SB201 Summary

• Authorizes the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency to establish rules regulating nonconsensual towing fees and charges for commercial motor vehicles as defined by federal regulation 49 C.F.R. Part 390.5.

• Prohibits the agency and state troopers from receiving compensation, incentives, or holding financial interests in towing services, and requires assignments be made by the trooper commander or designee rather than individual troopers.

• Requires the agency to approve towing rates as reasonable based on customary industry practice and mandates towing services allow vehicle owners to access and retrieve freight and contents, with a maximum $2,000 security deposit allowed if trailer or tractor is retrieved.

• Establishes a dispute resolution process requiring written complaints be filed within three business days of invoice receipt, suspending storage charges during review, with the trooper commander determining reasonableness within three business days and adjusting charges if excessive.

• Authorizes the agency to impose disciplinary action and fines up to $500 per violation for towing services that breach agency rules, with all determinations appealable under the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act; rules must be adopted by November 1, 2017.