California passes vehicle towing and storage fees bill
The California General Assembly has passed a vehicle towing and storage fees bill to the governor for signing.
Assembly Bill 987 was presented to the governor Sept. 15 after passing the Senate. It was introduced Feb. 20 by Assembly Member LaShae Sharp-Collins (D-79).
The bill amends a section of the state’s vehicle code to define “unreasonable” storage rates and fees. It originally stated that unreasonable storage fees include those assessed on days the storage facility is not open, including holidays.
An amended version now says unreasonable storage rates include “any storage fees charged for state holidays that exceed the posted daily storage fee.”
Removed from the bill is a section that said “storage fees assessed on days the storage facility is not open” are unreasonable.
The bill also removed a section that made storage fees unacceptable for a vehicle towed during a natural disaster and fees incurred for a stolen vehicle recovered by the owner within a week of being stored.
The bill has been reworked to state that fees 50% above the daily storage rate are unacceptable when a vehicle is recovered in the first 12 hours by the owner.
Changes to the bill were made after Jack Molondanof, the California Autobody Association (CAA)’s lobbyist, reached out to bill writers soon after it was introduced and expressed concerns the association had about it.
Molodanof previously said he explained to Sharp-Collins’s legislative staff that the original bill conflated two distinct business models.
“Towing and storage businesses, regulated by the Department of Motor Vehicles, own and operate tow trucks with the primary focus on towing and storing vehicles and are required to have a motor carrier permit,” Molodanof said. “In contrast, automotive repair facilities are regulated by the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) and do not operate tow trucks. These repair facilities primarily focus on vehicle repairs, with storage as an ancillary service. The [original] bill fails to recognize these differences and inappropriately applies storage requirements across these two separate industries.”
Molondanof said the bill also failed to distinguish between non-consensual tows and consensual tows.
“The assembly members’ staff were very receptive to our issues and indicated that their intent was to address towing problems, not to target the auto repair industry,” Molondanof said. “They committed to working with us on amendments to address these concerns, which they have done. We are very appreciative and thankful for their cooperation in this regard.”
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