BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2614 By: Zwiener Licensing & Administrative Procedures Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Predatory booting is the practice of rapidly booting an unauthorized vehicle in a parking space within moments of parking, often assessing expensive fees onto the vehicle owner to remove the boot. While the state actively regulates the associated towing industry through the Towing and Storage Advisory Board under the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the 85th Legislature enacted S.B. 2065, which effectively removed booting from state regulation. The bill author has informed the committee that since that bill, the regulation of booting has been left to cities and, while several Texas cities have caps on boot fees, including Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin, to the bill author's knowledge, no cities regulate the hours of operation of or minimum time requirements for booting companies. C.S.H.B. 2614 seeks to address this issue by providing regulations for booting companies with certain exceptions for booting on properties serving health care facilities, residences, or government buildings. CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2614 amends the Occupations Code to require the regulations adopted by a local authority for the purpose of booting activities to be at least as stringent as state laws. C.S.H.B. 2614 changes the circumstance under which a parking facility owner, without the consent of the owner or operator of an unauthorized vehicle, may cause a boot to be installed on the vehicle in the parking facility. Currently, a parking facility owner may cause a boot to be installed if signs prohibiting unauthorized vehicles that comply with applicable state law are located on the parking facility at the time of the booting and for the preceding 24 hours and remain installed at the time of the booting. The bill further conditions the owner's authority on the vehicle having been observed to be parked in violation of those signs for at least 30 minutes by the parking facility owner, a parking facility authorized agent, a peace officer, or the booting company. Accordingly, the bill updates the requirement in current law for the boot operator to affix a conspicuous notice to the vehicle's front windshield or driver's side window by requiring that such notice be so affixed at least 30 minutes before the boot is installed and by providing that the affixed notice, in addition to stating the other information required under current law, must state that the vehicle will be booted and damage may occur if the vehicle is moved after the boot has been installed and state the date and time the boot will be installed. C.S.H.B. 2614 authorizes a parking facility owner to cause a boot to be installed on an unauthorized vehicle only during the hours of operation of the property served by the parking facility. This authorization expressly does not apply to the following: a violation of statutory provisions that prohibit the owner or operator of a vehicle from leaving an unattended vehicle in certain areas; property serving a residential purpose as defined by reference to the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act regarding the regulation of land use for a residential purpose; a health care facility described in the definition of "facility" by the Texas Primary Health Care Services Act, which includes a hospital, ambulatory surgical center, public health clinic, birthing center, outpatient clinic, and community health center; or real property owned by the state or a political subdivision of the state that directly serves an administrative government purpose or is used to provide government services, including a county, municipality, special district, public school district, junior college district, or housing authority. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2025. COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 2614 differs from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways by conforming to certain bill drafting conventions.
BILL ANALYSIS
# BILL ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 2614
By: Zwiener
Licensing & Administrative Procedures
Committee Report (Substituted)
C.S.H.B. 2614
By: Zwiener
Licensing & Administrative Procedures
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Predatory booting is the practice of rapidly booting an unauthorized vehicle in a parking space within moments of parking, often assessing expensive fees onto the vehicle owner to remove the boot. While the state actively regulates the associated towing industry through the Towing and Storage Advisory Board under the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the 85th Legislature enacted S.B. 2065, which effectively removed booting from state regulation. The bill author has informed the committee that since that bill, the regulation of booting has been left to cities and, while several Texas cities have caps on boot fees, including Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin, to the bill author's knowledge, no cities regulate the hours of operation of or minimum time requirements for booting companies. C.S.H.B. 2614 seeks to address this issue by providing regulations for booting companies with certain exceptions for booting on properties serving health care facilities, residences, or government buildings.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2614 amends the Occupations Code to require the regulations adopted by a local authority for the purpose of booting activities to be at least as stringent as state laws. C.S.H.B. 2614 changes the circumstance under which a parking facility owner, without the consent of the owner or operator of an unauthorized vehicle, may cause a boot to be installed on the vehicle in the parking facility. Currently, a parking facility owner may cause a boot to be installed if signs prohibiting unauthorized vehicles that comply with applicable state law are located on the parking facility at the time of the booting and for the preceding 24 hours and remain installed at the time of the booting. The bill further conditions the owner's authority on the vehicle having been observed to be parked in violation of those signs for at least 30 minutes by the parking facility owner, a parking facility authorized agent, a peace officer, or the booting company. Accordingly, the bill updates the requirement in current law for the boot operator to affix a conspicuous notice to the vehicle's front windshield or driver's side window by requiring that such notice be so affixed at least 30 minutes before the boot is installed and by providing that the affixed notice, in addition to stating the other information required under current law, must state that the vehicle will be booted and damage may occur if the vehicle is moved after the boot has been installed and state the date and time the boot will be installed. C.S.H.B. 2614 authorizes a parking facility owner to cause a boot to be installed on an unauthorized vehicle only during the hours of operation of the property served by the parking facility. This authorization expressly does not apply to the following: a violation of statutory provisions that prohibit the owner or operator of a vehicle from leaving an unattended vehicle in certain areas; property serving a residential purpose as defined by reference to the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act regarding the regulation of land use for a residential purpose; a health care facility described in the definition of "facility" by the Texas Primary Health Care Services Act, which includes a hospital, ambulatory surgical center, public health clinic, birthing center, outpatient clinic, and community health center; or real property owned by the state or a political subdivision of the state that directly serves an administrative government purpose or is used to provide government services, including a county, municipality, special district, public school district, junior college district, or housing authority.
EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2025.
COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 2614 differs from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways by conforming to certain bill drafting conventions.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Predatory booting is the practice of rapidly booting an unauthorized vehicle in a parking space within moments of parking, often assessing expensive fees onto the vehicle owner to remove the boot. While the state actively regulates the associated towing industry through the Towing and Storage Advisory Board under the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the 85th Legislature enacted S.B. 2065, which effectively removed booting from state regulation. The bill author has informed the committee that since that bill, the regulation of booting has been left to cities and, while several Texas cities have caps on boot fees, including Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin, to the bill author's knowledge, no cities regulate the hours of operation of or minimum time requirements for booting companies. C.S.H.B. 2614 seeks to address this issue by providing regulations for booting companies with certain exceptions for booting on properties serving health care facilities, residences, or government buildings.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 2614 amends the Occupations Code to require the regulations adopted by a local authority for the purpose of booting activities to be at least as stringent as state laws.
C.S.H.B. 2614 changes the circumstance under which a parking facility owner, without the consent of the owner or operator of an unauthorized vehicle, may cause a boot to be installed on the vehicle in the parking facility. Currently, a parking facility owner may cause a boot to be installed if signs prohibiting unauthorized vehicles that comply with applicable state law are located on the parking facility at the time of the booting and for the preceding 24 hours and remain installed at the time of the booting. The bill further conditions the owner's authority on the vehicle having been observed to be parked in violation of those signs for at least 30 minutes by the parking facility owner, a parking facility authorized agent, a peace officer, or the booting company. Accordingly, the bill updates the requirement in current law for the boot operator to affix a conspicuous notice to the vehicle's front windshield or driver's side window by requiring that such notice be so affixed at least 30 minutes before the boot is installed and by providing that the affixed notice, in addition to stating the other information required under current law, must state that the vehicle will be booted and damage may occur if the vehicle is moved after the boot has been installed and state the date and time the boot will be installed.
C.S.H.B. 2614 authorizes a parking facility owner to cause a boot to be installed on an unauthorized vehicle only during the hours of operation of the property served by the parking facility. This authorization expressly does not apply to the following:
a violation of statutory provisions that prohibit the owner or operator of a vehicle from leaving an unattended vehicle in certain areas;
property serving a residential purpose as defined by reference to the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act regarding the regulation of land use for a residential purpose;
a health care facility described in the definition of "facility" by the Texas Primary Health Care Services Act, which includes a hospital, ambulatory surgical center, public health clinic, birthing center, outpatient clinic, and community health center; or
real property owned by the state or a political subdivision of the state that directly serves an administrative government purpose or is used to provide government services, including a county, municipality, special district, public school district, junior college district, or housing authority.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2025.
COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE
C.S.H.B. 2614 differs from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways by conforming to certain bill drafting conventions.