REPORT TITLE:
Motor Vehicle Towing


DESCRIPTION:
Requires towing businesses to place their name and telephone
number on the door of their towing vehicles and maintain
insurance coverage sufficient to protect owners of towed
vehicles. (HB1401 HD2)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        1401
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE TOWING. 


BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 290-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "§290-11  Vehicles left unattended on private and public
 
 4 property; sale or disposition of abandoned vehicles.(a)
 
 5 Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any vehicle
 
 6 left unattended on private or public property without
 
 7 authorization of the owner or occupant of the property, may be
 
 8 towed away at the expense of the owner of the vehicle, by order
 
 9 of the owner, occupant, or person in charge of the property;
 
10 provided that there is posted a notice prohibiting vehicles to
 
11 park on the property without authorization.  The notice shall
 
12 state where the vehicle will be towed and held.  The notice shall
 
13 be of such size and be placed in a location reasonably calculated
 
14 to call the sign to the attention of potential parkers.
 
15      (b)  Towing companies engaged by the owner, occupant, or
 
16 person in charge of the property shall [charge]:
 
17      (1)  Have permanently affixed on each door of the towing
 
18           vehicle a sign with the name and telephone number of
 
19           the towing business.  The letters and numbers used in
 
20           the sign shall be no less than two inches in height;
 

 
Page 2                                                     1401
                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      (2)  Maintain insurance coverage sufficient to protect
 
 2           owners of towed vehicles in the event of vehicle loss
 
 3           or damage due to towing;
 
 4      (3)  Charge not more than $50 for a tow, or $60 for a tow
 
 5           using a dolly, plus a mileage charge of $5 per mile
 
 6           towed and $15 per day or fraction thereof for storage
 
 7           for the first seven days and $10 per day thereafter.
 
 8           When the tow occurs between the hours of six o'clock
 
 9           p.m. and six o'clock a.m., the towing company shall be
 
10           entitled to an overtime charge of $15.  If the vehicle
 
11           is in the process of being hooked up to the tow truck
 
12           and the owner appears on the scene before the vehicle
 
13           has been moved by the tow truck, the towing company
 
14           shall be entitled to an "unhooking" fee of not more
 
15           than $50.  In the case of a difficult hookup, meaning
 
16           an above or below ground hookup in a multilevel
 
17           facility, a towing surcharge of $25 shall be
 
18           applicable[. The towing company shall determine];
 
19      (4)  Determine the name of the legal owner and the
 
20           registered owner of the vehicle from the department of
 
21           transportation or the county department of finance.
 
22           The legal owner and the registered owner shall be
 
23           notified in writing at the address on record with the
 

 
Page 3                                                     1401
                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1           department of transportation or with the county
 
 2           department of finance by registered or certified mail
 
 3           of the location of the vehicle, together with a
 
 4           description of the vehicle, within a reasonable period
 
 5           not to exceed twenty days following the tow.  The
 
 6           notice shall state:
 
 7     [(1)] (A)  The maximum towing charges and fees allowed by
 
 8                law;
 
 9     [(2)] (B)  The telephone number of the consumer information
 
10                service of the department of commerce and consumer
 
11                affairs; and
 
12     [(3)] (C)  That if the vehicle is not recovered within thirty
 
13                days after the mailing of the notice, the vehicle
 
14                shall be deemed abandoned and will be sold or
 
15                disposed of as junk.
 
16           Where the owners have not been so notified, then the
 
17           owner may recover the owner's car from the towing
 
18           company without paying tow or storage fees; provided
 
19           that the notice need not be sent to a legal or
 
20           registered owner or any person with an unrecorded
 
21           interest in the vehicle whose name or address cannot be
 
22           determined.  Absent evidence to the contrary, a notice
 
23           shall be deemed received by the legal or registered
 

 
Page 4                                                     1401
                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1           owner five days after the mailing.  A person who has
 
 2           been charged in excess of the charges permitted under
 
 3           this section may sue for damages sustained and, if the
 
 4           judgment is for the plaintiff, the court shall award
 
 5           the plaintiff a sum not to exceed the amount of the
 
 6           damages and reasonable attorney's fees together with
 
 7           the cost of suit[.];
 
 8     [(c)] (5)  When a vehicle is recovered by the owner before
 
 9           written notice is sent by registered or certified mail,
 
10           the towing company, [shall] provide the owner with a
 
11           receipt stating:
 
12     [(1)] (A)  The maximum towing charges and fees allowed by
 
13                law; and
 
14     [(2)] (B)  The telephone number of the consumer information
 
15                service of the department of commerce and consumer
 
16                affairs[.]; and
 
17     (6)   Accommodate payment by the owner for charges under
 
18           paragraph (3) by cash and by either credit card or
 
19           automated teller machine located on the premises.
 
20     [(d)] (c)  When a vehicle is not recovered within thirty days
 
21 after the mailing of the notice, it shall be deemed abandoned and
 
22 the owner of the towing company, or the owner of the towing
 
23 company's authorized representative, after one public
 

 
Page 5                                                     1401
                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the State,
 
 2 may negotiate a sale of the vehicle or dispose of it as junk.
 
 3     [(e)] (d)  The authorized seller of the vehicle shall be
 
 4 entitled to the proceeds of the sale to the extent that
 
 5 compensation is due the authorized seller for services rendered
 
 6 in respect to the vehicle, including reasonable and customary
 
 7 charges for towing, handling, storage, and the cost of the
 
 8 notices and advertising required by this part.  Any remaining
 
 9 balance shall be forwarded to the legal or registered owner of
 
10 the vehicle if the legal or registered owner can be found.  If
 
11 the legal or registered owner cannot be found, the balance shall
 
12 be deposited with the director of finance of the State and shall
 
13 be paid out to the legal or registered owner of the vehicle if a
 
14 proper claim is filed therefor within one year from the execution
 
15 of the sales agreement.  If no claim is made within the year
 
16 allowed, the money shall become a state realization.
 
17     [(f)] (e)  The transfer of title and interest by sale under
 
18 this part is a transfer by operation of law; provided that if the
 
19 certificate of ownership or registration is unavailable, a bill
 
20 of sale executed by an authorized seller is satisfactory evidence
 
21 authorizing the transfer of the title or interest.
 

 
 
 
 
 
Page 6                                                     1401
                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1     [(g)] (f)  Each county by ordinance may enact additional
 
 2 restrictions to this section or may enact criminal sanctions in
 
 3 this area as required.
 
 4     [(h)  For the purposes of this section, tow operators shall
 
 5 accommodate payment by the owner for charges under subsection (b)
 
 6 by cash and by either credit card or automated teller machine
 
 7 located on the premises.]"
 
 8     SECTION 2.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 9 New statutory material is underscored.  
 
10     SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval;
 
11 provided that paragraph 6 of section 1 of this Act shall be
 
12 repealed on July 1, 2000, as provided by section 3 of Act 138,
 
13 Session Laws of Hawaii 1998.