By: King of Uvalde (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 1140
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 26, 2019;
April 29, 2019, read first time and referred to Committee on
Business & Commerce; May 20, 2019, reported favorably by the
following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 20, 2019, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to fees for vehicles stored at vehicle storage facilities;
authorizing fee increases and decreases; eliminating a fee;
eliminating a minimum fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 2303.155(a) and (b), Occupations Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) For the purposes of this section, "governmental vehicle
storage facility" means a garage, parking lot, or other facility
that is:
(1) [(A)] owned by a governmental entity; and
(2) [(B)] used to store or park at least 10 vehicles
each year.
(b) The operator of a vehicle storage facility or
governmental vehicle storage facility may charge the owner of a
vehicle stored or parked at the facility:
(1) a notification fee set in a reasonable amount for
providing notice under this subchapter, including notice under
Section 2303.154(c);
(2) an impoundment fee of $20, subject to Section
2303.1552, for any action that:
(A) is taken by or at the direction of the owner
or operator of the facility; and
(B) is necessary to preserve, protect, or service
a vehicle stored or parked at the facility;
(3) a daily storage fee, subject to Section 2303.1552,
of:
(A) [not less than $5 and not more than] $20 for
each day or part of a day the vehicle is stored at the facility if
the vehicle is not longer than 25 feet; or
(B) $35 for each day or part of a day the vehicle
is stored at the facility if the vehicle is longer than 25 feet; and
(4) any fee that is required to be submitted to a law
enforcement agency, the agency's authorized agent, or a
governmental entity [; and
[(5) a fee in an amount set by the commission for the
remediation, recovery, or capture of an environmental or biological
hazard].
SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 2303, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 2303.1552 to read as follows:
Sec. 2303.1552. BIENNIAL ADJUSTMENT OF CERTAIN FEES. (a)
In this section, "consumer price index" means the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) published by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor.
(b) On January 1 of each even-numbered year, the impoundment
fee under Section 2303.155(b)(2) and the storage fees under Section
2303.155(b)(3) are increased or decreased by an amount equal to the
amount of the applicable fee in effect on December 31 of the
preceding year multiplied by the percentage increase or decrease in
the consumer price index during the preceding state fiscal
biennium.
(c) Not later than November 1 of each odd-numbered year, the
commission shall:
(1) adjust the fees in accordance with Subsection (b);
and
(2) publish the adjusted fees on the department's
Internet website.
(d) If a fee is decreased under this section, the operator
of a vehicle storage facility or governmental vehicle storage
facility, as defined by Section 2303.155, shall begin charging the
adjusted fee on the effective date of the decrease. If a fee is
increased under this section, the operator may begin charging the
adjusted fee at any time on or after the effective date of the
increase.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
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