Collateral recovery: tow vehicles.

(1) Existing law, the Collateral Recovery Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of repossession agencies by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services under the supervision and control of the Director of Consumer Affairs. Any person who violates these provisions is guilty of a crime punishable by fine and imprisonment. The act requires an applicant for a qualification certificate to satisfy specified requirements, including possessing 2 years lawful experience that may include experience recovering collateral as a salaried employee of a financial institution or vehicle dealer and that is to consist of a minimum of 4,000 hours of compensated work. The act requires every repossession agency office to be under the active charge of a qualified certificate holder. The act requires licensees to serve a debtor with a specified notice of seizure after the recovery of collateral by the licensee. This bill would make a tow vehicle that is used to violate the act subject to removal and impoundment. The bill would provide that lawful experience for a qualification certificate does not include any employment performing work other than skip tracing, debt collection, or actual collateral recovery. The bill would specify that a licensee may have more than one qualified certificate holder in an office. The bill would require a licensee's notice provided to a debtor after recovery of collateral to include a disclosure that electrical or tire failure or any damage to, as a result of, or caused by, certain aftermarket parts and accessories on a vehicle shall not be the responsibility of the licensee, except as specified. Because a violation of these provisions by a licensee would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law provides that a peace officer or, in certain other cases, a magistrate, may cause the removal and seizure of a vehicle, as specified. Existing law provides that a vehicle so seized may be impounded for 30 days. Under existing law, a vehicle removed and seized may be released to the legal owner or the legal owner's agent prior to the end of 30 days' impoundment if certain conditions are met, including, but not limited to, the requirement that the legal owner or the legal owner's agent pay all towing and storage fees related to the seizure of the vehicle. This bill would require a law enforcement agency that has impounded a vehicle to remain open to issue a release to the registered owner or legal owner of a vehicle whenever the agency is open to serve the public for regular, nonemergency business. The bill would require specified facilities where impounded vehicles are stored to accept valid bank credit cards, as defined, or cash as payment for towing, storage, and related fees and would make the facility civilly liable, as specified, for a failure to do so. The bill would make it a misdemeanor for a legal owner of an impounded vehicle to knowingly release the vehicle to the registered owner of the vehicle in certain circumstances. The bill would impose additional requirements with respect to the release of an impounded vehicle. By establishing new crimes and imposing new duties on law enforcement agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law imposes various taillamp, stoplamp, turn signal requirements, and multisafety chain requirements applicable to towing vehicles. This bill would delete specified provisions requiring a tow vehicle to use an extension cord to display rear stoplamps and turn signals. The bill would exempt a repossessor's towing vehicle from the multisafety chain requirements applicable to towing vehicles if the repossessor is towing a vehicle no more than one mile on a public highway and the vehicle is secured by one safety chain. (4) This bill would also incorporate additional changes in Section 21100.4 of the Vehicle Code proposed by SB 201, to be operative only if SB 201, and this bill are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2010, and this bill is enacted last. (5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.