PUC rulemaking to implement towing law would require annual carrier data submissions

The Public Utilities Commission's towing rulemaking (proceeding 24-382TO) will implement recent towing legislation and add an annual data-collection requirement tied to carrier permits, staff said at the Feb. 27 towing task force meeting.

Nathan Riley, Transportation Section Chief at the PUC, described the pending rulemaking as “the one we initiated back in September” and said it largely implements House Bill 24-1051. "One of the things that will be implemented at that time includes a data collection aspect," Riley said.

Riley said the draft rule would make data submission a contingency of permitting: carriers must submit the requested information for permit issuance or renewal. The types of data described include the number of tow trucks a carrier operates, the volume of tows broken out by category (consensual, nonconsensual, law-enforcement ordered), and consensual tow pricing for carriers that perform consensual tows. The rule also contains a catchall allowing the commission to request other information it deems necessary.

PUC staff said they expect to set an annual due date for the data — "It is gonna be set up in a way where that data will be due, by February 1 of each year," Riley said — but noted the rule provides some flexibility. Staff indicated the towing task force may receive access to compiled data after the first collection cycle and possibly on an ongoing basis for policy work. Riley estimated first public-use data could be available following the initial collection cycle in 2026.

No formal vote on the rule was taken at the meeting. Staff said the rulemaking remains pending and that effective dates will depend on the commission's final rule adoption schedule.