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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 6657
AN ACT CONCERNING NONCONSENSUAL TOWING.
SUMMARY
This bill makes various changes related to nonconsensual towing
laws, some of which apply generally to nonconsensual towing and
others that apply only to nonconsensual towing from private property.
It makes the following generally applicable changes:
1. requires, rather than allows, the Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV) commissioner to consider specified factors when setting
and amending nonconsensual towing and storage rates and
charges (e.g., the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and towing
industry operating costs);
2. specifies some operating costs that the commissioner must
consider, such as costs of fuel, wreckers (i.e., tow trucks),
personnel, and insurance; and
3. requires that licensed tow truck operators keep in their records a
photo of each motor vehicle they tow, showing the vehicle’s
condition and reason for the tow.
It makes the following changes to the laws on towing from private
property, among others:
1. generally requires “residential complex” owners and lessees to
provide 24 hours’ notice before towing unauthorized vehicles left
on their property, with certain exceptions;
2. applies the law’s towing signage requirements to all private
property (except those with a single-family dwelling), instead of
just private commercial property, and requires that additional 2023HB-06657-R000452-BA.DOCX
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information be included on the signs;
3. provides certain exceptions to the signage and 24-hour notice
requirements, including for unauthorized vehicles (a) in
accessible parking spots or areas reserved for emergency
vehicles, (b) in parking lots reserved for residents, and (c)
blocking building access or a parking spot reserved for a specific
person;
4. generally requires towing companies to get written authorization
to tow a vehicle from the property owner or lessee, or his or her
agent, and subjects violators to a fine of up to $1,000;
5. prohibits private property owners and lessees from having a
vehicle towed solely because it is unregistered or its registration
has expired; and
6. requires that towing companies accept payment for towing and
storage charges in cash and by credit card and keep enough cash
on hand to make change.
As under current law, the bill’s signage requirements also apply to
rendering vehicles immovable (i.e., booting) on private property. The
bill also prohibits private property owners or lessees, or their agents,
from booting vehicles only because they are unregistered or their
registration is expired.
The bill increases, from $100 to $1,000, the maximum fine for (1)
towing companies who rebate or pay money or other valuable
consideration to a property owner or lessee or to a lending institution
for the privilege of towing or booting a vehicle and (2) booting a vehicle
on private property without the express instruction of the property
owner or lessee, or his or her agent.
Lastly, the bill makes numerous conforming and technical changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2023 2023HB-06657-R000452-BA.DOCX
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§§ 1 & 2 — PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ALL NONCONSENSUAL
TOWING
Towing, Transporting, and Storage Rates (§ 1)
By law, the DMV commissioner must establish a schedule of uniform
rates and charges for nonconsensual towing and transporting and for
motor vehicle storage and reconsider them upon a licensed towing
company’s petition (but no more often than once every two years). The
rates and charges must be “just and reasonable,” and the commissioner
must amend them upon a petition if he determines, after considering
factors specified in law, that the rates and charges are no longer just and
reasonable. By law, these rates apply to tows initiated by private
property owners or lessees and to those ordered by law enforcement
officers or traffic authorities.
Under current law, the commissioner may consider, but is not limited
to, the following factors when setting and amending the rates and
charges: (1) the CPI, (2) rates set by other jurisdictions, (3) charges for
towing and transportation services provided through automobile clubs,
and (4) rates published in standard services manuals. The bill instead
requires the commissioner to consider these factors and additionally
requires him to consider the operating costs of the state’s towing
industry, including costs for fuel, wreckers, heavy duty wreckers, motor
vehicle parts, equipment, personnel, workers’ compensation insurance,
unemployment compensation, and insurance premiums. Existing DMV
regulations already allow the commissioner to consider the towing and
recovery industry’s operating costs but does not list specific costs that
may be considered (Conn. Agencies Regs. § 14-63-36a).
As under existing law, DMV must hold a public hearing to get more
information before determining the rates and charges. Anyone
aggrieved by the commissioner’s decision may appeal under the
Uniform Administrative Procedure Act. (When DMV increased these
rates in 2018, the amended rates were appealed on the grounds that
DMV did not give appropriate consideration to the statutory and
regulatory factors (see BACKGROUND).)
Photo Evidence (§ 2) 2023HB-06657-R000452-BA.DOCX
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Existing law requires towing companies to maintain information and
documents (e.g., registration numbers of towed vehicles, the charge for
the tow, and the tow truck’s mileage at the start and end of the tow) for
at least two years after a tow. The bill requires that they also include at
least one photo of the motor vehicle that was taken before the vehicle
was attached to the tow truck and shows the vehicle’s condition and the
reason for being towed. As with other records the law requires towing
companies to maintain, the photos may be stored electronically and
must be made available for inspection by DMV.
§§ 1-5 — PRIVATE PROPERTY TOWS
Signage Requirements (§ 3(a)(2))
Existing law requires certain property owners or lessees, or their
agents, to install signs warning that unauthorized vehicles may be
towed before they can have a vehicle towed. The bill expands the
properties that must post signage and establishes more specific
requirements for the signs.
Current law’s signage requirements apply to “private commercial
property.” Under the bill, signage requirements instead apply to any
private property, except property with a single-family dwelling.
By law, signs must be clearly visible and state that unauthorized
vehicles may be towed, where they will be stored, how they may be
redeemed, and any fees that may be charged. The bill additionally
requires that the signs:
1. be placed at all entrances to the property;
2. specify that the towing of unauthorized vehicles is at the vehicle
owner’s expense;
3. indicate the towing company’s name, address, and telephone
number; and
4. list the violations for which the vehicle may be towed.
24 Hours’ Notice for Residential Complexes (§ 3(a)(1) & (3)) 2023HB-06657-R000452-BA.DOCX
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The bill generally requires owners and lessees of residential
complexes, or their agents, to give 24 hours’ notice to unauthorized
vehicles left on their property before towing them, with certain
exceptions (see below). A “residential complex” is a multi-family
dwelling, a condominium, or a common interest community (1) that is
used for residential purposes and (2) for which a common parking area
is provided, regardless of whether residents or units have been assigned
specific parking spaces.
Under the bill, complex owners or lessees, or their agents, must put a
written notice on unauthorized vehicles subject to towing at least 24
hours before towing them. The notice must be placed in a clearly visible
spot on the vehicle’s driver-side windshield and include the following:
1. a statement that the vehicle will be towed from the complex
without the owner’s consent if it remains parked in the same
spot;
2. a description of the reason for the tow; and
3. the time the (a) notice was affixed to the vehicle and (b) vehicle
will be towed, which may not be earlier than 24 hours after the
notice is affixed to the vehicle.
Exceptions to Signage and 24-Hour Notice Requirements (§
3(a)(4))
Under the bill, a property owner or lessee, or his or her agent, may
have an unauthorized vehicle towed without installing the required
signage or, in the case of residential complexes, giving 24 hours’ written
notice in certain circumstances. (These are also the circumstances under
which a towing company may act as a property owner or lessee’s agent
to give written authorization to tow under § 4, see below.)
Specifically, the exceptions are for vehicles left in the following
locations or ways:
1. in an accessible parking space for people with disabilities without
a removable windshield placard or special license plate; 2023HB-06657-R000452-BA.DOCX
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2. in an area reserved for authorized emergency vehicles;
3. within 10 feet of a fire hydrant;
4. occupying or blocking access to or from a (a) building or (b)
parking spot reserved for a specific resident or unit;
5. blocking entry or exit from the property;
6. for 48 hours or longer;
7. in a parking lot marked for the exclusive use of residents without
displaying valid authorization;
8. in an area not designated for parking vehicles; and
9. in violation of a parking ban to facilitate snow and ice removal,
as long as the owner or lessee, or his or her agent, at least four
hours before enacting the ban, posts notices that are clearly
visible in the building and the parking area and communicates
the ban directly by phone, email, or text message.
Current law only provides exceptions to signage requirements in the
case of vehicles parked in accessible parking spaces, in areas reserved
for emergency vehicles or within 10 feet of a fire hydrant, blocking
building access or entry or exit from the property, or for 48 hours or
more.
The bill also allows residential complexes to tow repeat offenders
without giving 24 hours’ notice. On and after October 1, 2023, if a vehicle
is parked on a residential complex for a third or subsequent time in the
same way that caused the vehicle to receive prior notices, the private
property owner or lessee, or his or her agent, can have the vehicle towed
without giving the required notice.
As under current law with signage requirements, the bill’s expanded
signage requirements and the new 24-hour notice requirement do not
apply in the case of vehicle repossession.
Written Authorization (§§ 2 & 4) 2023HB-06657-R000452-BA.DOCX
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Current law prohibits a vehicle from being towed from private
property except (1) upon express instruction of the owner or lessee, or
his or her agent, of the property on which the vehicle is trespassing or
(2) for purposes of vehicle repossession by a lending institution. The bill
replaces this prohibition with a requirement that towing companies get
written authorization to tow a vehicle from the property owner or lessee
(including in the case of repossession by a lending institution).
Under the bill, at any time within the 24 hours before towing a vehicle
from private property, a towing company must get written
authorization from the property owner or lessee (or his or her agent),
who must be present on the property when giving the authorization and
verify the reason for the tow. Towing companies may act as the property
owner’s or lessee’s agent to give written authorization to tow vehicles
in the circumstances that fall under the exceptions to signage and notice
requirements (see above); they may not act as an agent for towing
vehicles under other circumstances.
The bill requires the written authorization to include the following
information:
1. the vehicle’s make, model, identification number, and license
plate number;
2. the name, signature, job title, residential or business address, and
phone number of the property owner or lessee (or his or her
agent) authorizing the tow;
3. the reason for the tow;
4. the time the vehicle was first observed parked at the private
property; and
5. the time the written authorization to tow the vehicle was given.
The bill subjects companies who violate the written authorization
requirement to a fine of up to $1,000. Towing companies must maintain
any required written authorization in their required records for each
tow (which must be retained for at least two years and available for 2023HB-06657-R000452-BA.DOCX
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inspection by DMV, see above).
As under current law, none of these provisions limit the state’s or a
municipality’s right to remove abandoned vehicles as allowed under
state law.
Towing Unregistered Vehicles (§ 3(a)(2))
The bill prohibits property owners and lessees, or their agents, from
towing a vehicle or causing one to be towed solely because the vehicle
is unregistered or has an expired registration.
Release for Incomplete Tow (§§ 1 & 3(c))
The bill requires tow truck drivers to release vehicles that have been
connected to the truck but not yet removed from the property if the
vehicle owner or driver asks them to. The towing company may charge
a “drop fee,” which the bill requires the commissioner to set and include
on the schedule for towing rates and charges.
Storage Lot Distance (§ 5)
Current law requires that any vehicle towed under the state’s private
property towing laws be stored at the towing company’s business in a
secured storage lot. Under the bill, for vehicles towed from property in
a municipality with more than 50,000 people, the storage lot must be
within a 10-mile radius of the property.
(The Department of Public Health’s most recently released (2021)
population estimates list the following 19 municipalities as having
populations over 50,000: Bridgeport, Bristol, Danbury, East Hartford,
Fairfield, Greenwich, Hamden, Hartford, Manchester, Meriden,
Milford, New Britain, New Haven, Norwalk, Stamford, Stratford,
Waterbury, West Hartford, and West Haven.)
Payment Accepted (§ 5)
The bill requires towing companies to (1) accept cash and credit cards
as payment for towing and storage fees for vehicles towed from private
property and (2) keep sufficient cash at their offices to give change to a
vehicle owner, or another authorized person, at the time of payment. 2023HB-06657-R000452-BA.DOCX
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The bill allows towing companies to charge a service fee for credit card
payments, but it may not exceed the charge the company pays to the
card issuer (including any discount rate).
BACKGROUND
History of Nonconsensual Towing and Storage Rate Increases
In March 2023, DMV issued a decision on a 2022 petition from
Myhoopty, LLC requesting an increase in towing, mileage, and storage
fees by about 60% across the board. DMV found that Myhoopty failed
to justify its proposed increase but determined that a more moderate
increase (roughly 19%, in line with the CPI) in the base fee (hook fee)
and mileage rate (but not storage rates) was just and reasonable.
Prior to the 2022 petition, DMV increased base rates and storage fees
(but not mileage rates) in 2018, after a 2017 petition from the Towing &
Recovery Professionals of Connecticut (TRPC), Inc. The increases
generally reflected the rise in CPI between 2018 and the last time the
rates were increased in 2007. In determining the increases, the hearing
officer considered evidence presented by TRPC on vehicle costs, real
estate taxes, and worker’s compensation, among other things, but
decided to give more weight to factors listed in statute (namely, CPI).
TRPC petitioned for an increase in 2009, which was denied.
Towing & Recovery Professionals of Connecticut, Inc. vs.
Department of Motor Vehicles
In response to DMV’s 2018 decision, TRPC filed an administrative
appeal challenging the commissioner’s consideration of statutory and
regulatory factors and its weighing of evidence, arguing that the way in
which the commissioner weighed the factors violated the rule of
statutory and regulatory construction by rendering certain factors
insignificant. When the appeal reached the Appellate Court, it held that,
given the inclusion of the word “may,” both the statute and regulation
give the commissioner discretion to consider and weigh the factors that
he sees fit (Towing and Recovery Professionals of Connecticut, Inc. v.
Department of Motor Vehicles, 205 Conn. App. 368 (2021), cert. denied, 338
Conn. 910 (2021)). 2023HB-06657-R000452-BA.DOCX
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COMMITTEE ACTION
Transportation Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 24 Nay 12 (03/17/2023)