Committee hears House Bill 1382 bringing towing companies under dealer-services oversight; stakeholders differ on fees and language

House lawmakers heard testimony on House Bill 1382 on Jan. 21, which would add a state registration and enforcement regime for towing companies and make several changes to existing dealer-services rules.

The bill would create licensure and enforcement authority for towing firms within the Secretary of State’s Auto Dealer Services Division and moves certain trade provisions from Title 24 of the Indiana Code into a newly created Chapter 9-32.5. Proponents said the measure would give dealers and consumers a quicker regulatory remedy for disputes that are now treated as civil matters.

“Over the past few years, the division has received several complaints,” Sean Grady, co-director of the Auto Dealers Services Division, told the committee, describing problems dealers—particularly buy-here-pay-here dealers—have had retrieving vehicles from impound yards. Grady said the division expects “general compliance voluntarily within that first year period” and estimated the number of affected businesses at roughly 1,000.

Insurance industry and…