86R10962 BEE-F
By: Powell S.B. No. 1651
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to motor vehicle towing.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2308.002(13), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(13) "Unauthorized vehicle" means a vehicle [parked,
stored, or] located on a parking facility without the consent of the
parking facility owner, including a vehicle parked in violation of:
(A) towing or parking rules or policies provided
to a tenant in accordance with Section 92.0131, Property Code; or
(B) a sign prohibiting or restricting parking
posted in accordance with Subchapter G.
SECTION 2. The heading to Section 2308.251, Occupations
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 2308.251. PROHIBITION AGAINST UNAUTHORIZED
[UNATTENDED] VEHICLES ON PARKING FACILITIES [IN CERTAIN AREAS].
SECTION 3. Section 2308.251, Occupations Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (d), (e), (f),
and (g) to read as follows:
(a) The owner or operator of a vehicle may not, without the
consent of a parking facility owner, leave unattended on a parking
facility a vehicle that:
(1) is in or obstructs a vehicular traffic aisle,
entry, or exit of the parking facility;
(2) prevents a vehicle from exiting a parking space in
the facility;
(3) is in or obstructs a fire lane marked according to
Subsection (c);
(4) does not display valid [the special] license
plates issued under Section 504.201, Transportation Code, or a
valid [the] disabled parking placard issued under Chapter 681,
Transportation Code, for a vehicle transporting a disabled person
and is in a parking space that is designated for the exclusive use
of a vehicle transporting a disabled person; [or]
(5) is leaking a fluid that presents a hazard or threat
to persons or property;
(6) obstructs an area that is designed or intended for
the use of pedestrians;
(7) is in or obstructs a restricted parking area or
parking space designated under Subchapter G;
(8) is in a tow away zone that is, except as provided
for a fire lane under Subsection (c), brightly painted and is
conspicuously and legibly marked with the warning "TOW AWAY ZONE"
in contrasting letters at least three inches tall;
(9) is a semitrailer, trailer, or truck-tractor, as
defined by Chapter 502, Transportation Code, unless the owner or
operator of the vehicle is permitted under the terms of a rental or
lease agreement with the parking facility to leave the unattended
vehicle on the parking facility;
(10) is on an area that is not designed or intended for
the parking of vehicles;
(11) is an abandoned motor vehicle as described by
Section 683.002, Transportation Code;
(12) subject to Subsections (d) and (e), does not
display an unexpired license plate or registration insignia issued
for the vehicle under Chapter 502, Transportation Code, or the
vehicle registration law of another state or country;
(13) is not registered as the vehicle of a tenant of an
apartment complex or the tenant's guest and:
(A) the parking facility serves or is adjacent to
an apartment complex consisting of one or more residential
apartment units and any adjacent real property serving the
apartment complex;
(B) the parking facility is restricted to parking
by tenants of the apartment complex and their guests;
(C) the parking facility owner requires the
vehicles of tenants and their guests to be registered; and
(D) the parking facility owner or a towing
company on behalf of the parking facility owner maintains a list of
registered tenant and guest vehicles that is updated as vehicles
are registered; or
(14) occupies a parking space such that any part of the
vehicle occupies an area of more than 12 inches beyond a demarcation
separating the parking space from an adjacent parking space.
(d) Except as provided by a contract described by Subsection
(e), a parking facility owner may not have a vehicle towed from the
parking facility solely because the vehicle does not display an
unexpired license plate or registration insignia issued for the
vehicle under Chapter 502, Transportation Code, or the vehicle
registration law of another state or country.
(e) A contract provision providing for the towing from a
parking facility of a vehicle that does not display an unexpired
license plate or registration insignia is valid only if the
provision requires the owner or operator of the vehicle to be given
at least 10 days' written notice that the vehicle will be towed from
the parking facility at the vehicle owner's or operator's expense if
the vehicle is not removed from the parking facility. The notice
must:
(1) state:
(A) that the vehicle does not display an
unexpired license plate or registration insignia; and
(B) that the vehicle will be towed at the expense
of the owner or operator of the vehicle if the vehicle does not
display an unexpired license plate or registration insignia;
(2) contain a telephone number that is answered 24
hours a day to enable the owner or operator of the vehicle to locate
the vehicle; and
(3) be:
(A) delivered in person to the owner or operator
of the vehicle;
(B) sent by certified mail, return receipt
requested, to that owner or operator; or
(C) attached:
(i) to the vehicle's front windshield;
(ii) to the vehicle's driver's side window;
or
(iii) if the vehicle has no front
windshield or driver's side window, to a conspicuous part of the
vehicle.
(f) This section may not be construed:
(1) to authorize the owner or operator of a vehicle to
leave an unattended vehicle on property that is not designed or
intended for the parking of vehicles; or
(2) to limit or restrict the enforcement of Chapter
683, Transportation Code, the abandoned motor vehicle law.
(g) A provision of an apartment lease or rental agreement
entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2004, that is in
conflict or inconsistent with this section is void and may not be
enforced.
SECTION 4. Section 2308.252, Occupations Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection
(b-1) to read as follows:
(a) A parking facility owner may, without the consent of the
owner or operator of an unauthorized vehicle, cause the vehicle and
any property on or in the vehicle to be removed and stored at a
vehicle storage facility at the vehicle owner's or operator's
expense if:
(1) signs that substantially comply with Subchapter G
prohibiting unauthorized vehicles are located on the parking
facility at the time of towing and for the preceding 24 hours and
remain installed at the time of towing;
(2) the owner or operator of the vehicle has received
actual notice from the parking facility owner that the vehicle will
be towed at the vehicle owner's or operator's expense if it is in or
not removed from an unauthorized space;
(3) the parking facility owner gives notice to the
owner or operator of the vehicle under Subsection (b) or (b-1); or
(4) on request the parking facility owner provides to
the owner or operator of the vehicle information on the name of the
towing company and vehicle storage facility that will be used to
remove and store the vehicle and the vehicle is:
(A) left in violation of Section 2308.251 [or
2308.253]; or
(B) in or obstructing a portion of a paved
driveway or abutting public roadway used for entering or exiting
the facility.
(b) A parking facility owner is considered to have given
notice under Subsection (a)(3) if:
(1) a conspicuous notice has been attached to the
vehicle's front windshield or, if the vehicle has no front
windshield, to a conspicuous part of the vehicle stating:
(A) that the vehicle is in a parking space in
which the vehicle is not authorized to be parked;
(B) [a description of all other unauthorized
areas in the parking facility;
[(C)] that the vehicle will be towed at the
expense of the owner or operator of the vehicle if it remains in an
unauthorized area of the parking facility; and
(C) [(D)] a telephone number that is answered 24
hours a day to enable the owner or operator of the vehicle to locate
the vehicle; and
(2) a notice is mailed after the notice is attached to
the vehicle as provided by Subdivision (1) to the owner of the
vehicle by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last
address shown for the owner according to the vehicle registration
records of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, or if the vehicle
is registered in another state, the appropriate agency of that
state.
(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), a parking facility
owner is considered to have given notice under Subsection (a)(3)
if:
(1) notice of parking violations subject to towing has
been given as part of a lease agreement; or
(2) notice has been posted on signs at each entrance to
the parking facility in accordance with Subchapter G.
(c) The notice under Subsection (b)(2) must:
(1) state that the vehicle is in a space in which the
vehicle is not authorized to park;
(2) [describe all other unauthorized areas in the
parking facility;
[(3)] contain a warning that the unauthorized vehicle
will be towed at the expense of the owner or operator of the vehicle
if it is not removed from the parking facility before the 15th day
after the postmark date of the notice; and
(3) [(4)] state a telephone number that is answered 24
hours a day to enable the owner or operator to locate the vehicle.
SECTION 5. Section 2308.255(c), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) A [Only a] towing company [that is insured against
liability for property damage incurred in towing a vehicle] may tow
and store an unauthorized vehicle under this chapter only if the
towing company is insured against liability for property damage
incurred in towing a vehicle [section].
SECTION 6. Subchapter J, Chapter 2308, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 2308.4501 to read as follows:
Sec. 2308.4501. PROBABLE CAUSE FOR PRIVATE PROPERTY TOW.
For purposes of a hearing under this subchapter regarding a private
property tow, "probable cause" means, with respect to the removal
of the towed vehicle, reasonably trustworthy facts and
circumstances within the knowledge of the tow operator on the scene
of the tow that would lead a reasonably prudent tow operator to
believe that the vehicle to be towed was parked in an unauthorized
location.
SECTION 7. Sections 2308.253 and 2308.2565, Occupations
Code, are repealed.
SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
the towing of a vehicle initiated on or after the effective date of
this Act. The towing of a vehicle initiated before the effective
date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the time the
towing was initiated, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.