision of this code.(e)(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2022, and as of that date is repealed.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
## The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 22659.6 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:22659.6. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the City of Los Angeles Cities of Los Angeles and Oakland may each adopt an ordinance to conduct a 24-month pilot program in which law enforcement officers of the city may, pursuant to a valid arrest, impound for up to 30 days, remove a vehicle used in the commission, or attempted commission, of pimping in violation of Section 266h of the Penal Code, pandering in violation of Section 266i of the Penal Code, or solicitation of prostitution in violation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 647 of the Penal Code.(b) If the City of Los Angeles either city elects to implement the pilot program described in subdivision (a), it shall do all of the following:(1) Offer a diversion program to prostitutes cited or arrested in the course of the pilot program.(2) Authorize the impoundment removal of a vehicle only if the individual committing, or attempting to commit, a crime described in subdivision (a) is the sole registered owner of the vehicle. If that individual is not the sole registered owner, the other registered owner or owners of the vehicle shall be provided an opportunity to take possession of the vehicle.(3) Reimburse an individual for the costs associated with towing and impounding the vehicle if he or she is not found guilty of the crime for which the vehicle was impounded or if the charge of committing, or attempting to commit, the crime for which the vehicle was impounded was dismissed.(c) (1) Within six months of the completion of the pilot program described in subdivision (a), the City of Los Angeles each of the participating cities shall issue a report that describes, at a minimum, all of the following:(A) The number of individuals cited, and the number of individuals arrested, during the pilot program for the commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(B) The number of vehicles impounded towed during the pilot program because they were used in the commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(C) The number of minor victims of a crime described in subdivision (a) that law enforcement encountered during the course of the pilot program.(D) Whether the implementation of the pilot program impacted the number of citations or arrests for commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(2) (A) The report described in paragraph (1) shall be submitted to the Legislature, including the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Committees on Public Safety, the Senate President pro Tempore, and the Speaker of the Assembly, and to the Governor and Attorney General.(B) A report to be submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.(d) An ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall contain, but not be limited to, the following provisions:(1)Within two working days after impoundment, the impounding agency shall send a notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to all legal and registered owners of the vehicle, at the addresses obtained from the department, informing them that the vehicle has been impounded. The notice shall also include notice of the opportunity for a poststorage hearing to determine the validity of the storage or to determine mitigating circumstances establishing that the vehicle should be released. The impounding agency shall be prohibited from charging for more than five days storage if it fails to notify the owners within two working days after the impoundment when an owner redeems the impounded vehicle. The impounding agency shall maintain a published telephone number that provides information 24 hours a day regarding the impoundment of vehicles and the rights of a legal owner and a registered owner to request a hearing. The notice shall include all of the following information:(A)The name, address, and telephone number of the agency providing the notice.(B)The location of the place of storage and description of the vehicle, that shall include, if available, the model or make, the manufacturer, the license plate number, and the mileage.(C)The authority and purpose for the removal of the vehicle.(D)A statement that, in order to receive a poststorage hearing, the owners, or their agents, shall request the hearing in person, writing, or by telephone within 10 days of the date appearing on the notice.(2)The poststorage hearing shall be conducted within 48 hours of the request, excluding weekends and holidays. The public agency may authorize one of its own officers or employees to conduct the hearing if that hearing officer is not the same person who directed the seizure of the vehicle.(3)Failure of the legal and the registered owners, or their agents, to request or to attend a scheduled hearing shall satisfy the poststorage hearing requirement.(4)The agency employing the person who directed the storage shall be responsible for the costs incurred for towing and storage if it is determined in the poststorage hearing that reasonable grounds for the storage are not established.(5)Any period during which a vehicle is subjected to storage under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall be included as part of the period of impoundment.(6)The impounding agency shall release the vehicle to the registered owner or his or her agent prior to the end of the impoundment period under any of the following circumstances:(A)The driver of the impounded vehicle was arrested without probable cause.(B)The vehicle is a stolen vehicle.(C)The vehicle is subject to bailment and was driven by an unlicensed employee of a business establishment, including a parking service or repair garage.(D)The driver of the vehicle is not the sole registered owner of the vehicle and the vehicle is being released to another registered owner of the vehicle who agrees not to allow the driver to use the vehicle until after the end of the impoundment period.(E)The registered owner of the vehicle was neither the driver nor a passenger of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation, or was unaware that the driver was using the vehicle to engage in activities subject to Section 266h or 266i of, or solicitation of prostitution in violation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 647 of, the Penal Code.(F)A spouse, registered domestic partner, or other affected third party objects to the impoundment of the vehicle on the grounds that it would create a hardship if the subject vehicle is the sole vehicle in a household. The hearing officer shall release the vehicle where the hardship to a spouse, registered domestic partner, or other affected third party created by the impoundment of the subject vehicle, or the length of the impoundment, outweighs the seriousness and the severity of the act in which the vehicle was used.(7)Notwithstanding any provision of law, if a motor vehicle is released prior to the conclusion of the impoundment period because the driver was arrested without probable cause, neither the arrested person nor the registered owner of the motor vehicle shall be responsible for the towing and storage charges.(8)Except as provided in paragraph (7), the registered owner or his or her agent shall be responsible for all towing and storage charges related to the impoundment.(9)A vehicle removed and seized under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section may be released to the legal owner of the vehicle or the legal owners agent prior to the end of the impoundment period if both of the following conditions are met:(A)The legal owner is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit union, acceptance corporation, or other licensed financial institution legally operating in this state, or is another person who is not the registered owner and holds a security interest in the vehicle.(B)The legal owner or the legal owners agent pays all towing and storage fees related to the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle.(10)(A)A lien sale processing fee shall not be charged to the legal owner who redeems the vehicle prior to the 15th day of the impoundment period. Neither the impounding authority nor any person having possession of the vehicle shall collect from the legal owner as described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, any administrative charges imposed pursuant to Section 22850.5, unless the legal owner voluntarily requested a poststorage hearing.(B)A person operating or in charge of a storage facility where vehicles are stored pursuant to this section shall accept a valid bank credit card, debit card, or cash for payment of towing, storage, and related fees by a legal or registered owner or the owners agent claiming the vehicle. A credit card or debit card shall be in the name of the person presenting the card. As used in this subparagraph, credit card is as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1747.02 of the Civil Code and does not include a credit card issued by a retail seller, and debit card is as defined in Section 1748.30 of the Civil Code.(C)A person operating or in charge of a storage facility described in subparagraph (B) who violates subparagraph (B) shall be civilly liable to the owner of the vehicle or the person who tendered the fees for four times the amount of the towing, storage, and related fees, not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500).(D)A person operating or in charge of the storage facility described in subparagraph (B) shall have sufficient funds on the premises of the primary storage facility during normal business hours to accommodate, and make change for, a reasonable monetary transaction.(E)Credit charges for towing and storage services shall comply with Section 1748.1 of the Civil Code. Law enforcement agencies may include the costs of providing for payment by credit when making agreements with towing companies on rates.(F)A failure by a storage facility to comply with any applicable conditions set forth in this subdivision shall not affect the right of the legal owner or the legal owners agent to retrieve the vehicle if all conditions required of the legal owner or legal owners agent under this subdivision are satisfied.(11)(A)The legal owner or the legal owners agent shall present to the law enforcement agency, impounding agency, person in possession of the vehicle, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, a copy of the assignment, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 7500.1 of the Business and Professions Code, a release from the one responsible governmental agency, only if required by the agency, a government-issued photographic identification card, and any one of the following as determined by the legal owner or the legal owners agent: a certificate of repossession for the vehicle, a security agreement for the vehicle, or a certificate of title, whether paperless or electronic, showing proof of legal ownership for the vehicle. Any documents presented may be originals, photocopies, or facsimile copies, or may be transmitted electronically. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or other governmental agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, shall not require any documents to be notarized. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies may require the agent of the legal owner to produce a photocopy or facsimile copy of its repossession agency license or registration issued pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 7500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, or to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies that the agent is exempt from licensure pursuant to Section 7500.2 or 7500.3 of the Business and Professions Code.(B)Administrative costs authorized under subdivision (a) of Section 22850.5 shall not be charged to the legal owner of the type specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (9) who redeems the vehicle unless the legal owner voluntarily requests a poststorage hearing. A city, county, city and county, or state agency shall not require a legal owner or a legal owners agent to request a poststorage hearing as a requirement for release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or other governmental agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, shall not require any documents other than those specified in this paragraph. The legal owner or the legal owners agent shall be given a copy of any documents he or she is required to sign, except for a vehicle evidentiary hold log book. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, or any person in possession of the vehicle, may photocopy and retain the copies of any documents presented by the legal owner or legal owners agent. The legal owner shall indemnify and hold harmless a storage facility from any claims arising out of the release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent and from any damage to the vehicle after its release, including the reasonable costs associated with defending any such claims.(12)A legal owner, who meets the requirements for release of a vehicle pursuant to paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, shall not be required to request a poststorage hearing as a requirement for release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent.(13)(A)A legal owner, who meets the requirements for release of a vehicle pursuant to paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, shall not release the vehicle to the registered owner of the vehicle or an agent of the registered owner, unless the registered owner is a rental car agency, until after the termination of the impoundment period.(B)Prior to relinquishing the vehicle, the legal owner may require the registered owner to pay all towing and storage charges related to the seizure and impoundment.(14)(A)A vehicle removed and seized pursuant to an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall be released to a rental car agency prior to the end of the impoundment period if the agency is either the legal owner or registered owner of the vehicle and the agency pays all towing and storage fees related to the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle.(B)The owner of a rental vehicle that was seized under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section may continue to rent the vehicle upon recovery of the vehicle. However, the rental car agency shall not rent another vehicle to the driver of the vehicle that was seized until the impoundment period has expired.(C)The rental car agency may require the person to whom the vehicle was rented to pay all towing and storage charges related to the seizure and impoundment.(1) At the time of arrest, the person shall be notified that his or her vehicle will be towed and given information on how the vehicle may be retrieved.(2) The registered owner or his or her agent may retrieve the vehicle at any time.(3) The registered owner or his or her agent is responsible for all towing and storage fees related to the seizure of a vehicle pursuant to this section.(4) If a vehicle is not claimed by the registered owner within 30 days and the legal owner is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit union, acceptance corporation, or other licensed financial institution legally operating in this state, or is another person who is not the registered owner but holds a security interest in the vehicle, the legal owner shall be given notice that the car has been seized and shall be given an opportunity to retrieve the vehicle. The vehicle shall be released to the legal owner upon payment of all towing and storage fees due.(e) This section shall not be construed to limit the authority of any peace officer to impound a vehicle pursuant to any applicable provision of this code.(e)(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2022, and as of that date is repealed.
SECTION 1. Section 22659.6 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
### SECTION 1.
22659.6. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the City of Los Angeles Cities of Los Angeles and Oakland may each adopt an ordinance to conduct a 24-month pilot program in which law enforcement officers of the city may, pursuant to a valid arrest, impound for up to 30 days, remove a vehicle used in the commission, or attempted commission, of pimping in violation of Section 266h of the Penal Code, pandering in violation of Section 266i of the Penal Code, or solicitation of prostitution in violation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 647 of the Penal Code.(b) If the City of Los Angeles either city elects to implement the pilot program described in subdivision (a), it shall do all of the following:(1) Offer a diversion program to prostitutes cited or arrested in the course of the pilot program.(2) Authorize the impoundment removal of a vehicle only if the individual committing, or attempting to commit, a crime described in subdivision (a) is the sole registered owner of the vehicle. If that individual is not the sole registered owner, the other registered owner or owners of the vehicle shall be provided an opportunity to take possession of the vehicle.(3) Reimburse an individual for the costs associated with towing and impounding the vehicle if he or she is not found guilty of the crime for which the vehicle was impounded or if the charge of committing, or attempting to commit, the crime for which the vehicle was impounded was dismissed.(c) (1) Within six months of the completion of the pilot program described in subdivision (a), the City of Los Angeles each of the participating cities shall issue a report that describes, at a minimum, all of the following:(A) The number of individuals cited, and the number of individuals arrested, during the pilot program for the commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(B) The number of vehicles impounded towed during the pilot program because they were used in the commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(C) The number of minor victims of a crime described in subdivision (a) that law enforcement encountered during the course of the pilot program.(D) Whether the implementation of the pilot program impacted the number of citations or arrests for commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(2) (A) The report described in paragraph (1) shall be submitted to the Legislature, including the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Committees on Public Safety, the Senate President pro Tempore, and the Speaker of the Assembly, and to the Governor and Attorney General.(B) A report to be submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.(d) An ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall contain, but not be limited to, the following provisions:(1)Within two working days after impoundment, the impounding agency shall send a notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to all legal and registered owners of the vehicle, at the addresses obtained from the department, informing them that the vehicle has been impounded. The notice shall also include notice of the opportunity for a poststorage hearing to determine the validity of the storage or to determine mitigating circumstances establishing that the vehicle should be released. The impounding agency shall be prohibited from charging for more than five days storage if it fails to notify the owners within two working days after the impoundment when an owner redeems the impounded vehicle. The impounding agency shall maintain a published telephone number that provides information 24 hours a day regarding the impoundment of vehicles and the rights of a legal owner and a registered owner to request a hearing. The notice shall include all of the following information:(A)The name, address, and telephone number of the agency providing the notice.(B)The location of the place of storage and description of the vehicle, that shall include, if available, the model or make, the manufacturer, the license plate number, and the mileage.(C)The authority and purpose for the removal of the vehicle.(D)A statement that, in order to receive a poststorage hearing, the owners, or their agents, shall request the hearing in person, writing, or by telephone within 10 days of the date appearing on the notice.(2)The poststorage hearing shall be conducted within 48 hours of the request, excluding weekends and holidays. The public agency may authorize one of its own officers or employees to conduct the hearing if that hearing officer is not the same person who directed the seizure of the vehicle.(3)Failure of the legal and the registered owners, or their agents, to request or to attend a scheduled hearing shall satisfy the poststorage hearing requirement.(4)The agency employing the person who directed the storage shall be responsible for the costs incurred for towing and storage if it is determined in the poststorage hearing that reasonable grounds for the storage are not established.(5)Any period during which a vehicle is subjected to storage under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall be included as part of the period of impoundment.(6)The impounding agency shall release the vehicle to the registered owner or his or her agent prior to the end of the impoundment period under any of the following circumstances:(A)The driver of the impounded vehicle was arrested without probable cause.(B)The vehicle is a stolen vehicle.(C)The vehicle is subject to bailment and was driven by an unlicensed employee of a business establishment, including a parking service or repair garage.(D)The driver of the vehicle is not the sole registered owner of the vehicle and the vehicle is being released to another registered owner of the vehicle who agrees not to allow the driver to use the vehicle until after the end of the impoundment period.(E)The registered owner of the vehicle was neither the driver nor a passenger of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation, or was unaware that the driver was using the vehicle to engage in activities subject to Section 266h or 266i of, or solicitation of prostitution in violation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 647 of, the Penal Code.(F)A spouse, registered domestic partner, or other affected third party objects to the impoundment of the vehicle on the grounds that it would create a hardship if the subject vehicle is the sole vehicle in a household. The hearing officer shall release the vehicle where the hardship to a spouse, registered domestic partner, or other affected third party created by the impoundment of the subject vehicle, or the length of the impoundment, outweighs the seriousness and the severity of the act in which the vehicle was used.(7)Notwithstanding any provision of law, if a motor vehicle is released prior to the conclusion of the impoundment period because the driver was arrested without probable cause, neither the arrested person nor the registered owner of the motor vehicle shall be responsible for the towing and storage charges.(8)Except as provided in paragraph (7), the registered owner or his or her agent shall be responsible for all towing and storage charges related to the impoundment.(9)A vehicle removed and seized under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section may be released to the legal owner of the vehicle or the legal owners agent prior to the end of the impoundment period if both of the following conditions are met:(A)The legal owner is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit union, acceptance corporation, or other licensed financial institution legally operating in this state, or is another person who is not the registered owner and holds a security interest in the vehicle.(B)The legal owner or the legal owners agent pays all towing and storage fees related to the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle.(10)(A)A lien sale processing fee shall not be charged to the legal owner who redeems the vehicle prior to the 15th day of the impoundment period. Neither the impounding authority nor any person having possession of the vehicle shall collect from the legal owner as described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, any administrative charges imposed pursuant to Section 22850.5, unless the legal owner voluntarily requested a poststorage hearing.(B)A person operating or in charge of a storage facility where vehicles are stored pursuant to this section shall accept a valid bank credit card, debit card, or cash for payment of towing, storage, and related fees by a legal or registered owner or the owners agent claiming the vehicle. A credit card or debit card shall be in the name of the person presenting the card. As used in this subparagraph, credit card is as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1747.02 of the Civil Code and does not include a credit card issued by a retail seller, and debit card is as defined in Section 1748.30 of the Civil Code.(C)A person operating or in charge of a storage facility described in subparagraph (B) who violates subparagraph (B) shall be civilly liable to the owner of the vehicle or the person who tendered the fees for four times the amount of the towing, storage, and related fees, not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500).(D)A person operating or in charge of the storage facility described in subparagraph (B) shall have sufficient funds on the premises of the primary storage facility during normal business hours to accommodate, and make change for, a reasonable monetary transaction.(E)Credit charges for towing and storage services shall comply with Section 1748.1 of the Civil Code. Law enforcement agencies may include the costs of providing for payment by credit when making agreements with towing companies on rates.(F)A failure by a storage facility to comply with any applicable conditions set forth in this subdivision shall not affect the right of the legal owner or the legal owners agent to retrieve the vehicle if all conditions required of the legal owner or legal owners agent under this subdivision are satisfied.(11)(A)The legal owner or the legal owners agent shall present to the law enforcement agency, impounding agency, person in possession of the vehicle, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, a copy of the assignment, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 7500.1 of the Business and Professions Code, a release from the one responsible governmental agency, only if required by the agency, a government-issued photographic identification card, and any one of the following as determined by the legal owner or the legal owners agent: a certificate of repossession for the vehicle, a security agreement for the vehicle, or a certificate of title, whether paperless or electronic, showing proof of legal ownership for the vehicle. Any documents presented may be originals, photocopies, or facsimile copies, or may be transmitted electronically. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or other governmental agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, shall not require any documents to be notarized. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies may require the agent of the legal owner to produce a photocopy or facsimile copy of its repossession agency license or registration issued pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 7500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, or to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies that the agent is exempt from licensure pursuant to Section 7500.2 or 7500.3 of the Business and Professions Code.(B)Administrative costs authorized under subdivision (a) of Section 22850.5 shall not be charged to the legal owner of the type specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (9) who redeems the vehicle unless the legal owner voluntarily requests a poststorage hearing. A city, county, city and county, or state agency shall not require a legal owner or a legal owners agent to request a poststorage hearing as a requirement for release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or other governmental agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, shall not require any documents other than those specified in this paragraph. The legal owner or the legal owners agent shall be given a copy of any documents he or she is required to sign, except for a vehicle evidentiary hold log book. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, or any person in possession of the vehicle, may photocopy and retain the copies of any documents presented by the legal owner or legal owners agent. The legal owner shall indemnify and hold harmless a storage facility from any claims arising out of the release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent and from any damage to the vehicle after its release, including the reasonable costs associated with defending any such claims.(12)A legal owner, who meets the requirements for release of a vehicle pursuant to paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, shall not be required to request a poststorage hearing as a requirement for release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent.(13)(A)A legal owner, who meets the requirements for release of a vehicle pursuant to paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, shall not release the vehicle to the registered owner of the vehicle or an agent of the registered owner, unless the registered owner is a rental car agency, until after the termination of the impoundment period.(B)Prior to relinquishing the vehicle, the legal owner may require the registered owner to pay all towing and storage charges related to the seizure and impoundment.(14)(A)A vehicle removed and seized pursuant to an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall be released to a rental car agency prior to the end of the impoundment period if the agency is either the legal owner or registered owner of the vehicle and the agency pays all towing and storage fees related to the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle.(B)The owner of a rental vehicle that was seized under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section may continue to rent the vehicle upon recovery of the vehicle. However, the rental car agency shall not rent another vehicle to the driver of the vehicle that was seized until the impoundment period has expired.(C)The rental car agency may require the person to whom the vehicle was rented to pay all towing and storage charges related to the seizure and impoundment.(1) At the time of arrest, the person shall be notified that his or her vehicle will be towed and given information on how the vehicle may be retrieved.(2) The registered owner or his or her agent may retrieve the vehicle at any time.(3) The registered owner or his or her agent is responsible for all towing and storage fees related to the seizure of a vehicle pursuant to this section.(4) If a vehicle is not claimed by the registered owner within 30 days and the legal owner is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit union, acceptance corporation, or other licensed financial institution legally operating in this state, or is another person who is not the registered owner but holds a security interest in the vehicle, the legal owner shall be given notice that the car has been seized and shall be given an opportunity to retrieve the vehicle. The vehicle shall be released to the legal owner upon payment of all towing and storage fees due.(e) This section shall not be construed to limit the authority of any peace officer to impound a vehicle pursuant to any applicable provision of this code.(e)(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2022, and as of that date is repealed.
22659.6. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the City of Los Angeles Cities of Los Angeles and Oakland may each adopt an ordinance to conduct a 24-month pilot program in which law enforcement officers of the city may, pursuant to a valid arrest, impound for up to 30 days, remove a vehicle used in the commission, or attempted commission, of pimping in violation of Section 266h of the Penal Code, pandering in violation of Section 266i of the Penal Code, or solicitation of prostitution in violation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 647 of the Penal Code.(b) If the City of Los Angeles either city elects to implement the pilot program described in subdivision (a), it shall do all of the following:(1) Offer a diversion program to prostitutes cited or arrested in the course of the pilot program.(2) Authorize the impoundment removal of a vehicle only if the individual committing, or attempting to commit, a crime described in subdivision (a) is the sole registered owner of the vehicle. If that individual is not the sole registered owner, the other registered owner or owners of the vehicle shall be provided an opportunity to take possession of the vehicle.(3) Reimburse an individual for the costs associated with towing and impounding the vehicle if he or she is not found guilty of the crime for which the vehicle was impounded or if the charge of committing, or attempting to commit, the crime for which the vehicle was impounded was dismissed.(c) (1) Within six months of the completion of the pilot program described in subdivision (a), the City of Los Angeles each of the participating cities shall issue a report that describes, at a minimum, all of the following:(A) The number of individuals cited, and the number of individuals arrested, during the pilot program for the commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(B) The number of vehicles impounded towed during the pilot program because they were used in the commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(C) The number of minor victims of a crime described in subdivision (a) that law enforcement encountered during the course of the pilot program.(D) Whether the implementation of the pilot program impacted the number of citations or arrests for commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(2) (A) The report described in paragraph (1) shall be submitted to the Legislature, including the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Committees on Public Safety, the Senate President pro Tempore, and the Speaker of the Assembly, and to the Governor and Attorney General.(B) A report to be submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.(d) An ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall contain, but not be limited to, the following provisions:(1)Within two working days after impoundment, the impounding agency shall send a notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to all legal and registered owners of the vehicle, at the addresses obtained from the department, informing them that the vehicle has been impounded. The notice shall also include notice of the opportunity for a poststorage hearing to determine the validity of the storage or to determine mitigating circumstances establishing that the vehicle should be released. The impounding agency shall be prohibited from charging for more than five days storage if it fails to notify the owners within two working days after the impoundment when an owner redeems the impounded vehicle. The impounding agency shall maintain a published telephone number that provides information 24 hours a day regarding the impoundment of vehicles and the rights of a legal owner and a registered owner to request a hearing. The notice shall include all of the following information:(A)The name, address, and telephone number of the agency providing the notice.(B)The location of the place of storage and description of the vehicle, that shall include, if available, the model or make, the manufacturer, the license plate number, and the mileage.(C)The authority and purpose for the removal of the vehicle.(D)A statement that, in order to receive a poststorage hearing, the owners, or their agents, shall request the hearing in person, writing, or by telephone within 10 days of the date appearing on the notice.(2)The poststorage hearing shall be conducted within 48 hours of the request, excluding weekends and holidays. The public agency may authorize one of its own officers or employees to conduct the hearing if that hearing officer is not the same person who directed the seizure of the vehicle.(3)Failure of the legal and the registered owners, or their agents, to request or to attend a scheduled hearing shall satisfy the poststorage hearing requirement.(4)The agency employing the person who directed the storage shall be responsible for the costs incurred for towing and storage if it is determined in the poststorage hearing that reasonable grounds for the storage are not established.(5)Any period during which a vehicle is subjected to storage under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall be included as part of the period of impoundment.(6)The impounding agency shall release the vehicle to the registered owner or his or her agent prior to the end of the impoundment period under any of the following circumstances:(A)The driver of the impounded vehicle was arrested without probable cause.(B)The vehicle is a stolen vehicle.(C)The vehicle is subject to bailment and was driven by an unlicensed employee of a business establishment, including a parking service or repair garage.(D)The driver of the vehicle is not the sole registered owner of the vehicle and the vehicle is being released to another registered owner of the vehicle who agrees not to allow the driver to use the vehicle until after the end of the impoundment period.(E)The registered owner of the vehicle was neither the driver nor a passenger of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation, or was unaware that the driver was using the vehicle to engage in activities subject to Section 266h or 266i of, or solicitation of prostitution in violation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 647 of, the Penal Code.(F)A spouse, registered domestic partner, or other affected third party objects to the impoundment of the vehicle on the grounds that it would create a hardship if the subject vehicle is the sole vehicle in a household. The hearing officer shall release the vehicle where the hardship to a spouse, registered domestic partner, or other affected third party created by the impoundment of the subject vehicle, or the length of the impoundment, outweighs the seriousness and the severity of the act in which the vehicle was used.(7)Notwithstanding any provision of law, if a motor vehicle is released prior to the conclusion of the impoundment period because the driver was arrested without probable cause, neither the arrested person nor the registered owner of the motor vehicle shall be responsible for the towing and storage charges.(8)Except as provided in paragraph (7), the registered owner or his or her agent shall be responsible for all towing and storage charges related to the impoundment.(9)A vehicle removed and seized under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section may be released to the legal owner of the vehicle or the legal owners agent prior to the end of the impoundment period if both of the following conditions are met:(A)The legal owner is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit union, acceptance corporation, or other licensed financial institution legally operating in this state, or is another person who is not the registered owner and holds a security interest in the vehicle.(B)The legal owner or the legal owners agent pays all towing and storage fees related to the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle.(10)(A)A lien sale processing fee shall not be charged to the legal owner who redeems the vehicle prior to the 15th day of the impoundment period. Neither the impounding authority nor any person having possession of the vehicle shall collect from the legal owner as described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, any administrative charges imposed pursuant to Section 22850.5, unless the legal owner voluntarily requested a poststorage hearing.(B)A person operating or in charge of a storage facility where vehicles are stored pursuant to this section shall accept a valid bank credit card, debit card, or cash for payment of towing, storage, and related fees by a legal or registered owner or the owners agent claiming the vehicle. A credit card or debit card shall be in the name of the person presenting the card. As used in this subparagraph, credit card is as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1747.02 of the Civil Code and does not include a credit card issued by a retail seller, and debit card is as defined in Section 1748.30 of the Civil Code.(C)A person operating or in charge of a storage facility described in subparagraph (B) who violates subparagraph (B) shall be civilly liable to the owner of the vehicle or the person who tendered the fees for four times the amount of the towing, storage, and related fees, not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500).(D)A person operating or in charge of the storage facility described in subparagraph (B) shall have sufficient funds on the premises of the primary storage facility during normal business hours to accommodate, and make change for, a reasonable monetary transaction.(E)Credit charges for towing and storage services shall comply with Section 1748.1 of the Civil Code. Law enforcement agencies may include the costs of providing for payment by credit when making agreements with towing companies on rates.(F)A failure by a storage facility to comply with any applicable conditions set forth in this subdivision shall not affect the right of the legal owner or the legal owners agent to retrieve the vehicle if all conditions required of the legal owner or legal owners agent under this subdivision are satisfied.(11)(A)The legal owner or the legal owners agent shall present to the law enforcement agency, impounding agency, person in possession of the vehicle, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, a copy of the assignment, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 7500.1 of the Business and Professions Code, a release from the one responsible governmental agency, only if required by the agency, a government-issued photographic identification card, and any one of the following as determined by the legal owner or the legal owners agent: a certificate of repossession for the vehicle, a security agreement for the vehicle, or a certificate of title, whether paperless or electronic, showing proof of legal ownership for the vehicle. Any documents presented may be originals, photocopies, or facsimile copies, or may be transmitted electronically. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or other governmental agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, shall not require any documents to be notarized. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies may require the agent of the legal owner to produce a photocopy or facsimile copy of its repossession agency license or registration issued pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 7500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, or to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies that the agent is exempt from licensure pursuant to Section 7500.2 or 7500.3 of the Business and Professions Code.(B)Administrative costs authorized under subdivision (a) of Section 22850.5 shall not be charged to the legal owner of the type specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (9) who redeems the vehicle unless the legal owner voluntarily requests a poststorage hearing. A city, county, city and county, or state agency shall not require a legal owner or a legal owners agent to request a poststorage hearing as a requirement for release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or other governmental agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, shall not require any documents other than those specified in this paragraph. The legal owner or the legal owners agent shall be given a copy of any documents he or she is required to sign, except for a vehicle evidentiary hold log book. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, or any person in possession of the vehicle, may photocopy and retain the copies of any documents presented by the legal owner or legal owners agent. The legal owner shall indemnify and hold harmless a storage facility from any claims arising out of the release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent and from any damage to the vehicle after its release, including the reasonable costs associated with defending any such claims.(12)A legal owner, who meets the requirements for release of a vehicle pursuant to paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, shall not be required to request a poststorage hearing as a requirement for release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent.(13)(A)A legal owner, who meets the requirements for release of a vehicle pursuant to paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, shall not release the vehicle to the registered owner of the vehicle or an agent of the registered owner, unless the registered owner is a rental car agency, until after the termination of the impoundment period.(B)Prior to relinquishing the vehicle, the legal owner may require the registered owner to pay all towing and storage charges related to the seizure and impoundment.(14)(A)A vehicle removed and seized pursuant to an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall be released to a rental car agency prior to the end of the impoundment period if the agency is either the legal owner or registered owner of the vehicle and the agency pays all towing and storage fees related to the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle.(B)The owner of a rental vehicle that was seized under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section may continue to rent the vehicle upon recovery of the vehicle. However, the rental car agency shall not rent another vehicle to the driver of the vehicle that was seized until the impoundment period has expired.(C)The rental car agency may require the person to whom the vehicle was rented to pay all towing and storage charges related to the seizure and impoundment.(1) At the time of arrest, the person shall be notified that his or her vehicle will be towed and given information on how the vehicle may be retrieved.(2) The registered owner or his or her agent may retrieve the vehicle at any time.(3) The registered owner or his or her agent is responsible for all towing and storage fees related to the seizure of a vehicle pursuant to this section.(4) If a vehicle is not claimed by the registered owner within 30 days and the legal owner is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit union, acceptance corporation, or other licensed financial institution legally operating in this state, or is another person who is not the registered owner but holds a security interest in the vehicle, the legal owner shall be given notice that the car has been seized and shall be given an opportunity to retrieve the vehicle. The vehicle shall be released to the legal owner upon payment of all towing and storage fees due.(e) This section shall not be construed to limit the authority of any peace officer to impound a vehicle pursuant to any applicable provision of this code.(e)(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2022, and as of that date is repealed.
22659.6. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the City of Los Angeles Cities of Los Angeles and Oakland may each adopt an ordinance to conduct a 24-month pilot program in which law enforcement officers of the city may, pursuant to a valid arrest, impound for up to 30 days, remove a vehicle used in the commission, or attempted commission, of pimping in violation of Section 266h of the Penal Code, pandering in violation of Section 266i of the Penal Code, or solicitation of prostitution in violation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 647 of the Penal Code.(b) If the City of Los Angeles either city elects to implement the pilot program described in subdivision (a), it shall do all of the following:(1) Offer a diversion program to prostitutes cited or arrested in the course of the pilot program.(2) Authorize the impoundment removal of a vehicle only if the individual committing, or attempting to commit, a crime described in subdivision (a) is the sole registered owner of the vehicle. If that individual is not the sole registered owner, the other registered owner or owners of the vehicle shall be provided an opportunity to take possession of the vehicle.(3) Reimburse an individual for the costs associated with towing and impounding the vehicle if he or she is not found guilty of the crime for which the vehicle was impounded or if the charge of committing, or attempting to commit, the crime for which the vehicle was impounded was dismissed.(c) (1) Within six months of the completion of the pilot program described in subdivision (a), the City of Los Angeles each of the participating cities shall issue a report that describes, at a minimum, all of the following:(A) The number of individuals cited, and the number of individuals arrested, during the pilot program for the commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(B) The number of vehicles impounded towed during the pilot program because they were used in the commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(C) The number of minor victims of a crime described in subdivision (a) that law enforcement encountered during the course of the pilot program.(D) Whether the implementation of the pilot program impacted the number of citations or arrests for commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).(2) (A) The report described in paragraph (1) shall be submitted to the Legislature, including the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Committees on Public Safety, the Senate President pro Tempore, and the Speaker of the Assembly, and to the Governor and Attorney General.(B) A report to be submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.(d) An ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall contain, but not be limited to, the following provisions:(1)Within two working days after impoundment, the impounding agency shall send a notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to all legal and registered owners of the vehicle, at the addresses obtained from the department, informing them that the vehicle has been impounded. The notice shall also include notice of the opportunity for a poststorage hearing to determine the validity of the storage or to determine mitigating circumstances establishing that the vehicle should be released. The impounding agency shall be prohibited from charging for more than five days storage if it fails to notify the owners within two working days after the impoundment when an owner redeems the impounded vehicle. The impounding agency shall maintain a published telephone number that provides information 24 hours a day regarding the impoundment of vehicles and the rights of a legal owner and a registered owner to request a hearing. The notice shall include all of the following information:(A)The name, address, and telephone number of the agency providing the notice.(B)The location of the place of storage and description of the vehicle, that shall include, if available, the model or make, the manufacturer, the license plate number, and the mileage.(C)The authority and purpose for the removal of the vehicle.(D)A statement that, in order to receive a poststorage hearing, the owners, or their agents, shall request the hearing in person, writing, or by telephone within 10 days of the date appearing on the notice.(2)The poststorage hearing shall be conducted within 48 hours of the request, excluding weekends and holidays. The public agency may authorize one of its own officers or employees to conduct the hearing if that hearing officer is not the same person who directed the seizure of the vehicle.(3)Failure of the legal and the registered owners, or their agents, to request or to attend a scheduled hearing shall satisfy the poststorage hearing requirement.(4)The agency employing the person who directed the storage shall be responsible for the costs incurred for towing and storage if it is determined in the poststorage hearing that reasonable grounds for the storage are not established.(5)Any period during which a vehicle is subjected to storage under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall be included as part of the period of impoundment.(6)The impounding agency shall release the vehicle to the registered owner or his or her agent prior to the end of the impoundment period under any of the following circumstances:(A)The driver of the impounded vehicle was arrested without probable cause.(B)The vehicle is a stolen vehicle.(C)The vehicle is subject to bailment and was driven by an unlicensed employee of a business establishment, including a parking service or repair garage.(D)The driver of the vehicle is not the sole registered owner of the vehicle and the vehicle is being released to another registered owner of the vehicle who agrees not to allow the driver to use the vehicle until after the end of the impoundment period.(E)The registered owner of the vehicle was neither the driver nor a passenger of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation, or was unaware that the driver was using the vehicle to engage in activities subject to Section 266h or 266i of, or solicitation of prostitution in violation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 647 of, the Penal Code.(F)A spouse, registered domestic partner, or other affected third party objects to the impoundment of the vehicle on the grounds that it would create a hardship if the subject vehicle is the sole vehicle in a household. The hearing officer shall release the vehicle where the hardship to a spouse, registered domestic partner, or other affected third party created by the impoundment of the subject vehicle, or the length of the impoundment, outweighs the seriousness and the severity of the act in which the vehicle was used.(7)Notwithstanding any provision of law, if a motor vehicle is released prior to the conclusion of the impoundment period because the driver was arrested without probable cause, neither the arrested person nor the registered owner of the motor vehicle shall be responsible for the towing and storage charges.(8)Except as provided in paragraph (7), the registered owner or his or her agent shall be responsible for all towing and storage charges related to the impoundment.(9)A vehicle removed and seized under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section may be released to the legal owner of the vehicle or the legal owners agent prior to the end of the impoundment period if both of the following conditions are met:(A)The legal owner is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit union, acceptance corporation, or other licensed financial institution legally operating in this state, or is another person who is not the registered owner and holds a security interest in the vehicle.(B)The legal owner or the legal owners agent pays all towing and storage fees related to the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle.(10)(A)A lien sale processing fee shall not be charged to the legal owner who redeems the vehicle prior to the 15th day of the impoundment period. Neither the impounding authority nor any person having possession of the vehicle shall collect from the legal owner as described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, any administrative charges imposed pursuant to Section 22850.5, unless the legal owner voluntarily requested a poststorage hearing.(B)A person operating or in charge of a storage facility where vehicles are stored pursuant to this section shall accept a valid bank credit card, debit card, or cash for payment of towing, storage, and related fees by a legal or registered owner or the owners agent claiming the vehicle. A credit card or debit card shall be in the name of the person presenting the card. As used in this subparagraph, credit card is as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1747.02 of the Civil Code and does not include a credit card issued by a retail seller, and debit card is as defined in Section 1748.30 of the Civil Code.(C)A person operating or in charge of a storage facility described in subparagraph (B) who violates subparagraph (B) shall be civilly liable to the owner of the vehicle or the person who tendered the fees for four times the amount of the towing, storage, and related fees, not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500).(D)A person operating or in charge of the storage facility described in subparagraph (B) shall have sufficient funds on the premises of the primary storage facility during normal business hours to accommodate, and make change for, a reasonable monetary transaction.(E)Credit charges for towing and storage services shall comply with Section 1748.1 of the Civil Code. Law enforcement agencies may include the costs of providing for payment by credit when making agreements with towing companies on rates.(F)A failure by a storage facility to comply with any applicable conditions set forth in this subdivision shall not affect the right of the legal owner or the legal owners agent to retrieve the vehicle if all conditions required of the legal owner or legal owners agent under this subdivision are satisfied.(11)(A)The legal owner or the legal owners agent shall present to the law enforcement agency, impounding agency, person in possession of the vehicle, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, a copy of the assignment, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 7500.1 of the Business and Professions Code, a release from the one responsible governmental agency, only if required by the agency, a government-issued photographic identification card, and any one of the following as determined by the legal owner or the legal owners agent: a certificate of repossession for the vehicle, a security agreement for the vehicle, or a certificate of title, whether paperless or electronic, showing proof of legal ownership for the vehicle. Any documents presented may be originals, photocopies, or facsimile copies, or may be transmitted electronically. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or other governmental agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, shall not require any documents to be notarized. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies may require the agent of the legal owner to produce a photocopy or facsimile copy of its repossession agency license or registration issued pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 7500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, or to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies that the agent is exempt from licensure pursuant to Section 7500.2 or 7500.3 of the Business and Professions Code.(B)Administrative costs authorized under subdivision (a) of Section 22850.5 shall not be charged to the legal owner of the type specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (9) who redeems the vehicle unless the legal owner voluntarily requests a poststorage hearing. A city, county, city and county, or state agency shall not require a legal owner or a legal owners agent to request a poststorage hearing as a requirement for release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or other governmental agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, shall not require any documents other than those specified in this paragraph. The legal owner or the legal owners agent shall be given a copy of any documents he or she is required to sign, except for a vehicle evidentiary hold log book. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, or any person in possession of the vehicle, may photocopy and retain the copies of any documents presented by the legal owner or legal owners agent. The legal owner shall indemnify and hold harmless a storage facility from any claims arising out of the release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent and from any damage to the vehicle after its release, including the reasonable costs associated with defending any such claims.(12)A legal owner, who meets the requirements for release of a vehicle pursuant to paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, shall not be required to request a poststorage hearing as a requirement for release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent.(13)(A)A legal owner, who meets the requirements for release of a vehicle pursuant to paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, shall not release the vehicle to the registered owner of the vehicle or an agent of the registered owner, unless the registered owner is a rental car agency, until after the termination of the impoundment period.(B)Prior to relinquishing the vehicle, the legal owner may require the registered owner to pay all towing and storage charges related to the seizure and impoundment.(14)(A)A vehicle removed and seized pursuant to an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall be released to a rental car agency prior to the end of the impoundment period if the agency is either the legal owner or registered owner of the vehicle and the agency pays all towing and storage fees related to the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle.(B)The owner of a rental vehicle that was seized under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section may continue to rent the vehicle upon recovery of the vehicle. However, the rental car agency shall not rent another vehicle to the driver of the vehicle that was seized until the impoundment period has expired.(C)The rental car agency may require the person to whom the vehicle was rented to pay all towing and storage charges related to the seizure and impoundment.(1) At the time of arrest, the person shall be notified that his or her vehicle will be towed and given information on how the vehicle may be retrieved.(2) The registered owner or his or her agent may retrieve the vehicle at any time.(3) The registered owner or his or her agent is responsible for all towing and storage fees related to the seizure of a vehicle pursuant to this section.(4) If a vehicle is not claimed by the registered owner within 30 days and the legal owner is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit union, acceptance corporation, or other licensed financial institution legally operating in this state, or is another person who is not the registered owner but holds a security interest in the vehicle, the legal owner shall be given notice that the car has been seized and shall be given an opportunity to retrieve the vehicle. The vehicle shall be released to the legal owner upon payment of all towing and storage fees due.(e) This section shall not be construed to limit the authority of any peace officer to impound a vehicle pursuant to any applicable provision of this code.(e)(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2022, and as of that date is repealed.
22659.6. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the City of Los Angeles Cities of Los Angeles and Oakland may each adopt an ordinance to conduct a 24-month pilot program in which law enforcement officers of the city may, pursuant to a valid arrest, impound for up to 30 days, remove a vehicle used in the commission, or attempted commission, of pimping in violation of Section 266h of the Penal Code, pandering in violation of Section 266i of the Penal Code, or solicitation of prostitution in violation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 647 of the Penal Code.
(b) If the City of Los Angeles either city elects to implement the pilot program described in subdivision (a), it shall do all of the following:
(1) Offer a diversion program to prostitutes cited or arrested in the course of the pilot program.
(2) Authorize the impoundment removal of a vehicle only if the individual committing, or attempting to commit, a crime described in subdivision (a) is the sole registered owner of the vehicle. If that individual is not the sole registered owner, the other registered owner or owners of the vehicle shall be provided an opportunity to take possession of the vehicle.
(3) Reimburse an individual for the costs associated with towing and impounding the vehicle if he or she is not found guilty of the crime for which the vehicle was impounded or if the charge of committing, or attempting to commit, the crime for which the vehicle was impounded was dismissed.
(c) (1) Within six months of the completion of the pilot program described in subdivision (a), the City of Los Angeles each of the participating cities shall issue a report that describes, at a minimum, all of the following:
(A) The number of individuals cited, and the number of individuals arrested, during the pilot program for the commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).
(B) The number of vehicles impounded towed during the pilot program because they were used in the commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).
(C) The number of minor victims of a crime described in subdivision (a) that law enforcement encountered during the course of the pilot program.
(D) Whether the implementation of the pilot program impacted the number of citations or arrests for commission, or attempted commission, of a crime described in subdivision (a).
(2) (A) The report described in paragraph (1) shall be submitted to the Legislature, including the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Committees on Public Safety, the Senate President pro Tempore, and the Speaker of the Assembly, and to the Governor and Attorney General.
(B) A report to be submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(d) An ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall contain, but not be limited to, the following provisions:
(1)Within two working days after impoundment, the impounding agency shall send a notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to all legal and registered owners of the vehicle, at the addresses obtained from the department, informing them that the vehicle has been impounded. The notice shall also include notice of the opportunity for a poststorage hearing to determine the validity of the storage or to determine mitigating circumstances establishing that the vehicle should be released. The impounding agency shall be prohibited from charging for more than five days storage if it fails to notify the owners within two working days after the impoundment when an owner redeems the impounded vehicle. The impounding agency shall maintain a published telephone number that provides information 24 hours a day regarding the impoundment of vehicles and the rights of a legal owner and a registered owner to request a hearing. The notice shall include all of the following information:
(A)The name, address, and telephone number of the agency providing the notice.
(B)The location of the place of storage and description of the vehicle, that shall include, if available, the model or make, the manufacturer, the license plate number, and the mileage.
(C)The authority and purpose for the removal of the vehicle.
(D)A statement that, in order to receive a poststorage hearing, the owners, or their agents, shall request the hearing in person, writing, or by telephone within 10 days of the date appearing on the notice.
(2)The poststorage hearing shall be conducted within 48 hours of the request, excluding weekends and holidays. The public agency may authorize one of its own officers or employees to conduct the hearing if that hearing officer is not the same person who directed the seizure of the vehicle.
(3)Failure of the legal and the registered owners, or their agents, to request or to attend a scheduled hearing shall satisfy the poststorage hearing requirement.
(4)The agency employing the person who directed the storage shall be responsible for the costs incurred for towing and storage if it is determined in the poststorage hearing that reasonable grounds for the storage are not established.
(5)Any period during which a vehicle is subjected to storage under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall be included as part of the period of impoundment.
(6)The impounding agency shall release the vehicle to the registered owner or his or her agent prior to the end of the impoundment period under any of the following circumstances:
(A)The driver of the impounded vehicle was arrested without probable cause.
(B)The vehicle is a stolen vehicle.
(C)The vehicle is subject to bailment and was driven by an unlicensed employee of a business establishment, including a parking service or repair garage.
(D)The driver of the vehicle is not the sole registered owner of the vehicle and the vehicle is being released to another registered owner of the vehicle who agrees not to allow the driver to use the vehicle until after the end of the impoundment period.
(E)The registered owner of the vehicle was neither the driver nor a passenger of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation, or was unaware that the driver was using the vehicle to engage in activities subject to Section 266h or 266i of, or solicitation of prostitution in violation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 647 of, the Penal Code.
(F)A spouse, registered domestic partner, or other affected third party objects to the impoundment of the vehicle on the grounds that it would create a hardship if the subject vehicle is the sole vehicle in a household. The hearing officer shall release the vehicle where the hardship to a spouse, registered domestic partner, or other affected third party created by the impoundment of the subject vehicle, or the length of the impoundment, outweighs the seriousness and the severity of the act in which the vehicle was used.
(7)Notwithstanding any provision of law, if a motor vehicle is released prior to the conclusion of the impoundment period because the driver was arrested without probable cause, neither the arrested person nor the registered owner of the motor vehicle shall be responsible for the towing and storage charges.
(8)Except as provided in paragraph (7), the registered owner or his or her agent shall be responsible for all towing and storage charges related to the impoundment.
(9)A vehicle removed and seized under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section may be released to the legal owner of the vehicle or the legal owners agent prior to the end of the impoundment period if both of the following conditions are met:
(A)The legal owner is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit union, acceptance corporation, or other licensed financial institution legally operating in this state, or is another person who is not the registered owner and holds a security interest in the vehicle.
(B)The legal owner or the legal owners agent pays all towing and storage fees related to the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle.
(10)(A)A lien sale processing fee shall not be charged to the legal owner who redeems the vehicle prior to the 15th day of the impoundment period. Neither the impounding authority nor any person having possession of the vehicle shall collect from the legal owner as described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, any administrative charges imposed pursuant to Section 22850.5, unless the legal owner voluntarily requested a poststorage hearing.
(B)A person operating or in charge of a storage facility where vehicles are stored pursuant to this section shall accept a valid bank credit card, debit card, or cash for payment of towing, storage, and related fees by a legal or registered owner or the owners agent claiming the vehicle. A credit card or debit card shall be in the name of the person presenting the card. As used in this subparagraph, credit card is as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1747.02 of the Civil Code and does not include a credit card issued by a retail seller, and debit card is as defined in Section 1748.30 of the Civil Code.
(C)A person operating or in charge of a storage facility described in subparagraph (B) who violates subparagraph (B) shall be civilly liable to the owner of the vehicle or the person who tendered the fees for four times the amount of the towing, storage, and related fees, not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500).
(D)A person operating or in charge of the storage facility described in subparagraph (B) shall have sufficient funds on the premises of the primary storage facility during normal business hours to accommodate, and make change for, a reasonable monetary transaction.
(E)Credit charges for towing and storage services shall comply with Section 1748.1 of the Civil Code. Law enforcement agencies may include the costs of providing for payment by credit when making agreements with towing companies on rates.
(F)A failure by a storage facility to comply with any applicable conditions set forth in this subdivision shall not affect the right of the legal owner or the legal owners agent to retrieve the vehicle if all conditions required of the legal owner or legal owners agent under this subdivision are satisfied.
(11)(A)The legal owner or the legal owners agent shall present to the law enforcement agency, impounding agency, person in possession of the vehicle, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, a copy of the assignment, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 7500.1 of the Business and Professions Code, a release from the one responsible governmental agency, only if required by the agency, a government-issued photographic identification card, and any one of the following as determined by the legal owner or the legal owners agent: a certificate of repossession for the vehicle, a security agreement for the vehicle, or a certificate of title, whether paperless or electronic, showing proof of legal ownership for the vehicle. Any documents presented may be originals, photocopies, or facsimile copies, or may be transmitted electronically. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or other governmental agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, shall not require any documents to be notarized. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies may require the agent of the legal owner to produce a photocopy or facsimile copy of its repossession agency license or registration issued pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 7500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, or to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies that the agent is exempt from licensure pursuant to Section 7500.2 or 7500.3 of the Business and Professions Code.
(B)Administrative costs authorized under subdivision (a) of Section 22850.5 shall not be charged to the legal owner of the type specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (9) who redeems the vehicle unless the legal owner voluntarily requests a poststorage hearing. A city, county, city and county, or state agency shall not require a legal owner or a legal owners agent to request a poststorage hearing as a requirement for release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or other governmental agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, shall not require any documents other than those specified in this paragraph. The legal owner or the legal owners agent shall be given a copy of any documents he or she is required to sign, except for a vehicle evidentiary hold log book. The law enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, or any person in possession of the vehicle, may photocopy and retain the copies of any documents presented by the legal owner or legal owners agent. The legal owner shall indemnify and hold harmless a storage facility from any claims arising out of the release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent and from any damage to the vehicle after its release, including the reasonable costs associated with defending any such claims.
(12)A legal owner, who meets the requirements for release of a vehicle pursuant to paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, shall not be required to request a poststorage hearing as a requirement for release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owners agent.
(13)(A)A legal owner, who meets the requirements for release of a vehicle pursuant to paragraph (9), or the legal owners agent, shall not release the vehicle to the registered owner of the vehicle or an agent of the registered owner, unless the registered owner is a rental car agency, until after the termination of the impoundment period.
(B)Prior to relinquishing the vehicle, the legal owner may require the registered owner to pay all towing and storage charges related to the seizure and impoundment.
(14)(A)A vehicle removed and seized pursuant to an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall be released to a rental car agency prior to the end of the impoundment period if the agency is either the legal owner or registered owner of the vehicle and the agency pays all towing and storage fees related to the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle.
(B)The owner of a rental vehicle that was seized under an ordinance adopted pursuant to this section may continue to rent the vehicle upon recovery of the vehicle. However, the rental car agency shall not rent another vehicle to the driver of the vehicle that was seized until the impoundment period has expired.
(C)The rental car agency may require the person to whom the vehicle was rented to pay all towing and storage charges related to the seizure and impoundment.
(1) At the time of arrest, the person shall be notified that his or her vehicle will be towed and given information on how the vehicle may be retrieved.
(2) The registered owner or his or her agent may retrieve the vehicle at any time.
(3) The registered owner or his or her agent is responsible for all towing and storage fees related to the seizure of a vehicle pursuant to this section.
(4) If a vehicle is not claimed by the registered owner within 30 days and the legal owner is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit union, acceptance corporation, or other licensed financial institution legally operating in this state, or is another person who is not the registered owner but holds a security interest in the vehicle, the legal owner shall be given notice that the car has been seized and shall be given an opportunity to retrieve the vehicle. The vehicle shall be released to the legal owner upon payment of all towing and storage fees due.
(e) This section shall not be construed to limit the authority of any peace officer to impound a vehicle pursuant to any applicable provision of this code.
(e)
(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2022, and as of that date is repealed.