Florida Senate - 2022                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 990
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì580454+Î580454                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: RS            .                                
                  02/03/2022           .                                
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       The Committee on Transportation (Rodriguez) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 67 - 90
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (4), subsection
    6  (10), paragraph (a) of subsection (15), and paragraph (a) of
    7  subsection (16) of section 713.78, Florida Statutes, are
    8  amended, and paragraph (g) is added to subsection (16) and
    9  subsection (18) is added to that section, to read:
   10         713.78 Liens for recovering, towing, or storing vehicles
   11  and vessels.—
   12         (4)
   13         (c) The notice of lien must be sent by certified mail to
   14  the registered owner, the insurance company insuring the vehicle
   15  notwithstanding s. 627.736, and all other persons claiming a
   16  lien thereon no earlier than 6 hours before and no later than
   17  within 7 business days, excluding Saturday and Sunday, after the
   18  date of storage of the vehicle or vessel. However, in no event
   19  shall the notice of lien be sent less than 30 days before the
   20  sale of the vehicle or vessel. The notice must state:
   21         1. If the claim of lien is for a vehicle, the last 8 digits
   22  of the vehicle identification number of the vehicle subject to
   23  the lien, or, if the claim of lien is for a vessel, the hull
   24  identification number of the vessel subject to the lien, clearly
   25  printed in the delivery address box and on the outside of the
   26  envelope sent to the registered owner and all other persons
   27  claiming an interest therein or lien thereon.
   28         2. The name, physical address, and telephone number of the
   29  lienor, and the entity name, as registered with the Division of
   30  Corporations, of the business where the towing and storage
   31  occurred, which must also appear on the outside of the envelope
   32  sent to the registered owner and all other persons claiming an
   33  interest in or lien on the vehicle or vessel.
   34         3. The fact of possession of the vehicle or vessel.
   35         4. The name of the person or entity that authorized the
   36  lienor to take possession of the vehicle or vessel.
   37         5. That a lien as provided in subsection (2) is claimed.
   38         6. That charges have accrued and include an itemized
   39  statement of the amount thereof.
   40         7. That the lien is subject to enforcement under law and
   41  that the owner or lienholder, if any, has the right to a hearing
   42  as set forth in subsection (5).
   43         8. That any vehicle or vessel that remains unclaimed, or
   44  for which the charges for recovery, towing, or storage services
   45  remain unpaid, may be sold free of all prior liens 35 days after
   46  the vehicle or vessel is stored by the lienor if the vehicle or
   47  vessel is more than 3 years of age or 50 days after the vehicle
   48  or vessel is stored by the lienor if the vehicle or vessel is 3
   49  years of age or less.
   50         9. The address at which the vehicle or vessel is physically
   51  located.
   52         (10) Persons who provide services pursuant to this section
   53  shall permit vehicle or vessel owners, lienholders, insurance
   54  company representatives, or their agents, which agency is
   55  evidenced by an original writing acknowledged by the owner
   56  before a notary public or other person empowered by law to
   57  administer oaths, to inspect the towed vehicle or vessel and
   58  shall release only to the owner, lienholder, or agent the
   59  vehicle, vessel, or all personal property not affixed to the
   60  vehicle or vessel which was in the vehicle or vessel at the time
   61  the vehicle or vessel came into the custody of the person
   62  providing such services. For the purposes of this subsection, a
   63  rental car agreement does not constitute evidence that the
   64  person who rented a vehicle is an agent of the owner of the
   65  vehicle, and a towing company may not release a vehicle owned by
   66  a rental car company to the person who rented the vehicle unless
   67  the rental car company appoints the person who rented the
   68  vehicle as its agent. Such appointment must be evidenced in an
   69  original writing acknowledged by the rental car company before a
   70  notary public or other person empowered by law to administer
   71  oaths and must authorize the person to inspect and redeem the
   72  towed vehicle.
   73         (15)(a) A lienor or the lienor’s agent may charge a $75
   74  notification an administrative fee plus the actual costs of
   75  complying with the requirements of this section to the
   76  registered owner or a person claiming a lien against the vehicle
   77  or vessel to obtain release of the vehicle or vessel from the
   78  claim of lien imposed under this section. Such notification
   79  administrative fee plus the actual costs of complying with the
   80  requirements of this section may not exceed $250. For purposes
   81  of this paragraph, the term “administrative fee” means a lien
   82  fee or any fee imposed by the lienor or the lienor’s agent for
   83  administrative costs added to the amount due for towing and
   84  storing the vehicle or vessel.
   85         (16) A towing-storage operator must use a third-party
   86  service approved by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
   87  Vehicles to transmit all notices required by this section. If
   88  there is no third-party service approved by the department, the
   89  towing-storage operator may mail the notices and provide
   90  evidence of compliance with this section upon submission of an
   91  application for certificate of title or certificate of
   92  destruction.
   93         (a) For purposes of this subsection, the term “third-party
   94  service” means a qualified business entity that, upon a request
   95  submitted through a website by a towing-storage operator:
   96         1. Accesses the owner, lienholder, and insurer information,
   97  as applicable, from the department for a vehicle or vessel.
   98         2.If the vehicle or vessel file on file with the
   99  department does not have a current registration record, accesses
  100  the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System records to
  101  obtain the last state of record of the vehicle.
  102         2.Accesses the owner, lienholder, and insurer information,
  103  as applicable, for a vehicle or vessel from the department.
  104         3. Electronically generates the notices required of a
  105  towing-storage operator by this section through the website.
  106         4. Prints and sends the notices required under this section
  107  to each owner, lienholder, and insurer of record by certified
  108  mail.
  109         5. Electronically returns tracking information or other
  110  proof of mailing and delivery of the notices to the towing
  111  storage operator.
  112         6. Electronically reports to the department, via an
  113  electronic data exchange process using a web interface, the
  114  following information related to the towing and storage notice:
  115         a. The vehicle identification number or vessel hull
  116  identification number.
  117         b. The license plate number.
  118         c. The name and address of the towing-storage operator or
  119  lienor.
  120         d. The physical location of the vehicle or vessel.
  121         e. The date on which the vehicle or vessel was towed.
  122         f. The amount of storage fees owed at the time of the
  123  notice.
  124         g. The date of assessment of storage charges.
  125         h. The dates on which the notice was mailed and delivered.
  126         i. Other information required by the department.
  127         (g)If a towing-storage operator uses a third-party service
  128  approved by the department to provide notice required by this
  129  section, proof of mailing by the third-party service is proof
  130  that the towing-storage operator made a good faith effort to
  131  comply with such notice requirement, regardless of whether the
  132  recipient accepts delivery or otherwise receives notice.
  133         (18)The regulation of claiming a lien for the recovery,
  134  removal, towing, or storage of a vehicle or vessel, including,
  135  but not limited to, notification fees, is preempted to the
  136  state, and this section supersedes any county or municipal
  137  ordinance, resolution, rule, regulation, or otherwise to the
  138  contrary.
  139  
  140  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  141  And the title is amended as follows:
  142         Delete lines 12 - 13
  143  and insert:
  144         certain judicial findings are made; amending s.
  145         713.78, F.S.; revising the timeframe required for
  146         sending notices of lien; prohibiting towing companies
  147         from releasing vehicles owned by rental car companies,
  148         which are towed under certain circumstances, to the
  149         person who rented the vehicle unless the rental car
  150         company appoints the person as its agent; providing
  151         requirements for such appointment; revising fees
  152         relating to obtaining the release of a vehicle or
  153         vessel with a claimed lien; deleting the definition of
  154         the term “administrative fee”; revising the definition
  155         of the term “third-party service”; specifying that
  156         proof of mailing by a third-party service is proof
  157         that a towing-storage operator made a good faith
  158         effort to comply with specified notice requirements;
  159         preempting the regulation of claiming a lien for the
  160         recovery, removal, towing, or storage of a vehicle or
  161         vessel to the state; amending s. 715.07, F.S.;
  162         prohibiting towing companies