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Senate concurs in House amendments to booting and towing bill, narrows booting and adds consumer protections
Summary
The Senate concurred in three House amendments to the booting and towing bill, adopting a narrower framework for booting that allows owner-operated boots under strict conditions, bans third-party booters unless licensed locally, and adds consumer safeguards and timing changes for the state motor-vehicle portal.
The Senate voted to concur in House amendments to the booting and towing bill (Senate Bill 10 68 on the calendar), adopting a package of changes that rewrite the bill’s booting provisions, add consumer protections and adjust implementation timing for a state motor-vehicle portal.
Leader Johnson explained three House amendments on the floor. Amendment 3 permits the Department of Revenue to charge a fee for use of the motor-vehicle portal, exempts law-enforcement agencies from the charge, and removes the implication of local government fiscal costs from the fiscal note. Amendment 4 incorporates consumer protections tied to QR-code payment failures in parking lots, requires alternate forms of payment or allows customers to leave without immediate payment when the digital system fails, prohibits late fees for at least seven business days after a failed payment, and extends the motor-vehicle portal implementation date from July 1, 2026, to Oct. 1, 2026.
House Amendment 5 substantially rewrote the bill’s booting provisions: it removes the Senate’s prior permanent statewide ban on booting and instead allows property owners of commercial lots to boot vehicles under strictly limited circumstances (owner’s W-2 employees only, self‑releasing boot devices, and specific signage at entrances/exits). Third-party booting companies remain prohibited except where a local government enacts an ordinance that licenses booting companies and individual operators. The amendment created consumer protections including a public license registry, a formal complaint process and a required $250,000 surety bond to cover actual damages for violations; it also added other safeguards intended to address predatory practices described in floor discussion.
The Senate recorded concurrence with House Amendments 3, 4 and 5 by constitutional majorities and declared the action to be the final Senate action on the bill.
