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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 1449
AN ACT CONCERNING MEDIUM -DUTY AND HEAVY -DUTY
TOWING.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
commissioner to establish a new rate schedule for nonconsensual
medium- and heavy-duty towing (§ 1) and sets temporary rates for
nonconsensual medium- and heavy-duty towing that remain effective
until the new rate schedule is established (§ 3).
Under the bill, the commissioner must set the medium- and heavy-
duty rate schedule through the new process the bill establishes, and the
rates must reflect the reasonable operating costs of wrecker services
(towing companies) that perform medium- and heavy-duty towing. It
creates the Medium- and Heavy-Duty Towing Advisory Council to
recommend a proposed rate schedule to the commissioner and to advise
him on policies affecting medium- and heavy-duty towing. The council
consists of representatives from the towing industry and trucking
industry, first responders, and certain agency heads (§ 2).
The bill also explicitly allows (1) police officers or traffic authorities
that order a vehicle’s removal to direct a towing company to use certain
equipment and labor that is required by State Police tow rotation list
regulations and (2) towing companies who remove a vehicle pursuant
to police or traffic authority directions to charge the liable party for the
services rendered (§ 1).
Lastly, the bill generally codifies DMV regulations on investigations
of customer complaints regarding dealer and repairers and explicitly
expands the scope of DMV’s investigatory power to cover violations of
the towing and vehicle disposal laws (§ 4).
It also makes technical and conforming changes (§§ 5-12). 2025SB-01449-R000545-BA.DOCX
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EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2025
TOWING DEFINITIONS
The bill defines “nonconsensual towing or transporting” as towing
or transporting a motor vehicle without the owner’s or operator’s prior
consent or authorization that is ordered by (1) police officers or traffic
authorities or (2) private property owners or lessees according to state
law.
It also separates nonconsensual towing into three categories,
generally conforming to the categories in DMV’s current towing rate
schedule. Under the bill, these towing definitions explicitly include
“recovery” (winching, hoisting, uprighting, or other similar functions a
wrecker performs to return a vehicle to a position where it can be
towed). The three categories are:
1. light-duty towing, which is nonconsensual towing of a vehicle
with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) under 10,000 pounds;
2. medium-duty towing, which is nonconsensual towing and
recovery of a vehicle with a GVWR of 10,000 to 26,000 pounds;
and
3. heavy-duty towing, which is nonconsensual towing and
recovery of a vehicle over 26,000 pounds.
TEMPORARY RATES
Hourly Rates
Starting July 1, 2025, the bill overrides the current DMV-established
rate schedule and sets temporary rates that remain in effect until the
DMV commissioner adopts a new medium - and heavy-duty rate
schedule under the process the bill establishes.
Under the bill, the following maximum hourly rates may be charged
for nonconsensual towing (including recovery), calculated according to
current DMV regulations:
1. for medium-duty vehicles, $300 per hour (currently, the rate is 2025SB-01449-R000545-BA.DOCX
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$240);
2. for heavy-duty vehicles, $500 per hour (currently, the rate is
$390); and
3. for the use of a rotator, $1,200 per hour (the current rate schedule
does not have a rate for a rotator).
The bill defines a rotator as a wrecker (tow truck) that (1) consists of
a rotating superstructure, adjusting boom, operating machinery, and
one or more operator’s stations mounted on a frame attached to a truck
chassis and (2) has the ability to lift, lower, and swing loads.
Services Included in Hourly Rate. The bill specifies that the
following services are included in the hourly rate:
1. services reasonably necessary to restore the towing site to its
original condition, or to restore it as directed by a police officer
or traffic authority, if they take less than 15 minutes;
2. time the towing company spent at the site waiting to perform any
portion of the nonconsensual towing due to an order of a police
officer or traffic authority, if it takes less than 15 minutes;
3. hand tools, wrenches, sockets, and timbers, used in the towing or
recovery of a motor vehicle;
4. air fittings and hoses used in towing or recovery under 100 feet;
5. disconnecting batteries;
6. pry bars, reflectors, wheel chocks or scotch blocks, up to two
snatch blocks, cargo retraining straps, and chain and binders
used in conjunction with wrecker cables; and
7. preparing a motor vehicle for towing.
Current regulations list similar services included in “tow charges”
(Conn. Agency Regs., § 14-63-36b). 2025SB-01449-R000545-BA.DOCX
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Exceptional Services
In addition to base hourly rates, current DMV regulations allow
towing companies to charge for “exceptional services,” which means the
use of special equipment, such as cutting torches, air compressors, and
other equipment not generally required for nonconsensual towing at
accident scenes. DMV regulations require that these charges be itemized
in accordance with the hourly charge for labor posted as required under
regulations; the Appellate Court recently held that these regulations do
not allow exceptional service charges to include charges for equipment
(see BACKGROUND).
Under the bill, the charge for exceptional services may include the
hourly charge for labor and the use of equipment to perform the
services, as long as the services are itemized, reasonable, and necessary
to perform nonconsensual towing.
NEW RATE SETTING PRO CESS
Existing law requires the DMV commissioner to establish a schedule
of uniform rates and charges for nonconsensual towing and
transporting and for motor vehicle storage, and those rates must be just
and reasonable. Towing companies are prohibited from charging higher
rates than the ones on the schedule the commissioner sets.
The bill requires him to adopt a new schedule of uniform hourly rates
and itemized charges for medium- and heavy-duty towing and other
associated charges for services (“rate schedule”) and establishes a new,
separate process for doing so, including requiring that the rates be based
on the advisory council’s proposal (see below).
By establishing this separate process for medium- and heavy-duty
towing, the bill limits current law’s rate setting process, including
procedures to petition DMV for rate increases and the factors the
commissioner may consider when setting rates, to (1) motor vehicle
storage fees and (2) light-duty towing.
Factors Considered in Rates and Commissioner’s Discretion
Under current law, the commissioner has discretion over which 2025SB-01449-R000545-BA.DOCX
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factors he considers and incorporates into the rates and charges he sets.
Currently the law specifies that he may consider, but is not limited to,
the following factors when setting and amending the rates and charges:
(1) the consumer price index, (2) rates set by other jurisdictions, (3)
charges for towing and transportation services provided through
automobile clubs, and (4) rates published in standard service manuals.
DMV regulations also allow the commissioner to consider, among other
things, the towing and recovery industry’s operating costs but does not
list specific costs that may be considered (Conn. Agencies Regs., § 14-
63-36a). In a 2018 decision, the Appellate Court affirmed the
commissioner’s discretion to weigh these factors as he sees fit (see
BACKGROUND).
The bill limits the commissioner’s discretion by (1) requiring that the
rate schedule specifically reflect the reasonable operating costs of
towing companies that perform medium- and heavy-duty towing; (2)
requiring, rather than allowing, him to consider certain specified factors
when setting the rates; and (3) modifying those factors.
Under the bill, the commissioner must at a minimum consider (1) the
cost of equipment that a towing company must have to be placed on the
State Police tow rotation list; (2) the risk to people performing medium-
and heavy-duty towing; (3) insurance costs; (4) the most recent
transportation producer price index published by the U.S. Department
of Transportation; (5) rates set by other jurisdictions; and (6) rates for
consensual towing of vehicles with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or more.
Process After Receiving Proposed Rate Schedule
Within 90 days after receiving a proposed rate schedule and any
supporting documentation from the advisory council (see below), the
DMV commissioner (1) may hold a public hearing to get more
information about the rate schedule and (2) must establish and publish
the new rate schedule. The commissioner cannot change the services
that the advisory council included in its proposed rate schedule, but he
may amend the amount of the hourly rate or flat charge for the services
included. If he does so, he must explain why, in writing, and give it to
the advisory council. 2025SB-01449-R000545-BA.DOCX
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MEDIUM- AND HEAVY- DUTY TOWING ADVISORY COUNCIL
The bill establishes the Medium- and Heavy-Duty Towing Advisory
Council and charges the council with (1) advising the DMV
commissioner on policies affecting medium- and heavy-duty towing
and (2) developing a proposed medium- and heavy-duty rate schedule.
It places the council within DMV for administrative purposes only.
Membership
Under the bill, the council consists of the transportation, emergency
services and public protection, energy and environmental protection,
and insurance commissioners (or their designees), plus the following
members appointed by the governor:
1. two representatives of an in-state organization representing
towing and recovery professionals,
2. two representatives of an in-state organization representing the
commercial trucking industry,
3. one representative of an association of police chiefs in the state,
and
4. one representative of an association of fire chiefs in the state.
The bill requires the governor to make appointments by August 1,
2025, and fill any vacancies within 30 days after they occur. Each
appointed member serves for a two-year term and may serve until a
successor is appointed. The governor must appoint the chairperson, and
the chairperson must convene the first meeting by September 15, 2025.
Proposed Rate Schedule and Other Duties
The bill requires the advisory council, by January 1, 2026, submit to
the DMV commissioner a proposed medium - and heavy-duty rate
schedule that includes rates and itemized charges for towing and any
other associated charges for services that may not be connected to the
provision of towing. In developing the schedule, the council must
consider the factors the bill requires the DMV commissioner to consider
when setting a rate schedule, and it must submit any documentation to 2025SB-01449-R000545-BA.DOCX
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support the proposed rate schedule.
The council must review and consider adjustments to the rate
schedule, but no more frequently than once every three years, and
submit any recommended adjustments to the commissioner.
Under the bill, the council must also:
1. recommend specific procedures for investigating and
determining whether a service performed by a towing company
providing medium- and heavy-duty towing was required;
2. request information from other parties to assist with its work
and, in its discretion, hold public hearings to get information; and
3. make additional recommendations to DMV as it deems
appropriate.
COMPLAINT PROCESS
The bill codifies provisions that are substantially similar to existing
DMV regulations on investigations of consumer complaints against
dealers and repairers (see Conn. Agencies Regs., §§ 14-63-45b & -45c).
(By law, towing companies must have a dealers’ or repairers’ license.) It
also broadens the scope of violations the commissioner may investigate
to explicitly include violations of statutes on towing and vehicle
disposal.
Among other things, the bill codifies provisions in regulations that:
1. specify what must be included in a complaint, including a
statement of facts along with supporting evidence;
2. require DMV to notify the customer and the dealer or repairer,
within 14 days after receiving the complaint, that it was received,
what matters it covers, and that it will be investigated; and
3. allow DMV several options to resolve substantiated complaints,
including mediation or an administrative hearing under the
Uniform Administrative Procedure Act. 2025SB-01449-R000545-BA.DOCX
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The bill also specifically allows the DMV commissioner to:
1. if it finds a towing company violated the laws, recommend that
the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection
remove the towing company from the State Police tow rotational
system, in addition to any enforcement action already authorized
(e.g., civil penalties and restitution orders); and
2. adopt regulations establishing specific procedures for
investigating complaints about medium- and heavy-duty
towing, taking any recommendations from the advisory council
into account.
The bill eliminates a statutory provision that requires the DMV
commissioner to keep unresolved complaints on a dealer or repairer’s
records until the dealer or repairer provides evidence satisfactory to the
commissioner that the claim is resolved or no longer pending.
BACKGROUND
Exceptional Services: Modzelewski’s Towing & Storage, Inc. v.
DMV Commissioner
In 2024, the Appellate Court considered a DMV hearing officer’s
decision to impose civil penalties on a towing company and order
restitution for certain violations, including improperly charging for
exceptional services by including an equipment charge. The court held
that the regulations only permit charging for exceptional services
according to the approved hourly labor charge, and there is no support
in existing DMV regulations for a towing company to include an
equipment charge in its rate for exceptional services. In September 2024,
the Connecticut Supreme Court granted the towing company’s petition
for certification (Modzelewski’s Towing & Storage, Inc. v. DMV
Commissioner, 225 Conn. App. 386 (2024), cert. granted, 349 Conn. 921
(2024)).
DMV Commissioner’s Discretion in Rate Setting: Towing &
Recovery Professionals of Connecticut, Inc. v. Department of
Motor Vehicles
In 2018, DMV increased base towing rates and storage fees, generally 2025SB-01449-R000545-BA.DOCX
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reflecting the rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) since the last
increase in 2007. In determining the increases, the hearing officer
considered evidence from the towing industry 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).
In response to DMV’s 2018 decision, the Towing & Recovery
Professionals of Connecticut filed an administrative appeal challenging
the commissioner’s consideration of statutory and regulatory factors
and its weighing of evidence. 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)).
Related Bill
sHB 7162, favorably reported by the Transportation Committee,
makes numerous changes to the state’s towing laws, including changes
to the process for setting all nonconsensual towing rates and
substantially similar provisions codifying dealer and repairer complaint
investigation regulations.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Transportation Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 35 Nay 0 (03/19/2025)