Senate Bill No. 185 - Motor Fuel Theft

• Vehicle owners are liable to fuel retailers for the full pump price of motor fuel plus a $50 service charge if fuel is pumped into their vehicle without proper payment.

• Retailers must send notice of nonpayment to vehicle owners by certified mail (including pump price, service charge amount, and incident details) before collecting payment.

• Vehicle owners have 30 days after receiving notice to either pay the full amount or dispute the claim in writing; failure to respond results in liability for triple the motor fuel price plus additional damages, costs, and attorney fees.

• Vehicle owners may dispute the retailer's claim or assert they were not operating the vehicle at the time of the unpaid fuel purchase, at which point the retailer must stop collection efforts but may pursue civil action.

• The Bureau of Motor Vehicles must adopt rules allowing retailers to obtain vehicle owner names and addresses from BMV records for purposes of collecting on unpaid fuel purchases.