REPORT TITLE:
Abandoned vehicles


DESCRIPTION:
Allows private property owner to obtain the name, address and
telephone number of the owner of an abandoned vehicle if the
abandoned car is left on private property and permits the removal
of that vehicle without liability to that private land owner.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.1356       
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO ABANDONED VEHICLES.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 290-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "§290-11  Vehicles left unattended on private and public
 
 4 property; sale or disposition of abandoned vehicles.(a)
 
 5 Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any vehicle
 
 6 left unattended on private or public property without
 
 7 authorization of the owner or occupant of the property, may be
 
 8 towed away at the expense of the owner of the vehicle, by order
 
 9 of the owner, occupant, or person in charge of the property;
 
10 provided that there is posted a notice prohibiting vehicles to
 
11 park on the property without authorization.  The notice shall
 
12 state where the vehicle will be towed and held.  The notice shall
 
13 be of such size and be placed in a location reasonably calculated
 
14 to call the sign to the attention of potential parkers.
 
15      (b)  Towing companies engaged by the owner, occupant, or
 
16 person in charge of the property shall charge not more than $50
 
17 for a tow, or $60 for a tow using a dolly, plus a mileage charge
 
18 of $5 per mile towed and $15 per day or fraction thereof for
 
19 storage for the first seven days and $10 per day thereafter.
 

 
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 1 When the tow occurs between the hours of six o'clock p.m. and six
 
 2 o'clock a.m., the towing company shall be entitled to an overtime
 
 3 charge of $15.  If the vehicle is in the process of being hooked
 
 4 up to the tow truck and the owner appears on the scene before the
 
 5 vehicle has been moved by the tow truck, the towing company shall
 
 6 be entitled to an "unhooking" fee of not more than $50.  In the
 
 7 case of a difficult hookup, meaning an above or below ground
 
 8 hookup in a multilevel facility, a towing surcharge of $25 shall
 
 9 be applicable.
 
10      The towing company shall determine the name of the legal
 
11 owner and the registered owner of the vehicle from the department
 
12 of transportation or the county department of finance.  The legal
 
13 owner and the registered owner shall be notified in writing at
 
14 the address on record with the department of transportation or
 
15 with the county department of finance by registered or certified
 
16 mail of the location of the vehicle, together with a description
 
17 of the vehicle, within a reasonable period not to exceed twenty
 
18 days following the tow.  The notice shall state:
 
19      (1)  The maximum towing charges and fees allowed by law;
 
20      (2)  The telephone number of the consumer information
 
21           service of the department of commerce and consumer
 
22           affairs; and
 
23      (3)  That if the vehicle is not recovered within thirty days
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.1356       
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1           after the mailing of the notice, the vehicle shall be
 
 2           deemed abandoned and will be sold or disposed of as
 
 3           junk.
 
 4 Where the owners have not been so notified, then the owner may
 
 5 recover the owner's car from the towing company without paying
 
 6 tow or storage fees; provided that the notice need not be sent to
 
 7 a legal or registered owner or any person with an unrecorded
 
 8 interest in the vehicle whose name or address cannot be
 
 9 determined.  Absent evidence to the contrary, a notice shall be
 
10 deemed received by the legal or registered owner five days after
 
11 the mailing.  A person who has been charged in excess of the
 
12 charges permitted under this section may sue for damages
 
13 sustained and, if the judgment is for the plaintiff, the court
 
14 shall award the plaintiff a sum not to exceed the amount of the
 
15 damages and reasonable attorney's fees together with the cost of
 
16 suit.
 
17      (c)  When a vehicle is recovered by the owner before written
 
18 notice is sent by registered or certified mail, the towing
 
19 company shall provide the owner with a receipt stating:
 
20      (1)  The maximum towing charges and fees allowed by law; and
 
21      (2)  The telephone number of the consumer information
 
22           service of the department of commerce and consumer
 
23           affairs.
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.1356       
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      (d)  When a vehicle is not recovered within thirty days
 
 2 after the mailing of the notice, it shall be deemed abandoned and
 
 3 the owner of the towing company, or the owner of the towing
 
 4 company's authorized representative, after one public
 
 5 advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the State,
 
 6 may negotiate a sale of the vehicle or dispose of it as junk.
 
 7      (e)  The authorized seller of the vehicle shall be entitled
 
 8 to the proceeds of the sale to the extent that compensation is
 
 9 due the authorized seller for services rendered in respect to the
 
10 vehicle, including reasonable and customary charges for towing,
 
11 handling, storage, and the cost of the notices and advertising
 
12 required by this part.  Any remaining balance shall be forwarded
 
13 to the legal or registered owner of the vehicle if the legal or
 
14 registered owner can be found.  If the legal or registered owner
 
15 cannot be found, the balance shall be deposited with the director
 
16 of finance of the State and shall be paid out to the legal or
 
17 registered owner of the vehicle if a proper claim is filed
 
18 therefor within one year from the execution of the sales
 
19 agreement.  If no claim is made within the year allowed, the
 
20 money shall become a state realization.
 
21      (f)  The transfer of title and interest by sale under this
 
22 part is a transfer by operation of law; provided that if the
 
23 certificate of ownership or registration is unavailable, a bill
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.1356       
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 of sale executed by an authorized seller is satisfactory evidence
 
 2 authorizing the transfer of the title or interest.
 
 3      (g)  Each county by ordinance may enact additional
 
 4 restrictions to this section or may enact criminal sanctions in
 
 5 this area as required.
 
 6      (h)  For the purposes of this section, tow operators shall
 
 7 accommodate payment by the owner for charges under subsection (b)
 
 8 by cash and by either credit card or automated teller machine
 
 9 located on the premises.
 
10      (i)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if
 
11 time is of the essence, the owner of the private property upon
 
12 which any vehicle is left abandoned may request the vehicle
 
13 owner's name, address, and telephone number from the director of
 
14 finance on forms provided by the director of finance to notify
 
15 the vehicle's owner of a pending tow.  The owner, occupant, or
 
16 person in charge of the property shall not be held liable for
 
17 damages resulting from removal of the vehicle from the private
 
18 property if notice by telephone or personal letter has been
 
19 properly given.  For purposes of this subsection, "abandoned
 
20 vehicle" means a vehicle left unattended for a continuous period
 
21 of more than twenty-four hours and it is left unlawfully parked
 
22 on private property."
 
23      SECTION  2.  Act  138, Session Laws of Hawaii  1998, is
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.1356       
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 amended by amending section 3 to read as follows:
 
 2      "SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval;
 
 3 provided that the amendment set forth in Section 1 shall take
 
 4 effect on September 1, 1998, and shall be repealed on July 1,
 
 5 2000.
 
 6      The amendments made by this H.B. No.   , Session Laws of
 
 7 Hawaii 1999, shall not be repealed when the provisions in
 
 8 paragraph (1) are reenacted."
 
 9      SECTION 3.  In printing this Act, the revisor of statutes
 
10 shall substitute in section 3, the number of this Act for the
 
11 bill identified therein.
 
12      SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
13 New statutory material is underscored.
 
14      SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
15 
 
16                              INTRODUCED BY:______________________