| (a) Release of vehicles. The VSF must comply with the
following requirements when releasing vehicles.
(1) The VSF shall comply with all provisions of Texas
Occupations Code, Chapter 2308, Subchapter J, relating to the rights
of the owner of a stored vehicle, including providing the name, address,
and telephone number of:
(A) each justice court in the county from which the
vehicle was towed or, for booted vehicles, the county in which the
parking facility is located, or the address of an Internet website
maintained by the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial
System that contains the name, address, and telephone number of each
justice court in that county; and
(B) the name, address and telephone number of the person
or law enforcement agency that authorized the tow.
(2) The VSF shall provide the owner or the owner's
representative with a tow ticket. The tow ticket may be combined with
a VSF Invoice; provided, the combined tow ticket and VSF Invoice comply
with the following requirements:
(A) tow charges must be separated from VSF storage
charges and each category of charges must be preceded by a heading
or label identifying the charges as "Tow Charges" or "Storage Charges";
(B) tow charges must appear on the combined statement
of charges exactly as stated on the tow ticket prepared by the tow
operator and provided to the VSF at the time the vehicle is presented
for storage; and
(C) the combined statement of charges meet and contain
all required elements of a separate VSF invoice and tow ticket; provided
the license number and name of the tow operator may be excluded.
(3) The VSF shall allow the vehicle owner or authorized
representative to obtain possession of the vehicle, including payment
at the location of the stored vehicle, at any time between the hours
listed on the facility information sign posted as described in §85.1003,
upon payment of all fees due, presentation of valid identification
(Texas drivers license or other state or federally issued photo identification),
and upon presentation of:
(A) a notarized power-of-attorney;
(B) a court order;
(C) a certificate of title;
(D) a tax collector's receipt and a vehicle registration
renewal card accompanied by a conforming identification;
(E) name and address information corresponding to that
contained in the files of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles;
(F) a current automobile lease or rental agreement
executed by the operator of the vehicle or a person holding a power
of attorney executed by the person named in the lease agreement;
(G) appropriate identification of any state or federal
law enforcement agency representative;
(H) the most recent version of a department-approved
form or electronic version of a department-approved form published
on the department's website, www.tdlr.texas.gov; which the VSF must
make available to the vehicle owner or person seeking possession of
or access to the vehicle; or
(I) evidence of financial responsibility (insurance
card), as required by Transportation Code §601.051, as an additional
form of identification that establishes ownership or right of possession
or control of the vehicle.
(4) A VSF may not refuse to release a vehicle to the
owner or operator of the vehicle or require a sworn affidavit of the
owner or operator of the vehicle solely because the owner or operator
presents valid photo identification issued by this state, another
state, or a federal agency that includes a different address than
the address contained in the title and registration records of the
vehicle.
(5) Paragraph (3) does not require a VSF to release
a vehicle to the owner or operator of the vehicle if the owner or
operator of the vehicle does not:
(A) pay the charges for services regulated under this
chapter or Chapter 86 of this title, including charges for and associated
with delivery or storage of the vehicle; and
(B) present valid photo identification issued by this
state, another state, a federal agency or a foreign government.
(6) If it accepts vehicles 24 hours a day, all VSFs
shall have vehicles available for release 24 hours a day within one
hour's notice.
(7) If a VSF does not accept vehicles 24 hours a day,
such facility must have vehicles available for release within one
hour between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and midnight Monday-Saturday and
from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays except for nationally recognized
holidays. It is not the intent of this section to require release
of vehicles after midnight, and refusal to release after that time,
even with notice after 11:00 p.m., is not a violation of this section.
(b) A VSF may not require an owner, operator or agent
of an owner or operator of a vehicle to sign an authorization or release
form to release the vehicle from the VSF if that form:
(1) changes the status of the law enforcement initiated
tow from a nonconsent status to a consent tow status;
(2) changes the status of the storage resulting from
a nonconsent tow from a nonconsent storage status to a consent storage
status; or
(3) imposes any additional charges not regulated by
the department.
(c) A person may not execute, submit or use a department-approved
form or other document which contains a false, fictitious, dishonest,
or fraudulent statement of a material fact used for the purpose of
obtaining possession of or access to a motor vehicle stored by a facility
licensed under Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 2303.
(1) For purposes of this section, a false, fictitious,
dishonest, or fraudulent statement related to authorization from the
vehicle owner to the person or entity named in the form or document
is a material fact.
(2) Conduct found by the commission or the executive
director by final order to have violated this section shall be deemed
fraudulent and dishonest conduct.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §85.710 adopted to be effective April 15, 2008, 33 TexReg 2931; amended to be effective May 3, 2010, 35 TexReg 3482; amended to be effective September 1, 2010, 35 TexReg 7786; amended to be effective January 16, 2012, 37 TexReg 112; amended to be effective August 15, 2013, 38 TexReg 5060; amended to be effective March 15, 2014, 39 TexReg 1704 |
