HB 184 Georgia House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Georgia Consumer Protection Towing Act; enact

Summary

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Titles 40 and 44 of the O.C.G.A., relating to motor vehicles and traffic and property, respectively, so as to establish the "Georgia Consumer Protection Towing Act"; to provide for applicability; to provide for consumer protections for emergency towing, owner requested towing, and private property towing; to provide for estimates and invoices; to provide for notice requirements; to provide for recording; to provide for the release of towed motor vehicles; to provide for fees; to provide for towing company certificate requirements; to provide for prohibitions; to provide for penalties and enforcement; to provide for rules and regulations; to provide for conforming changes; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 29, 2025 Last action Mar 3, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

LC 52 0652/a → LC 39 5027S/hs · 8 edits

MODERATE

The bill was replaced with a substitute version that shifts focus from a broad consumer protection towing act to a specific database requirement for tracking towed vehicles. The new version mandates the creation of a towed motor vehicle database to help locate vehicles and notify owners, while removing most consumer protection provisions and replacing them with database operational requirements.

Scope change

The bill's scope narrowed significantly from covering all towing types (emergency, owner-requested, private property) to focusing primarily on establishing a database system for tracking towed vehicles and their owners.

SCOPE

Removed the 'Georgia Consumer Protection Towing Act' title and replaced it with a narrower focus on establishing a towed motor vehicle database.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirement for the Department of Revenue to establish a towed motor vehicle database by October 1, 2026, with a functional deadline of January 1, 2027.

Database must allow vehicle owners to search for their towed vehicles by VIN and license plate number.

Database operator must be a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization with a $1 million surety bond and undergo annual data security audits.

Changed notice requirements for towing firms to submit vehicle information to the database within three days and request owner information from the Department of Revenue.

DEFINITION

Removed detailed definitions for various towing types (emergency, owner-requested, private property, seizure towing) and replaced them with a single database definition.

ENFORCEMENT

Removed provisions about complaint procedures, penalties, and enforcement mechanisms for towing companies.

FISCAL

Added provision allowing the Department of Revenue to charge up to $2.00 for owner information requests.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute

lower

Jan 29, 2025

Introduced

House Hopper

lower

5 primary · 0 co-sponsors