First Regular Session
Seventy-fourth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
REREVISED
This Version Includes All Amendments
Adopted in the Second House
LLS NO. 23-0079.02 Jery Payne x2157
HOUSE BILL 23-1217
House Committees Senate Committees
State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Transportation & Energy
Finance
A BILL FOR AN ACT
C
ONCERNING RELIEF FOR CRIME VICTIMS WHOSE MOTOR VEHICLES101
HAVE BEEN TOWED BECAUSE OF THE
CRIME, AND, IN102
CONNECTION THEREWITH, REQUIRING THE TRANSPORTATION103
LEGISLATION REVIEW COMMITTEE STUDY THE ISSUE AND MAKE104
LEGISLATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS .105
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill
passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that
applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at
http://leg.colorado.gov
.)
The bill requires a towing carrier (carrier) to release a motor
vehicle without demanding or accepting payment for any fee or charge
SENATE
3rd Reading Unamended
April 24, 2023
SENATE
2nd Reading Unamended
April 21, 2023
HOUSE
3rd Reading Unamended
April 11, 2023
HOUSE
Amended 2nd Reading
April 10, 2023
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Froelich, Amabile, Bacon, Bird, Brown, Dickson, English, Hamrick, Herod, Jodeh, Lieder,
Lindsay, Mabrey, Marshall, Michaelson Jenet, Ricks, Snyder
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Fields, Buckner, Cutter, Danielson, Exum, Gonzales, Hansen, Hinrichsen, Priola, Rodriguez,
Sullivan, Zenzinger
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law. associated with the tow or storage if the motor vehicle was towed without
the owner's consent from public or private property and the tow was a
result of the owner being a victim of a crime or the motor vehicle being
stolen. The owner must provide appropriate documentation.
To reimburse tow carriers for nonconsensual tows from private
property, the bill creates an enterprise with a 5-person governing board.
The governing board must meet at least annually and may:
! Take actions necessary to implement and administer the
enterprise;
! Issue bonds;
! Audit participating carriers;
! Hire any necessary employees; and
! Obtain the necessary office space, equipment, and services.
The governing board is required to:
! Implement and administer the enterprise;
! Annually report to the public utilities commission;
! Establish policies; and
! Coordinate with the commission and department of revenue
(department).
The enterprise will administer a voluntary reimbursement program
for participating carriers. Under the program, a carrier collects a fee,
sends it to the enterprise, and the enterprise reimburses the carrier for the
cost of providing a law enforcement tow and storage based on average
costs of providing the tow and storage.
The department must create a database of motor vehicles that have
been reported abandoned on public or private property. The database must
contain certain information to identify the motor vehicle and be made
available online to the public, so that a person may search the database to
find an abandoned motor vehicle.
Current law requires a law enforcement agency or carrier with a
motor vehicle towed from private or public property to check to see if the
motor vehicle has been stolen within 30 minutes after the carrier tows the
motor vehicle. If the motor vehicle has been stolen, the law enforcement
agency will return it to the owner. The bill requires another check 48
hours after towing the motor vehicle.
Current law requires an abandoned motor vehicle to be sold no
fewer than 30 days after and within 60 days after it is towed. The bill
repeals the requirement that the motor vehicle be sold within 60 days. It
states that if the carrier is notified that the motor vehicle was towed
because of a crime, the sale must be made no fewer than 60 days after the
tow and the owner is notified of the 60 day minimum time frame for
holding the motor vehicle.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:1
1217-2- SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 43-2-145, add (1.4)1
as follows:2
43-2-145. Transportation legislation review - committee -3
definition - repeal. (1.4) (a) (I) DURING THE 2023 LEGISLATIVE INTERIM,4
THE COMMITTEE SHALL ANALYZE THE ISSUE OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE5
HAD THEIR MOTOR VEHICLE NONCONSENSUALLY TOWED, EITHER BY LAW6
ENFORCEMENT OR FROM PRIVATE PROPERTY, BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS7
STOLEN OR BECAUSE THE INDIVIDUAL WAS THE VICTIM OF A SERIOUS8
CRIME THAT MADE THE VICTIM INCAPABLE OF ATTENDING TO THE MOTOR9
VEHICLE.10
(II) THE COMMITTEE MAY TAKE TESTIMONY FROM INTERESTED OR11
KNOWLEDGEABLE PEOPLE ABOUT THE ISSUE DESCRIBED IN SUBSECTION12
(1.4)(a)(I) OF THIS SECTION AND MAY OTHERWISE RESEARCH THE ISSUE .13
(III) THE COMMITTEE SHALL MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS14
CONCERNING THE ISSUE DESCRIBED IN SUBSECTION (1.4)(a)(I) OF THIS15
SECTION TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, AND, IF THE COMMITTEE16
RECOMMENDS LEGISLATION , THE LEGISLATION IS TREATED AS17
LEGISLATION RECOMMENDED BY AN INTERIM LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE18
FOR PURPOSES OF ANY INTRODUCTION DEADLINES OR BILL LIMITATIONS19
IMPOSED BY THE JOINT RULES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY .20
(b) THIS SUBSECTION (1.4) IS REPEALED, EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2024.21
SECTION 2. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act22
takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the23
ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly; except24
that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V25
of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this26
act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take27
1217
-3- effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in1
November 2024 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the2
official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.3
1217
-4-