Assigned to TRANSIT &                                                                                                 AS PASSED BY HOUSE

 

 

 

 

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Fifty-Third Legislature, Second Regular Session

 

AMENDED

FACT SHEET FOR S.B. 1203

 

vehicle towing

 

Purpose

 

Transfers statute relating to vehicle towing.

 

Background

 

Statute requires the connecting structure of a vehicle towing another vehicle to be sufficiently strong enough to pull the towed weight and limits the distance between the vehicle towing and the vehicle being towed to no more than 15 feet. The Director of the Department of Public Safety adopts and enforces rules governing the design and operation of tow trucks and guidelines for billed towing service rates. Statute restricts towing firms, including firms with common interest in ownership or assets, to one contractual agreement with a governmental jurisdiction per geographic area for towing and storage services (A.R.S. § 41-1830.51).

 

Title 41 of the Arizona Revised Statutes contains statute relating to State Government. Title 28 of the Arizona Revised Statutes contains statute relating to Transportation.

 

Current statute classifies the violation of any traffic and vehicle regulation offense as outlined in Title 28 as a civil penalty, unless otherwise statutorily deemed a criminal offense (A.R.S. § 28-1521). S.B. 1203 transfers statute relating to vehicle towing to Title 28 in order to generally classify a towing violation as a traffic and vehicle regulation offense, bearing a civil penalty.

 

There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.

 

Provisions

 

1.      Transfers, from Title 41 to Title 28 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, statute relating to vehicle towing.

 

2.      Makes conforming changes.

 

3.      Becomes effective on the general effective date.

 

Amendments Adopted by the House of Representatives

 

1.      Clarifies a reference that a person may not operate a tow truck to tow a vehicle without registering with the Department of Public Safety, rather than the Department of Transportation.

2.      Makes technical changes.

 

Senate Action                                                             House Action

 

TRANSIT       1/23/18     DP     7-0-0                        TI                    2/28/18     DPA     8-0-0-0

3rd Read          2/1/18                 28-0-2                      3rd Read          3/27/18                  58-0-2

 

Prepared by Senate Research

March 27, 2018

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