• A warning that the failure to redeem the vehicle or to request a hearing within 20 days after the date of the notice may result in the sale of the vehicle and the termination of all rights of the owner and the secured party to the vehicle or the proceeds of the sale.
If the towing fees and daily storage fees are established by contract with the local governmental unit or local law enforcement agency they may not be challenged. Otherwise, the vehicle owner may contest the fact that the vehicle is abandoned, and the reasonableness of the towing fees and/or the daily storage fees by requesting a hearing. A request for a hearing is made by filing a petition with the court specified in the notice within 20 days after the date of the notice. If the vehicle owner requests a hearing, the matter shall be resolved after a hearing. A vehicle owner who requests a hearing may obtain release of the vehicle by posting a towing and storage bond in an amount equal to $40.00 plus the accrued towing and storage fees with the court. Alternatively, the vehicle may deposit that amount with the court. An owner requesting a hearing but not taking possession of the vehicle must post with the court a towing and storage bond in an amount equal to $40.00 plus the accrued towing and storage fees.
If the owner does not request a hearing, he or she may obtain the release of the vehicle by paying a fee of $40.00 plus the accrued charges to the custodian of the vehicle. The custodian must forward $25.00 of the fee collected to the secretary of state within 30 days after receipt in a manner prescribed by the secretary of state, who must deposit the fee into the abandoned vehicle fund. If the owner does not redeem the vehicle or request a hearing within 20 days after the date of the notice, the secured party may obtain the release of the vehicle by paying a fee of $40.00 and the accrued towing and storage fees to the custodian of the vehicle. The custodian must forward $25.00 of the fee collected under this subsection to the secretary of state within 30 days after receipt in a manner prescribed by the secretary of state, who deposits the fee into the abandoned vehicle fund.
Not less than 20 days after the disposition of the hearing or, if a hearing is not requested, not less than 20 days after the date of the notice, the custodian of the vehicle must offer the vehicle for sale at a public sale. If the ownership of a vehicle that is considered abandoned cannot be determined either because of the condition of the vehicle identification numbers or because a check with the records of the secretary of state does not reveal ownership, the police agency may sell the vehicle at public sale not less than 30 days after public notice of the sale has been published. The secretary of state must release a vehicle for disposition within 45 days after the vehicle is entered into the law enforcement information network as an abandoned vehicle.
Minnesota:
In Minnesota, the definition of “abandoned vehicle” includes a motor vehicle that has remained illegally on private property for a period of time without the consent of the person in control of the property; and that lacks vital component parts or is in an inoperable condition such that it has no substantial potential for further use consistent with its usual functions, unless it is kept in an enclosed garage or storage building. Further, an “unauthorized vehicle” that is not an abandoned vehicle is subject to impoundment at the following times by units of government and peace officers if has been on private property:
• Immediately, if the location is single-family or duplex residential property.
• Immediately, if the location is private, nonresidential property that is properly posted.
• After 24 hours, if the property is private, nonresidential property, that is not posted.
• Five business days after notifying the vehicle owner by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the property owner's intention to have the vehicle removed from the property, if the property is private, nonresidential property of an operator of an establishment for the servicing, repair, or maintenance of motor vehicles.
• Immediately, if the property is any properly posted residential property.
• An “unauthorized vehicle” may also be towed.
These provisions, applicable to Minnesota units of government and peace officers, do not restrict the authority of the owner of private property to authorize the towing of a motor vehicle unlawfully parked on private property. Private property owners seeking to have unauthorized vehicles removed from their property must make their own arrangements with a private towing service.
A person who tows and stores a motor vehicle at the request of a law enforcement officer has a lien on the motor vehicle for the value of the storage and towing and the right to retain possession of the motor vehicle until the lien is lawfully discharged. An impounded vehicle is eligible for disposal or sale 15 days after notice to the owner, if the vehicle is determined to be an abandoned vehicle. An unauthorized vehicle impounded by the city of Minneapolis or by the city of St. Paul is eligible for disposal or sale 15 days after notice is sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the registered owner, if any, of the unauthorized vehicle and to all readily identifiable lienholders of record. If, before the expiration of the 15 day period following notice of taking, the registered owner or lienholder of record delivers to the impound lot operator a written statement of intent to reclaim the vehicle, the vehicle is not eligible for disposal or sale until 45 days after the notice of taking, if the owner or lienholder has not reclaimed. If an unauthorized vehicle is impounded, other than by the city of Minneapolis or the city of St. Paul, the impounded vehicle is eligible for disposal or sale the earlier of 45 days after notice to the owner; or the date of a voluntary written title transfer by the registered owner to the impound lot operator. A voluntary written title transfer constitutes a waiver by the registered owner of any right, title, and interest in the vehicle.
For vehicles impounded by units of government and peace officers, the entity taking the vehicle into custody must give written notice of the impoundment within five days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, to the registered vehicle owner and any lienholders. The notice must:
• Set forth the date and place of the intended impoundment.
• Provide the year, make, model, and serial number of the impounded motor vehicle, if the information can be reasonably obtained, and the place where the vehicle is being held.
• Inform the owner and any lien holders of their right to reclaim the vehicle.
• State that failure of the owner or lien holders to:
• Exercise their right to reclaim the vehicle within the time allowed and under the appropriate conditions constitutes a waiver by them of all right, title, and interest in the vehicle and consent to the transfer of title to and disposal or sale of the vehicle.
• Exercise their right to reclaim the contents of the vehicle within the appropriate time allowed and under the appropriate conditions, constitutes a waiver by them of all right, title, and interest in the contents and consent to sell or dispose of that personal property; and
• State that a vehicle owner who provides to the impound lot operator documentation from a government or nonprofit agency or legal aid office that the owner is homeless, receives relief based on need, or is eligible for legal aid services, has the unencumbered right to retrieve any and all contents without charge.
The notice must be sent by mail to the registered owner, if any, of an impounded vehicle and to all readily identifiable lienholders of record. This information must be made available to impound lot operators for notification purposes. If it is impossible to determine with reasonable certainty the identity and address of the registered owner and all lienholders, the notice shall be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the motor vehicle was towed from or abandoned. Published notices may be grouped together for convenience and economy. If an unauthorized vehicle remains unclaimed after 30 days from the date the notice was sent, a second notice must be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the registered owner, if any, of the unauthorized vehicle and to all readily identifiable lienholders of record.
The owner or any lienholder of an impounded vehicle has a right to reclaim a vehicle from the unit of government or impound lot operator taking it into custody upon payment of all towing and storage charges resulting from taking the vehicle into custody within 15 or 45 days, after the date of the notice. Nothing impairs any lien of a garagekeeper, or the right of a lienholder to foreclose.
Summary of the Factual Data and Analytical Methodologies that the Agency Used in Support of the Proposed Rule and How Any Related Findings Support the Regulatory Approach Chosen for the Proposed Rule:
The proposed permanent rule was drafted with input from individual towing services and the Wisconsin Towing Association, governmental entities and the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, the Wisconsin Housing Alliance, the Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin, the Tenant Resource Center, and members of the public during the public hearing and comment period for an emergency rule promulgated by the Department in 2014. That emergency rule public hearing and comment period are not considered a public hearing and comment period for this rulemaking. The Department also held a public hearing on this permanent rule on July 21, 2015, and took into consideration the public comments it received during that comment period.
The design and display of the required notice in the initial emergency rule was largely based on existing design standards for other signs, such as the requirements for handicapped parking signs set forth in Wis. Admin. Code ch. Trans 200, and standards used in other states. The guidelines for tow services to provide notice to law enforcement in the initial emergency rule were based on input from law enforcement. The Department received substantial testimony and comments during the public hearing and comment period for the initial emergency rule. Many of these comments indicated that the fees in the schedule established in the initial emergency rule were lower than what towing services normally charged. In this permanent rulemaking, the Department proposes that towing industry ordinary or standard rates be permitted, provided they are reasonable and do not exceed maximum individual fee limits established in the rule. Many of the persons commenting on the initial emergency rule further indicated that the fee schedule itself did not account for complex tows involving specialized equipment and procedures. This proposed permanent rulemaking therefore includes a provision allowing a towing service to charge for necessary and commercially reasonable towing services beyond common tow services and associated storage.
Analysis Regarding Rule’s Effect on Small Businesses:
This rule affects towing services, private property owners and vehicle owners, any of which could include small businesses. There are many towing services located throughout the state that likely qualify as small businesses under Wis. Stats s. 227.114. This rulemaking does not dictate standard fees that are imposed statewide. Rather, this rule requires a towing service to charge ordinary and reasonable charges for the removal and storage of a vehicle, not exceeding a limit set in this rule. Because a towing service’s current ordinary charges will be permitted to be charged, provided they are reasonable, subject only to the maximum limits in this rule, the Department does not believe this rulemaking will have a significant effect upon small business towing services. Testimony at the public hearing and a television news report aired during that time on the emergency rule suggested an increasing number of vehicles are being towed from private property, which the department believes would occur only if the provisions set in the emergency rule were satisfactory to private property owners or towing services, or both, although it is unknown what percentage of these are small businesses. The department received no comments indicating any significant adverse economic effect on any small business. The department also assumes some of the towed vehicles could belong to small businesses, but received no comments indicating any significant adverse economic effect on those small businesses, and thus concludes that the rule has no significant effect on vehicles owned by small businesses. In addition, there may be some expense to small business private property owners who are required to post notices in order for vehicles to be towed without law enforcement involvement under Wis. Stat. s. 349.13 (3m). Because the posting requirements of Wis. Stat. s. 349.13 (3m), as recreated by 2013 Wis. Act 76, are different than those required under Wis. Stat. s. 346.55 before passage of the act, new signs may be required containing the disclosures mandated by these two statutes. The cost of meeting these statutory requirements is placed upon any person posting private property regarding the towing of illegally parked vehicles. However, small business private property owners are not required to post notices, and so any associated costs can be avoided. In addition, this rule specifies that the certain size requirements established for posted notices only apply to notices erected after the effective date of the rule, which enables property owners to avoid any significant incurred costs associated with retrofitting existing signs erected on private property. Agency Contact Person:
Laura Vande Hey
State of Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Division of State Patrol
4802 Sheboygan Avenue Room 551
Madison, Wisconsin 53707
Phone: (608) 709-0065
TEXT OF PERMANENT RULE
CHAPTER TRANS 319
TOWING OF UNAUTHORIZED VEHICLES ON PRIVATE PROPERTY
Trans 319.01 Purpose and scope. (1) The purpose of this chapter is to interpret and implement s. 349.13 (3m), Stats., relating to removal of vehicles on private property that are not authorized to park in that area. (2) This chapter applies to the towing of vehicles parked on private property under s. 349.13 (3m), Stats. Trans 319.02 Definitions. Words and phrases defined in s. 340.01, Stats., have the same meaning in this chapter unless a different definition is specifically provided. In this chapter: (2) “Law enforcement agency” means a county sheriff or municipal police department.
Trans 319.03 Charges for towing and storage. (1) TOWING SERVICE FEES. A towing service may charge a vehicle owner ordinary and reasonable fees related to removal and storage of the vehicle from private property under s. 349.13 (3m), Stats., except that no charges may exceed the following individual total amounts: (a) $150 for a vehicle removed using a flatbed, hook and chain, wheel-lift, boom, or any other method.
(b) $25 for each period of 24 consecutive hours that the vehicle is stored at an outdoor storage facility.
(c) $35 for each period of 24 consecutive hours that the vehicle is stored at an indoor storage facility.
Note: The daily storage charge under par. (b) or (c) can be collected by a towing service the first minute after notice of the tow is given to a law enforcement agency by the towing service. A second daily storage charge cannot be collected until 24 hours after the time at which notice is given to law enforcement, subject to the limits for closed storage facilities specified in s. Trans 319.03 (4). (d) $150 for any other necessary and commercially reasonable charges relating to the use of special equipment in the removal or storage, or both, of the vehicle, and for any expenses incurred by the towing service relating to travel exceeding twenty miles. Administrative fees, gate fees, lien processing fees, or any other fees for equipment or procedures ordinarily required for the removal or storage of a vehicle may not be charged under this paragraph. A towing service may collect charges under this paragraph only if any of the following applies:
1. The removed vehicle possesses unusual characteristics, such as size or mechanical condition that make the maximum removal charge under par. (a) unreasonably low, or has a gross vehicle weight rating or registered weight of 10,001 pounds or more.
2. The location in which the removed vehicle was parked contains certain spatial constraints or limited access to the parked vehicle impeding the tow that make the maximum removal charge under par. (a) unreasonably low.
3. The roundtrip travel by the towing service exceeds 20 miles. A towing service may charge a surcharge of $3.00 per mile under this subdivision for miles in excess of twenty miles. Mileage is based on roundtrip mileage from the storage facility to return thereto. The towing service shall establish the mileage from the tow truck odometer and shall include on the tow slip the beginning and ending odometer readings to the 1/10 per mile. If the tow truck is dispatched from a location other than the storage facility, the one-way mileage between the location from which the vehicle is removed and the storage facility shall be multiplied by two. Mileage fractions less than 5/10 shall be omitted, and mileage fractions of 5/10 or more shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number.
Note: Pursuant to s. 349.13 (3m) (dr) 2., Stats., a towing service is prohibited from collecting any charges for the removal or storage of an illegally parked vehicle towed under s. 349.13 (3m), Stats., if the towing service has not complied with the requirement under s. 349.13 (3m) (d) 2., Stats., to notify law enforcement prior to removing the vehicle. (2) MUNICIPAL SERVICE FEE. If requested under s. 349.13 (3m) (dm), Stats., by the municipality in which the removed vehicle was illegally parked, the towing service shall charge the vehicle owner a service fee not exceeding $35 and shall remit this service fee to the municipality. The fee under this subsection is in addition to any fees charged under sub. (1). (3) TOW FEE. If the fee under sub. (2) is requested by a municipality, the towing service may charge the vehicle owner a service fee not exceeding the fee amount remitted to the municipality under sub. (2). The fee under this subsection is in addition to any fees charged under subs. (1) and (2).
(4) STORAGE PERIOD. The storage period is the number of consecutive 24-hour periods beginning on the date and time that the towing service provides the notice required under s. Trans 319.05 (1) and ending when the vehicle is retrieved, rounded up to the nearest whole number. No towing service may charge a storage fee for any calendar day that the storage facility is open less than 4 consecutive hours between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., for retrieval of the vehicle. Note: In general, the storage charge is the whole number of days from towing until retrieval, multiplied by the storage charge rate specified under s. Trans 319.03 (1) (b) or (c). However, this subsection prohibits a daily storage charge for any calendar day during which the storage facility is open less than 4 consecutive hours between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. for vehicle retrieval. For example, consider a vehicle towed at 10:20 p.m. on Friday and retrieved at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, and stored at a facility that is open for vehicle retrieval on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., closed Sunday, and open Monday from 10:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. The vehicle was stored for a period of three days, but the vehicle owner cannot be charged for one of those days of storage since the storage facility was not open for vehicle retrieval on Sunday; only two days of storage are chargeable by the towing service.
