By: Phillips H.B. No. 2468
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to providing a patron of a pay-to-park or valet parking
service with certain information; providing a civil penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 5, Business & Commerce Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 109 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 109. PAY-TO-PARK AND VALET PARKING SERVICES
Sec. 109.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Pay-to-park service" means a business that
provides a place to park the motor vehicles of patrons of a public
accommodation in a garage, lot, or other facility for a fee.
(2) "Valet parking service" means a parking service
through which the motor vehicles of patrons of a public
accommodation are parked for a fee by a third party who is not an
employee of the public accommodation.
(3) "Owner" means a person who owns the pay-to-park or
valet parking service. The term does not include the owner of the
property on which the pay-to-park or valet parking service is
provided unless the service is also owned by the owner of the
property.
(4) "Public accommodation" means any:
(A) inn, hotel, or motel;
(B) restaurant, cafeteria, or other facility
principally engaged in selling food for consumption on the
premises;
(C) bar, nightclub, or other facility engaged in
selling alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises;
(D) motion picture house, theater, concert hall,
stadium, or other place of exhibition or entertainment; or
(E) other facility used by or open to members of
the public.
Sec. 109.002. REQUIREMENT OF CONTACT INFORMATION. (a) The
receipt or claim ticket that an operator of a pay-to-park or valet
parking service provides to a patron must state the owner's name,
address, and telephone number.
(b) If a pay-to-park service does not provide a patron with
a receipt or claim ticket, the operator shall prominently display
the owner's name, address, and telephone number on a sign on or
immediately adjacent to the payment receptacle or other device for
making payment for the service.
Sec. 109.003. CIVIL PENALTY. A pay-to-park or valet
parking service that violates this chapter is subject to a civil
penalty not to exceed $200 for each violation.
Sec. 109.004. SUIT FOR CIVIL PENALTY. The attorney general
or a county or district attorney may bring an action to recover a
civil penalty imposed under Section 109.003.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.