| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to notice and request for a hearing regarding a vehicle |
|
|
that has been towed or booted. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 2308.455, Occupations Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 2308.455. CONTENTS OF NOTICE. The notice under |
|
|
Section 2308.454 must include: |
|
|
(1) a statement of: |
|
|
(A) the person's right to submit a request within |
|
|
180 [14] days for a court hearing to determine whether probable |
|
|
cause existed to remove, or install a boot on, the vehicle; |
|
|
(B) the information that a request for a hearing |
|
|
must contain; |
|
|
(C) any filing fee for the hearing; and |
|
|
(D) the person's right to request a hearing in |
|
|
any justice court in: |
|
|
(i) the county from which the vehicle was |
|
|
towed; or |
|
|
(ii) for booted vehicles, the county in |
|
|
which the parking facility is located; |
|
|
(2) the name, address, and telephone number of the |
|
|
towing company that removed the vehicle or the booting company that |
|
|
booted the vehicle; |
|
|
(3) the name, address, telephone number, and county of |
|
|
the vehicle storage facility in which the vehicle was placed; |
|
|
(4) the name, street address including city, state, |
|
|
and zip code, and telephone number of the person, parking facility |
|
|
owner, or law enforcement agency that authorized the removal of the |
|
|
vehicle; and |
|
|
(5) the name, address, and telephone number of each |
|
|
justice court in the county from which the vehicle was towed or, for |
|
|
booted vehicles, the county in which the parking facility is |
|
|
located, or the address of an Internet website maintained by the |
|
|
Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System that |
|
|
contains the name, address, and telephone number of each justice |
|
|
court in that county. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Sections 2308.456(a), (c), and (c-1), |
|
|
Occupations Code, are amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) Except as provided by Subsections (c) and (c-1), a |
|
|
person entitled to a hearing under this chapter must deliver a |
|
|
written request for the hearing to the court before the 180th [14th] |
|
|
day after the date the vehicle was removed and placed in the vehicle |
|
|
storage facility or booted, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal |
|
|
holidays. |
|
|
(c) If notice was not given under Section 2308.454, the |
|
|
180-day [14-day] deadline for requesting a hearing under Subsection |
|
|
(a) does not apply, and the owner or operator of the vehicle may |
|
|
deliver a written request for a hearing at any time. |
|
|
(c-1) The 180-day [14-day] period for requesting a hearing |
|
|
under Subsection (a) does not begin until the date on which the |
|
|
towing company or vehicle storage facility provides to the vehicle |
|
|
owner or operator the information necessary for the vehicle owner |
|
|
or operator to complete the material for the request for hearing |
|
|
required under Subsections (b)(2) through (6). |
|
|
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections |
|
|
2308.455 and 2308.456, Occupations Code, apply only to a hearing or |
|
|
a notice in connection with a vehicle that is towed or booted on or |
|
|
after the effective date of this Act. A hearing or a notice in |
|
|
connection with a vehicle that is towed or booted before the |
|
|
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the |
|
|
vehicle was towed or booted, and the former law is continued in |
|
|
effect for that purpose. |
|
|
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |