Senate committees move to create task force after consumer-protection testimony on tow-company payment practices

Senate committees on Transportation, Culture and the Arts and on Commerce and Consumer Protection on April 1 recommended converting SCR 222 and SR 197—which urge towing companies to provide on-site automated payment options—into a task force to study towing payment access and enforcement.

The Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) testified in opposition to urging tow companies to install ATMs, saying many tow operators already have ATMs and that Act 60 (effective July 1, 2024) requires tow companies to accept credit and debit cards. OCP officials told the committees they are pursuing complaints against a particular tow company that has generated roughly 40 complaints in recent months, about half of which allege refusal to accept card payments despite having an on-site ATM.

Why it matters: Complainants told OCP they encounter tow companies that either refuse card or debit payments, impose high ATM fees, or use ATMs that cap withdrawals—practices that can make reclamation of a towed vehicle especially burdensome for drivers without cash on hand. OCP said its enforcement remedies are limited; most enforcement would require civil litigation or private restitution, and OCP has no immediate authority to impose fines or revoke licenses in the cases described.

Testimony and committee response: OCP representatives described ongoing settlement negotiations with the operator in question and said the agency had conducted subpoenas and examinations under oath as part of its investigations. OCP asked the committees to focus on strengthening enforcement rather than simply encouraging tow companies to host ATMs. Committee members asked whether the problematic operator holds state or county contracts; OCP said it did not.

Committee action: After discussion, the committees recommended turning the issue into a working task force to explore solutions, convened by the Office of Consumer Protection with stakeholder participation and appropriate government and industry representatives. The committees noted that further decision making for the Transportation, Culture and the Arts committee would occur at a later time and that CPN would adopt the task-force recommendation and pass the resolutions with amendments.

Next steps: The task force will be charged with studying enforcement gaps, reasonable fee practices for on-site payment options, and potential statutory fixes to improve consumer protections for vehicle owners whose cars are towed. The committees deferred additional decision-making on the TCA side to a later meeting time and set the CPN recommendation to pass with amendments and to establish the task force.