The Connecticut House of Representatives on Thursday night overwhelmingly approved a bill to overhaul the state's towing law, making it harder to tow vehicles from private property and easier for drivers to retrieve their vehicles after a tow.
After weeks of negotiations and just a few minutes of debate on the House floor, lawmakers said they came to a compromise with the towing industry. Two bills have been merged to include massive reforms to towing procedures from private property and rate increases for highway tows that typically follow car accidents.
"This bill is a result of months of collaboration and has the blessings of consumer protection advocates, towers themselves, municipal leaders, police chiefs, property owners," said Transportation Committee co-chair Rep. Aimee Berger-Girvalo, D-Ridgefield, as she introduced the bill Thursday night.
The bill had support from both sides of the political aisle and was approved 126 to 21.
"We all, many months ago, heard a lot about towing," said Transportation Committee ranking member Rep. Kathy Kennedy, R-Milford. "Towing was all in the news, and all different things were happening. We are so far from that. Finally, I think we've put forward a good, solid bill."
House Bill 7162 overhauls the state's 100-year-old towing statutes and comes in response to an investigation by the Connecticut Mirror and ProPublica that showed how state towing laws have come to favor tow companies at the expense of drivers.
The news organizations found that Connecticut's state law allowing the sale process to begin in 15 days is one of the shortest windows in the nation and has particularly impacted people with low incomes. Reporters also spoke with people who said the tower required them to pay in cash or wouldn't allow them to get personal belongings out of their vehicle. Many couldn't afford to get their towed vehicles back and lost transportation or jobs because of it.
The bill that passed the House Thursday night takes several steps to make it easier for people to get their towed vehicles back and requires towing companies to take more time and increase documentation during the sale process.
It requires tow companies to accept credit cards and doesn't allow them to tow vehicles quickly just because of an expired parking permit or registration. Vehicles can't be towed from private property without notice unless they're blocking traffic, fire hydrants or parked in an accessible space.
Under the bill, towing companies can still start the sales process for vehicles worth $1,500 or less after 15 days, but would now have to provide the owner with a chance to claim the vehicle. The DMV would be required to check whether the driver issued any complaints about the tow before approving the sale, and the tower would have to send the notice ahead of the sale to the registered owner and lienholders via certified mail, with receipts of delivery.
The actual sale couldn't go through until 30 days after the tow.
"The hope is that they're exhausting all efforts to have the vehicle returned to the rightful owner before a sale is able to proceed," said Transportation Committee co-chair Sen. Christine Cohen, D-Guilford, in an interview before the vote.
The bill would also establish a working group to study the best way to handle proceeds from the sales of towed vehicles. State law currently requires that towing companies hold profits in escrow for a year in case the vehicle owner claims them, then remit that money to the state, but CT Mirror and ProPublica found the DMV never set up a system for that process to occur.
The DMV would also have to work with the state's attorney general to develop a consumer bill of rights on towing.
If companies are towing vehicles, they also have to be available to allow people to get their vehicles or personal property. In a story published earlier this month, CT Mirror and ProPublica reported that tow truck companies often hold onto people's belongings to pressure them into paying their towing fees.
Under the new law, drivers would be allowed to retrieve their belongings from the vehicle, even if they don't pay the towing fees.
Timothy Vibert, president of the Towing & Recovery Professionals of Connecticut, could not be reached for comment Thursday night.
Cohen said in an interview that tow companies "are in recognition of the fact that something has to be done to protect against the bad actors in their industry."
The bill next heads to the Senate for a vote, which Cohen said will likely be early next week.
DMV Commissioner Tony Guerrera issued a statement Friday morning.
"The DMV applauds the Legislature's thoughtful, bipartisan approach to updating regulation of Connecticut's towing industry, which the agency supports," Guerrera said. "The bill strikes a balance between adding important protections for consumers and recognizing the work of towers, and strengthens the framework for fair and equitable administration of towing laws -- including mechanisms for review of allowable rate charges and services. The DMV looks forward to contributing to this work with stakeholders moving forward."