HCSHB543--TOWINGOFCOMMERCIALVEHICLES
SPONSOR: Griffith
COMMITTEEACTION:Voted"DoPasswithHCS"bytheStanding
CommitteeonGeneralLawsbyavoteof15to0.
ThefollowingisasummaryoftheHouseCommitteeSubstituteforHB
543.
Thisbillallowsapersonwhoseabandonedpropertyhasbeentowed
tohavethecontentsreleasedtohimorheruponrequest. The
companyholdingorstoringtheabandonedpropertymayrequirethe
ownertocompletedocumentationshowingthepropertywasreleased
totheowner,andmustprovideanitemizedreceiptforthe
property.
BeginningOctober1,2024,ifanownerorlienholderofabandoned
propertyfilesapetitioninanassociatecircuitcourtclaiming
thattheabandonedpropertywaswrongfullytakenorwithheld,the
securityrequiredforthereleaseofacommercialvehiclefromthe
possessionofthetowingcompanywillbe30%ofthetotalcharges
fortowingandstorage.
Thefollowingisasummaryofthepublictestimonyfromthe
committeehearing. Thetestimonywasbasedontheintroduced
versionofthebill.
PROPONENTS: Supporterssaythatthisbillensuresthatindividuals
arenottakenadvantageofwithburdensomeorunreasonablecharges
forvehiclesbeingtowedwhenthereisotherwisenorecourse
available. Otherstateshavesimilarprotections,itis
appropriateforMissouritohavetheseprotectionsaswell.This
billprotectssmallerbusinessesthatareoverlyburdenedbyfees
andcosts.Further,thisbillgivesgreaterprotectionand
recourseforthird-parties,thosewhosegoodsareimpoundedwith
thevehicleandhavenowayofaccessingthem.
TestifyinginpersonforthebillwereRepresentative Griffith;
OOIDA;andMOTruckingAssociation.
OPPONENTS: Thosewhoopposethebillsaythatthisbillis
detrimentaltosmalltowbusinesses. Thebillmeanslegitimatetow
operatorsmayloseoutonmoneycollectionsforyears,or
potentiallymaynevercollectthemoneytheyareowed.Thereisno
incentiveforanownertocomebackandpayanyremainingcharges.
Therearealreadysafeguardsagainstbadactors,thisbilldoesnot
furthertheseprotections;instead,onlyburdeninglegitimatetow
businesses. TestifyinginpersonagainstthebillwereJaredK.Innis,AllStar
Towing&Recovery,Inc.;Towing&RecoveryAssociationofMissouri;
TheMissouriGroup;andRonHarvey,RonsAuto&TruckTowing.
Writtentestimonyhasbeensubmittedforthisbill.Thefull
writtentestimonyandwitnessestestifyingonlinecanbefound
underTestimonyonthebillpageontheHousewebsite.