The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. (1) Abandoned nuisance vehicle--A motor vehicle that is at least 10 years old and is of a condition only to be demolished, wrecked, or dismantled. (2) Act--The Vehicle Storage Facility Act, Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 2303. (3) Affidavit of Right of Possession--A form prescribed by the department and provided by the licensee for use by an immediate family member certifying right of possession to a vehicle stored at a vehicle storage facility. (4) Commission--The Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation. (5) Day--Twenty-four continuous hours. (6) Department--The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. (7) Executive director--The executive director of the department. (8) Fence--An enclosure of wood, chain link, metal, concrete, or masonry, placed around an area used to store vehicles and designed to prevent intrusion and escape. (9) Immediate family--A vehicle owner's parents, spouse, children, brothers, and sisters. (10) Impoundment--The following actions when performed on a stored vehicle: (A) using materials such as plastic or canvas tarpaulins to ensure the preservation of a stored vehicle if doors, windows, convertible tops, hatchbacks, sunroofs, trunks, or hoods are broken or inoperative; (B) conducting a written inventory of any unsecured personal property contained in a stored vehicle; (C) removing and storing all unsecured personal property that is contained in a stored vehicle and for which safekeeping is necessary; or (D) obtaining motor vehicle registration information for a specific vehicle from the Texas Department of Transportation, Vehicle Titles and Registration Division, or an equivalent out-of-state agency. (11) License holder or Licensee--The person to which the department issued a license. (12) Main entrance--The initial point from the public road onto the private property leading to the vehicle storage facility at which a consumer or service recipient enters a vehicle storage facility. (13) Notice of Right of Possession for Salvage--A form prescribed by the department and executed by persons licensed under 16 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 86 as agents for an insurance company that has documented authority from the vehicle owner obtained prior to execution of the form, certifying right of possession of a total loss vehicle stored at a vehicle storage facility. (14) Person--An individual, corporation, organization, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, or other legal entity. (15) Primary lien holder--First lien holder named on the certificate of title in the motor vehicle registration records of the Texas Department of Transportation. (16) Principal--An individual who: (A) holds, whether personally, as a beneficiary of a trust, or by other constructive means: (i) 10% of a corporation's outstanding stock; or (ii) an ownership interest in a business that is equivalent to a fair market value of more than $25,000; (B) has the controlling interest in a business; (C) has a participating interest of more than 10% in the profits, proceeds, or capital gains of a business, regardless of whether the interest is direct or indirect, whether it is held through share, stock, or any other manner, or whether it includes voting rights; (D) holds a position as a member of the board of directors or other governing body of a business; or (E) holds a position as an elected officer of a business. (17) Proof of loss claim form--A form prescribed by the department and submitted by an insurance company certifying right of possession to a vehicle stored at a vehicle storage facility. (18) Registered owner--Each person in whose name a vehicle is titled under Transportation Code, Chapter 501, or in whose name a vehicle is registered under Transportation Code, Chapter 502. (19) Vehicle--A motor vehicle subject to registration under Transportation Code, Title 7, Subtitle A, or any other device designed to be self-propelled or transported on a public highway. (20) Vehicle owner--A person: (A) in whose name a vehicle is registered under the Certificate of Title Act, Transportation Code, Chapter 501; (B) in whose name a vehicle is registered under Transportation Code, Chapter 502, or a member of that person's immediate family; (C) who holds a vehicle through a valid lease agreement; (D) who is an unrecorded lienholder with a right to possession; or (E) who is a lienholder that holds an affidavit of repossession and has the right to repossess a vehicle. (21) Vehicle storage facility (VSF)--A garage, parking lot, or other facility owned or operated by a person other than a governmental entity for storing or parking 10 or more vehicles per year. (22) Vehicle transfer--Any movement of a vehicle out of a VSF, prior to its release as prescribed in this chapter. |
