87R11004 BEE-D
By: Neave H.B. No. 3982
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of motor vehicle towing and booting.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2308.253(d), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) A [Except as provided by a contract described by
Subsection (e), a] parking facility owner may not have a vehicle
towed from the parking facility merely 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.
SECTION 2. Section 2308.301(b), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by Section 2308.305, an unauthorized
vehicle may be towed under Section 2308.252(a)(1) or booted under
Section 2308.257 only if each sign prohibiting unauthorized
vehicles:
(1) is made of weather-resistant material;
(2) is at least 18 inches wide and 24 inches tall;
(3) contains the international symbol for towing
vehicles;
(4) contains a statement describing who may park in
the parking facility and prohibiting all others;
(5) bears the words, as applicable:
(A) "Unauthorized Vehicles Will Be Towed or
Booted at Owner's or Operator's Expense";
(B) "Unauthorized Vehicles Will Be Towed at
Owner's or Operator's Expense"; or
(C) "Unauthorized Vehicles Will Be Booted at
Owner's or Operator's Expense";
(6) contains a statement of the days and hours of
towing and booting enforcement; [and]
(7) contains a number, including the area code, of a
telephone that is answered 24 hours a day to enable an owner or
operator of a vehicle to locate a towed vehicle or to arrange for
removal of a boot from a vehicle; and
(8) contains a statement describing a person's right
to request a court hearing to determine whether probable cause
existed to remove, or install a boot on, a vehicle.
SECTION 3. Section 2308.302, Occupations Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
follows:
(d) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (e) and
(f), the next lower portion of the sign must contain the remaining
information required by Section 2308.301(b) displayed in bright red
letters at least one inch in height on a white background.
(f) A sign that otherwise meets the requirements of this
subchapter meets the requirements of Section 2308.301(b)(8) if a
separate sign installed directly above or below the sign contains
the statement describing a person's right to request a hearing
required by Section 2308.301(b)(8).
SECTION 4. Section 2308.404, Occupations Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(c) A towing company, booting company, or parking facility
owner who intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly violates this
chapter is liable to the owner or operator of the vehicle that is
the subject of the violation for:
(1) an amount equal to $1,000 plus three times the
amount of fees assessed in the vehicle's removal, towing, storage,
or booting;
(2) the reasonable costs of photographs and other
documentation related to the towing or booting submitted to the
court by the vehicle owner or operator; and
(3) court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
(d) A vehicle owner or operator may bring a civil action
pursuant to this section regardless of whether the owner or
operator requests a hearing under Subchapter J.
SECTION 5. Subchapter I, Chapter 2308, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 2308.408 to read as follows:
Sec. 2308.408. PREDATORY TOWING AND BOOTING PROHIBITED.
(a) In this section, "predatory towing" or "predatory booting"
means the towing or booting, as applicable, of a vehicle that:
(1) involves an authorized or unauthorized vehicle
that has been left unattended on a parking facility for 30 minutes
or less;
(2) is made from or on, as applicable, a parking
facility on which reserved or unreserved parking spaces remain
available; and
(3) is a result of the monitoring of a parking facility
by a towing company or operator or booting company or operator.
(b) A towing company or operator or booting company or
operator may not engage in predatory towing or booting.
(c) An agreement between a parking facility owner and a
towing company or operator or booting company or operator,
including a standard written agreement required under Section
2308.255(d), may not include a provision authorizing predatory
towing or booting.
(d) The commission by rule shall establish standards
regarding the monitoring of a parking facility as described by
Subsection (a)(3).
SECTION 6. Section 2308.455, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2308.455. CONTENTS OF NOTICE. The notice under
Section 2308.454 must include:
(1) a statement of:
(A) the person's right to submit a request within
60 [14] days for a court hearing to determine whether probable cause
existed to remove, or install a boot on, the vehicle;
(B) the information that a request for a hearing
must contain;
(C) any filing fee for the hearing; and
(D) the person's right to request a hearing in
any justice court in:
(i) the county from which the vehicle was
towed; or
(ii) for booted vehicles, the county in
which the parking facility is located;
(2) the name, address, and telephone number of the
towing company that removed the vehicle or the booting company that
booted the vehicle;
(3) the name, address, telephone number, and county of
the vehicle storage facility in which the vehicle was placed;
(4) the name, street address including city, state,
and zip code, and telephone number of the person, parking facility
owner, or law enforcement agency that authorized the removal of the
vehicle; and
(5) the name, address, and telephone number of each
justice court in the county from which the vehicle was towed or, for
booted vehicles, the county in which the parking facility is
located, or the address of an Internet website maintained by the
Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System that
contains the name, address, and telephone number of each justice
court in that county.
SECTION 7. Sections 2308.456(a), (c), and (c-1),
Occupations Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsections (c) and (c-1), a
person entitled to a hearing under this chapter must deliver a
written request for the hearing to the court before the 60th [14th]
day after the date the vehicle was removed and placed in the vehicle
storage facility or booted, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal
holidays.
(c) If notice was not given under Section 2308.454, the
60-day [14-day] deadline for requesting a hearing under Subsection
(a) does not apply, and the owner or operator of the vehicle may
deliver a written request for a hearing at any time.
(c-1) The 60-day [14-day] period for requesting a hearing
under Subsection (a) does not begin until the date on which the
towing company or vehicle storage facility provides to the vehicle
owner or operator the information necessary for the vehicle owner
or operator to complete the material for the request for hearing
required under Subsections (b)(2) through (6).
SECTION 8. Section 2308.458, Occupations Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (c) and (c-1) to read as follows:
(c) The issues in a hearing regarding a towed vehicle under
this chapter are:
(1) whether probable cause existed for the removal and
placement of the vehicle;
(2) whether a towing charge imposed or collected in
connection with the removal or placement of the vehicle was greater
than the amount authorized by the political subdivision under
Section 2308.201 or 2308.202;
(3) whether a towing charge imposed or collected in
connection with the removal or placement of the vehicle was greater
than the amount authorized under Section 2308.203; [or]
(4) whether a towing charge imposed or collected in
connection with the removal or placement of the vehicle was greater
than the amount authorized under Section 2308.0575;
(5) whether a towing company or operator engaged in
predatory towing, as defined by Section 2308.408(a); and
(6) whether a parking facility operator entered into
an agreement with a towing company or operator authorizing
predatory towing in violation of Section 2308.408(c).
(c-1) The issues in a hearing regarding a booted vehicle
under this chapter are:
(1) whether probable cause existed for the booting of
the vehicle; [and]
(2) whether a boot removal charge imposed or collected
in connection with the removal of the boot from the vehicle was
greater than the amount authorized by the political subdivision
under Section 2308.2085;
(3) whether a booting company or operator engaged in
predatory booting, as defined by Section 2308.408(a); and
(4) whether a parking facility operator entered into
an agreement with a booting company or operator authorizing
predatory booting in violation of Section 2308.408(c).
SECTION 9. Section 2308.253(e), Occupations Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 10. Not later than December 1, 2021, the Texas
Department of Licensing and Regulation shall adopt rules as
necessary to implement Section 2308.408, Occupations Code, as added
by this Act.
SECTION 11. The changes in law made by this Act apply only
to the towing or booting of a vehicle initiated on or after January
1, 2022. The towing or booting of a vehicle initiated before
January 1, 2022, is governed by the law in effect at the time the
towing or booting was initiated, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 12. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2022.
(b) Section 10 of this Act takes effect September 1, 2021.