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Committee advances bill to create towing and wrecker services board; sponsors say more work remains
Summary
House Bill 1261 would create a nine-member board to oversee towing and wrecker services, consolidating functions now split across agencies. The committee passed the bill 7–2 after extensive member questions about jurisdiction, rate-setting and placement of the board within state government.
Representative Hayes presented House Bill 1261 as legislation modeled on an Arkansas law to create a towing and wrecker services board that would centralize rulemaking for the industry. "The board's made up of 9 members," Hayes said, describing the intended composition (public safety member, commercial trucking, commercial insurance, two at-large, two commercial and representation from counties above and below 100,000 population).
Hayes and other members discussed that the Corporation Commission (OCC) currently addresses nonconsensual tow rates but does not regulate the industry broadly. The sponsor said some industry stakeholders favor moving broader regulatory duties into a single board and that a separate bill (cited in the hearing as House Bill 1753) could change how nonconsensual rates are determined in the future.
Committee members asked whether the Department of Public Safety (DPS) would house the new board and whether the board could be placed in another agency. Hayes said he was working with DPS and other members; he said he would withdraw the bill if a workable placement could not be found before oversight. Members also asked whether annual CPI adjustments would be removed from statutory rate-setting and whether the board would instead allow more frequent, administratively updated rates; Hayes said the board would determine its approach to rate promulgation.
After questions, the committee moved a do-pass motion; the committee recorded a 7–2 vote and the chair declared HB 1261 passed out of committee. Hayes said he planned to continue work with DPS, the Attorney General’s office and other stakeholders before the oversight hearing.
