MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2020 Regular Session
To: Transportation
By: Representative Chism (By Request)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 85-7-251, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE PROCEDURES FOR A TOWING COMPANY AFTER RECEIVING A MOTOR VEHICLE THAT HAS NOT BEEN CLAIMED BY AN OWNER OR LIENHOLDER; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 85-7-251, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
85-7-251. (1) The owner of a motor vehicle that has been towed at his request or at the direction of a law enforcement officer, or towed upon request of a real property owner upon whose property a vehicle has been left without permission of the real property owner for more than five (5) days, shall be liable for the reasonable price of towing and storage of such vehicle; and the towing company to whom the price of such labor and storage costs may be due shall have the right to retain possession of such motor vehicle until the price is paid.
(2) Within twenty-four (24)
hours, the towing company shall report to the local law enforcement agency
having jurisdiction any vehicle that has been towed unless the vehicle was
towed at the request of the owner of the vehicle. If the owner of a towed
vehicle has not contacted the towing company within five (5) business days of
the initial tow, the towing company shall obtain from the appropriate authority
the names and addresses of any owner and lienholder. If the information from
the appropriate authority fails to disclose the owner or lienholder, a good
faith effort shall be made by the towing company to locate ownership, including
a check for tag information, inspection sticker, or any papers in the vehicle
that may indicate ownership. Upon location of the owner and lienholder, the
towing company shall notify them by registered mail of the amount due for towing,
postmarked no later than the tenth day following the initial tow and that
if such amount shall not be paid within thirty (30) days from the initial tow,
the towing company to whom such charges are payable shall * * * publish for sale of the property. If such
property has not been redeemed within * * *
thirty (30) days following the initial tow, the towing company shall
receive the surrendered title from the owner or lienholder, if a lienholder
exists, or may commence sale of the property at public auction. The towing
company shall publish for * * *two (2) consecutive weeks one (1) week a notice of sale
in the newspaper having circulation in the county where the vehicle was
initially towed. The proceeds of the sale of such property * * * shall all
accrue to the towing company.
(3) The failure to make a good faith effort to comply with the requirements of this section shall preclude the imposition of any storage charges or towing charges against the towed vehicle.
(4) Every towing company shall maintain accurate records for a period of three (3) years, which records shall identify the vehicles it has towed and stored and all procedures that it has taken to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2020.