89R4729 AND-D
By: Thompson H.B. No. 3928
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to providing notice of a vehicle towed to a vehicle storage
facility by publication on a third-party Internet website.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2303.152, Occupations Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (a) and (e) and adding Subsection (f) to
read as follows:
(a) Notice to the registered owner and the primary
lienholder of a vehicle towed to a vehicle storage facility may be
provided by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in
the county in which the vehicle is stored or on a publicly available
Internet website maintained by a department-approved third party
if:
(1) the vehicle is registered in another state;
(2) the operator of the storage facility submits to
the governmental entity responsible for maintaining the motor
vehicle title and registration database for the state in which the
vehicle is registered a request for information relating to the
identity of the registered owner and any lienholder of record that
is either:
(A) written; or
(B) electronic, through the governmental
entity's secure access portal;
(3) the identity of the registered owner cannot be
determined;
(4) the registration does not contain an address for
the registered owner; or
(5) the operator of the storage facility cannot
reasonably determine the identity and address of each lienholder.
(e) Notice to the registered owner and the primary
lienholder of a vehicle towed to a vehicle storage facility may be
provided by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in
the county in which the vehicle is stored or on a publicly available
Internet website maintained by a department-approved third party
if:
(1) the vehicle does not display a license plate or a
vehicle inspection certificate indicating the state of
registration;
(2) the identity of the registered owner cannot
reasonably be determined by the operator of the storage facility;
or
(3) the operator of the storage facility cannot
reasonably determine the identity and address of each lienholder.
(f) The department shall include on the department's
Internet website a link to any Internet website maintained by a
department-approved third party where notice may be provided under
Subsection (a) or (e).
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.