LCO No. 4244 1 of 4
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 866
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 4244
Referred to Committee on TRANSPORTATION
Introduced by:
(TRA)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E NONCONSENSUAL TOWING OR
TRANSPORTING OF MOTO R VEHICLES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 14-66 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 2
October 1, 2019): 3
(a) (1) No person, firm or corporation shall engage in the business of 4
operating a wrecker for the purpose of towing or transporting motor 5
vehicles, including motor vehicles which are disabled, inoperative or 6
wrecked or are being removed in accordance with the provisions of 7
section 14-145, 14-150 or 14-307, unless such person, firm or 8
corporation is a motor vehicle dealer or repairer licensed under the 9
provisions of subpart (D) of this part. (2) The commissioner shall 10
establish and publish a schedule of uniform rates and charges for the 11
nonconsensual towing [and] or transporting of motor vehicles and for 12
the storage of motor vehicles which shall be just and reasonable. Upon 13
petition of any person, firm or corporation licensed in accordance with 14
the provisions of this section, but not more frequently than once every 15 Raised Bill No. 866
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two years, the commissioner shall reconsider the established rates and 16
charges and shall amend such rates and charges if the commissioner, 17
after consideration of the factors stated in this subdivision, determines 18
that such rates and charges are no longer just and reasonable. In 19
establishing and amending such rates and charges, the commissioner 20
may consider factors, including, but not limited to, the Consumer Price 21
Index, rates set by other jurisdictions, [charges for towing and 22
transporting services provided pursuant to a contract with an 23
automobile club or automobile association licensed under the 24
provisions of section 14-67 and rates published in standard service 25
manuals] and the costs incurred by such person, firm or corporation to 26
perform towing or transporting services and provide storage, 27
including, the cost of equipment, insurance and other reasonable 28
business expenses. The commissioner shall hold a public hearing for 29
the purpose of obtaining additional information concerning such rates 30
and charges. (3) Such person, firm or corporation may assess a 31
surcharge in the amount of ten dollars on each nonconsensual towing 32
or transporting of a motor vehicle, but shall not assess the surcharge 33
on a motor vehicle that was towed or transported during an attack, 34
major disaster, emergency or disaster emergency, as those terms are 35
defined in section 28-1, or snow removal by the state or municipality. 36
(4) With respect to the nonconsensual towing or transporting and the 37
storage of motor vehicles, no such person, firm or corporation shall 38
charge more than the rates and charges published by the commissioner 39
and the authorized surcharge. Any person aggrieved by any action of 40
the commissioner under the provisions of this section may take an 41
appeal therefrom in accordance with section 4-183, except venue for 42
such appeal shall be in the judicial district of New Britain. 43
Sec. 2. Section 14-66b of the general statutes is repealed and the 44
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 45
Each owner of a wrecker registered pursuant to subsection (c) of 46
section 14-66 shall keep and maintain a record stating the following 47
information: (1) The registration number of each motor vehicle towed 48
or transported and the registration number of each wrecker used to 49 Raised Bill No. 866
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tow or transport such motor vehicle; (2) the date and time [the] such 50
tow commenced and was completed; (3) the location from which the 51
disabled motor vehicle was towed and the destination of such tow; (4) 52
the mileage of the wrecker at the commencement and completion of 53
[the] such tow; (5) the charge for tow service and any other charges 54
incurred for services related to such tow; (6) whether the wrecker 55
assessed the authorized surcharge on such tow; (7) the name and 56
address of the person requesting tow service; and [(7)] (8) any other 57
information the commissioner deems necessary [,] as specified in 58
regulations adopted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54. 59
Such records shall be retained at the place of business of the wrecker 60
service for a period of two years and shall be available for inspection 61
during regular business hours by any law enforcement officer or 62
inspector designated by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. Each 63
owner of a wrecker shall also keep and maintain copies of any written 64
contracts with owners or lessees of property authorizing the towing or 65
removal of motor vehicles from the property of such owner or lessee, 66
or with lending institutions repossessing any motor vehicles, as 67
provided in section 14-145, and such contracts shall be available for 68
inspection by motor vehicle owners, agents of the owners, or lending 69
institutions, upon request. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles may 70
permit any licensed motor vehicle dealer or repairer who operates a 71
wrecker service to maintain, in an electronic format prescribed by the 72
commissioner, all records, documents and forms required by the 73
Department of Motor Vehicles. Such records, documents and forms 74
shall be produced in written format, upon request by the department, 75
during the licensee's business hours on the same day of such request. 76
Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be deemed 77
to have committed an infraction. 78
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 14-66(a)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2019 14-66b
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Statement of Purpose:
To permit a wrecker to assess a surcharge of ten dollars for the
nonconsensual towing or transporting of a motor vehicle.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]