House Bill 1216

AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT A MOTOR VEHICLE THAT IS LOCATED UPON PRIVATE PROPERTY MAY NOT BE TOWED EXCEPT WHEN AUTHORIZED BY THE OWNER OR LEINHOLDER OF THE MOTOR VEHICLE OR THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY UPON WHICH THE MOTOR VEHICLE IS LOCATED; TO PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS OF SCRAP METAL PROCESSORS WHEN PURCHASING A VEHICLE OR SCRAP VEHICLE; TO AMEND SECTION 63-21-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE AN AFFIDAVIT BE FILED WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE WHEN CANCELLING A CERTIFICATE OF TITLE FOR SCRAP MOTOR VEHICLES WHEN THE CERTIFICATE OF TITLE IS NOT AVAILABLE; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 85-7-251, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH REGARDS TOWING AND STORAGE OF MOTOR VEHICLES, FOR THE PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. A motor vehicle that is located upon private property may not be towed except when authorized by the owner of the motor vehicle, the lienholder of the motor vehicle or the owner of the property upon which the motor vehicle is located.

SECTION 2. Should a scrap metal processor be presented the certificate of title or vehicle license plate for any vehicle or scrap vehicle purchased, that scrap metal processor shall mail or deliver the same to the Department of Revenue as required by law. In lieu of a certificate of title, an affidavit in accordance with the provisions of Section 63-21-39(1) shall be obtained by a scrap metal processor. All other requirements of Section 63-21-39(1) shall be complied with and any other rules promulgated according to that section.

SECTION 3. Section 63-21-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

63-21-39. (1) (a) An owner who scraps, dismantles or destroys a vehicle and a person who purchases a vehicle as scrap or to be dismantled or destroyed shall indicate same on the back of the certificate of title and shall immediately cause the certificate of title and any other documents required by the Department of Revenue to be mailed or delivered to the Department of Revenue for cancellation. A certificate of title of the vehicle shall not again be issued except upon application containing the information the Department of Revenue requires, accompanied by a certificate of inspection in the form and content specified in Section 63-21-15(5) and proof of payment of a fee as provided in subsection (2) of this section.

          (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, if the owner or authorized agent of the owner has not obtained a title in his or her name for the vehicle to be transferred, or has lost the title for the vehicle to be transferred, he or she may sign a statement swearing that, in addition to the foregoing conditions, the vehicle is worth Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00) or less and is at least twelve (12) model years old. The statement described in this paragraph may be used only to transfer such a vehicle to a licensed used motor vehicle parts dealer or scrap metal processor. The department shall promulgate a form for the statement which shall include, but not be limited to:
              (i) A description of the vehicle including the year, make, model, vehicle identification number, and color;
              (ii) The name, address, and driver's license number of the owner;
              (iii) A certification that the owner:
                   1. Never obtained a title to the vehicle in his or her name; or
                   2. Was issued a title for the vehicle, but the title was lost or stolen;
              (iv) A certification that the vehicle:
                   1. Is worth Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00) or less;
                   2. Is at least twelve (12) model years old; and
                   3. Is not subject to any secured interest or lien.
              (v) An acknowledgment that the owner realizes this form will be filed with the Department of Revenue and that it is a felony, punishable by imprisonment for not fewer than one (1) nor more than three (3) years or a fine of not less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) nor more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or both, to knowingly falsify any information on this statement;
              (vi) The owner's signature and the date of the transaction;
              (vii) The name and address of the business acquiring the vehicle;
              (viii) A certification by the business that Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00) or less was paid to acquire the vehicle; and
              (ix) The business agent's signature and date along with a printed name and title if the agent is signing on behalf of a corporation.

(c) The used motor vehicle parts dealer or scrap metal processor shall mail or otherwise deliver the statement required under paragraph (b) of this subsection (1) to the Department of Revenue within seventy-two (72) hours of the completion of the transaction, requesting that the department cancel the Mississippi certificate of title and registration.

(2) For the purpose of requesting a clear title or a branded title on a vehicle with a salvage certificate of title, every owner of a vehicle that has been issued a salvage certificate of title in this state or any other state which has been restored in this state to its operating condition which existed prior to the event which caused the salvage certificate of title to be issued shall make application to the Department of Revenue, accompanied by a certificate of inspection issued by the Department of Public Safety in the form and content specified in Section 63-21-15(5) and the payment of a fee of Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00) for each motor vehicle for which a certificate of inspection is issued. All such monies shall be collected by the Department of Public Safety and paid to the State Treasurer for deposit in a special fund that is hereby created in the State Treasury to be known as the "Salvage Certificate of Title Fund." Monies in the special fund may be expended by the Department of Public Safety, upon appropriation by the Legislature. The Department of Revenue shall establish by regulation the minimum requirements by which a vehicle which has been issued a salvage certificate of title may be issued a clear title.

(3) Before a clear title or a branded title may be issued for a vehicle for which a salvage certificate of title has been issued, the applicant shall submit, by hand delivery or mail, such documents and information to the Department of Public Safety as the department may require for the purpose of determining if the vehicle complies with the requirements of this section and all applicable regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of Public Safety and the Department of Revenue. The Department of Public Safety also may require that an applicant bring a vehicle for which application for a clear title or a branded title is being made to a Highway Patrol facility for a visual inspection whenever the department deems that a visual inspection is necessary or advisable. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit inspectors of the Mississippi Highway Patrol from conducting on-site inspections and investigations of motor vehicle rebuilders or motor vehicle repair businesses to determine if such businesses are in compliance with all applicable laws relating to the motor vehicle title laws of this state and regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of Public Safety and the Department of Revenue.

SECTION 4. Section 85-7-251, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward 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. 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 notify by certified mail any legal owner and holder of any lien, as disclosed by the motor vehicle title records or other investigation, of notice of sale of the property. If such property has not been redeemed within ten (10) days after the mailing of the certified letter, the towing company may commence sale of the property at public auction. The towing company shall publish for two (2) consecutive weeks 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 in excess of the amount needed to pay the towing, reasonable storage and necessary expenses of the procedures required by this section shall be held by the towing company for a period of six (6) months, and, if not reclaimed by the owner thereof within such time, shall become the property of the county and be paid to the chancery clerk of the county in which the sale was held to be deposited into the county general fund, subject, however, to any rights of the recorded lienholder.

(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 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2011.