Bill Text: IA SSB1038 | 2025-2026 | 91st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to abandoned vehicles, and making penalties applicable.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-28 - Subcommittee recommends amendment and passage. [SSB1038 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2025-SSB1038-Introduced.html

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Senate Study Bill 1038 - Introduced
SENATE FILE _____
BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE
ON COMMERCE BILL BY
CHAIRPERSON BOUSSELOT)
A BILL FOR
An Act relating to abandoned vehicles, and making penalties
applicable.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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Section 1. Section 321.89, subsection 2, Code 2025, is
amended to read as follows:
2. Authority to take possession of abandoned vehicles. A
police authority, upon the authority’s own initiative or
upon the request of any other authority having the duties of
control of highways or traffic, shall take into custody an
abandoned vehicle on public property and may take into custody
an abandoned vehicle on private property. The police authority
may employ its own personnel, equipment, and facilities or
hire a private entity, equipment, and facilities for the
purpose of removing, preserving, storing, or disposing of
abandoned vehicles. A property owner or other person in
control of private property may employ a private entity who
is a garagekeeper, as defined in section 321.90 , to dispose
of an abandoned vehicle, and the private entity may take into
custody the abandoned vehicle without a police authority’s
initiative. If a police authority employs a private entity
to dispose of abandoned vehicles, the police authority shall
provide the private entity with the names and addresses of the
registered owners, all lienholders of record, and any other
known claimant to the vehicle or the personal property found in
the vehicle. The owners, lienholders, or other claimants of
the abandoned vehicle shall not have a cause of action against
a private entity for action taken under this section if the
private entity provides notice , allows inspection, and provides
information about the vehicle as required by subsection 3 ,
paragraphs “a” through “f” .
Sec. 2. Section 321.89, subsection 3, paragraphs a, e, and
f, Code 2025, are amended to read as follows:
a. A police authority or private entity that takes into
custody an abandoned vehicle shall send notice by certified
mail that the vehicle has been taken into custody no more than
twenty five days after taking custody of the vehicle. Notice
shall be sent to the last known address of record of the last
known registered owner of the vehicle, all lienholders of
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S.F. _____
record, and any other known claimant to the vehicle.
e. If the persons receiving notice do not ask for a hearing
or exercise their right to reclaim the vehicle or personal
property within the ten-day twenty-day reclaiming period, the
owner, lienholders, or claimants shall no longer have any
right, title, claim, or interest in or to the vehicle or the
personal property. If proper notice and an opportunity to
inspect the vehicle is not provided to the owners, lienholders,
and known claimants, there shall be no forfeiture of the
person’s right, title, claim, or interest in or to the vehicle
and personal property, as applicable.
f. A court in any case in law or equity shall not recognize
any right, title, claim, or interest of the owner, lienholders,
or claimants after the expiration of the ten-day twenty-day
reclaiming period if proper notice is provided to the owners,
lienholders, and known claimants as required in this subsection
and such persons were provided timely opportunity to inspect
the vehicle and retrieve personal property, as applicable .
Sec. 3. Section 321.89, subsection 3, paragraph b,
subparagraph (3), Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
(3) Information for the persons receiving the notice of
their right to inspect and reclaim the vehicle and personal
property contained therein within ten twenty days after the
effective date of the notice. Persons may reclaim the vehicle
or personal property upon payment of all reasonable towing,
preservation, and storage charges resulting from placing the
vehicle in custody and upon payment of the costs of notice
required pursuant to this subsection . Persons may reclaim any
personal property from a vehicle during the normal business
hours of the entity with custody of the vehicle at no cost and
without reclaiming the vehicle.
Sec. 4. Section 321.89, subsection 3, paragraph b, Code
2025, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph:
NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (6) An itemized account of all fees to be
assessed when the vehicle is reclaimed.
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Sec. 5. Section 321.89, subsection 3, Code 2025, is amended
by adding the following new paragraph:
NEW PARAGRAPH . 0c. A person who receives notice under
this subsection may request to inspect the vehicle or personal
property contained therein, or receive specific information
as to the condition of the vehicle or personal property, and
if requested, the entity with custody of the vehicle shall
provide the requested information or an opportunity to inspect
the vehicle, as applicable, prior to the expiration of the
twenty-day reclamation period. If the entity with custody of
the vehicle fails to timely provide the requested information
or an opportunity to inspect the vehicle and personal property
therein, the entity shall not sell or dispose of the vehicle or
personal property until the requested information is provided
or the inspection occurs, at which point the period to reclaim
the vehicle is extended for five additional days after the
information is provided or the inspection takes place.
Sec. 6. Section 321.89, subsection 4, Code 2025, is amended
to read as follows:
4. Reclamation of abandoned vehicles and personal
property . An entity with custody of an abandoned vehicle shall
provide an itemized account of all fees assessed when the
vehicle is reclaimed. Prior to driving an abandoned vehicle
away from the premises, a person who received , or who is
reclaiming the vehicle on behalf of a person who received ,
notice under subsection 3 shall present to the police authority
or private entity, as applicable, the person’s valid driver’s
license and proof of financial liability coverage as provided
in section 321.20B . During the normal business hours of the
entity with custody of the vehicle, a person may retrieve the
person’s personal property left in the vehicle at no cost and
without reclaiming the vehicle.
Sec. 7. Section 321.89, subsection 5, Code 2025, is amended
by adding the following new paragraph:
NEW PARAGRAPH . 0b. If an abandoned vehicle is sold and the
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entity that took the vehicle into custody failed to provide
the required notice and opportunity to inspect and reclaim the
vehicle and personal property, as applicable, the entity who
sold the vehicle shall pay a lienholder, if applicable, the
amount remaining on the vehicle loan.
Sec. 8. Section 321.90, subsection 2, paragraph f, Code
2025, is amended to read as follows:
f. The owner of an abandoned motor vehicle and all
lienholders shall no longer have any right, title, claim, or
interest in or to the motor vehicle; and no court in any case
in law or equity shall recognize any right, title, claim, or
interest of any owner or lienholders after the disposal of the
motor vehicle to a demolisher , so long as proper notice and an
opportunity to inspect the vehicle and personal property in
accordance with section 321.89, subsection 3, was provided .
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
Code sections 321.89 and 321.90 regulate the taking into
custody and the disposal of abandoned vehicles, as defined
in Code section 321.89. This bill amends certain provisions
regarding required notices and information relating to an
abandoned vehicle, the timeline to inspect or reclaim a
vehicle, the reclamation of personal property from within an
abandoned vehicle, and the disposal of an abandoned vehicle,
and requires an opportunity for a person to inspect an
abandoned vehicle.
The bill reduces the period of time within which an entity
that takes custody of an abandoned vehicle is required to send
notice that the vehicle has been taken into custody from no
more than 20 days to no more than 5 days after taking custody
of the vehicle. The bill increases the reclaiming period for
a person who receives notice from 10 days to 20 days after
notice is received. The bill requires an entity with control
of an abandoned vehicle to provide an itemized account of all
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fees assessed when a vehicle is reclaimed, to allow access for
persons to inspect the vehicle and share information about the
vehicle, if requested, and to provide notice of such. The
reclaiming period is extended by 5 days if an entity fails to
provide requested information or allow an inspection of the
vehicle.
Under current law, persons who receive notice regarding an
abandoned vehicle lose their right to the vehicle and personal
property within the vehicle after the expiration of the
reclaiming period. The bill provides that if proper, timely
notice is not provided, any known claimant does not forfeit the
right to reclaim the vehicle or personal property.
Current law requires a person to pay all towing preservation
and storage charges resulting from placing an abandoned
vehicle in custody prior to reclaiming the vehicle or personal
property. The bill requires all such charges to be reasonable,
and authorizes a person to reclaim personal property from a
vehicle during the normal business hours of the entity with
custody of the vehicle at no cost and without reclaiming the
vehicle.
The bill requires an entity that sells an abandoned vehicle
to pay a lienholder, if applicable, the amount remaining on
the vehicle loan if the vehicle is sold and the entity that
took it into custody failed to provide required notices and an
opportunity to inspect and reclaim the vehicle and personal
property, as applicable.
By operation of law, it is a simple misdemeanor for a person
to do an act forbidden or to fail to perform an act required
by Code chapter 321, including the provisions of the bill. A
simple misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more
than 30 days and a fine of at least $105 but not more than $855.
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