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Senate bill tightens tow-truck lien rules after towers report high unpaid rates
Summary
Senator Mike Yakawich sponsored changes to towing lien law aimed at ensuring towers can be reimbursed for cargo and cleanup costs when customers or carriers lack sufficient insurance. Towing representatives testified unpaid bills and disposal costs leave small towers carrying losses.
Senator Mike Yakawich introduced Senate Bill 113 to clarify tow-truck lien and release rules, saying the measure aims to prevent towers from being left unpaid for large, valuable cargo while insurers or brokers remove goods.
"This is bringing in many regards ... the fair and square tow truck bill," Yakawich said, arguing towers do essential, hazardous work and should be reimbursed for services.
Multiple tow-truck operators and the Montana Tow Truck Association testified in support. Scott Wolff, president of the Montana Tow Truck Association and owner of a Missoula towing company, described cases where insurers or load brokers removed valuable cargo and left towers with the wrecked vehicle and cleanup costs: "It was a load of potato flakes that they had to release and then fight for their money on the back end of that."
Witnesses gave differing estimates of unpaid rates. Wolff cited that in 2023 towers did not get paid for about 42% of certain tows; Dennis Fraunfelter told the committee his company''s unpaid rate is "over 53%, 54%" in his region. Operators described the administrative and disposal costs towers face when an owner does not pay: certified notices, title-application fees, fluid and freon removal, secondary tow to a recycler, and minimal return from scrap weight.
Proponents told the committee the bill would preserve common-sense exceptions for personal items such as groceries, medications and child-safety equipment while tightening exemptions insurers had used to remove cargo without satisfying tower liens.
Witnesses said Montana has roughly 330 towing companies and many small operators who cannot absorb repeated unpaid bills. Terry Morrison, a small tower and former association president, said smaller operators rely on lien law to recover payment in remote areas.
Committee members asked about the process for releasing personal items at the scene, remedies available for service complaints, and the frequency of uninsured or underinsured commercial haulers. Proponents noted a complaint mechanism through the Attorney General's office and a tow-truck advisory board that screens complaints.
No committee vote appears in the transcript. The sponsor asked the committee for a due pass.
The hearing record contains extensive firsthand descriptions of unpaid claims, disposal costs, and the industry''s reliance on lien protections when insurance is not available or insufficient.
