Committee OKs amended tow‑company availability language after operators warn of costs

Senate Bill 431, introduced by Senator Foyle, would change how towing and storage companies may charge customers when vehicles are taken involuntarily and the company lacks weekend availability. The author offered an amendment that stops short of a mandatory storefront requirement: if a towing or storage company “does not have a person available to provide for the release of vehicles or personal property for a minimum of four hours on a Saturday and Sunday,” the company may not charge a storage fee for those days. The committee adopted amendment set 2046.

Multiple towing‑company owners and trade representatives testified in opposition or with concerns. Glenn Faul, who identified himself as owner of Glenn's Towing of Lafayette, said the Public Service Commission regulates rates and that requiring availability or subtracting storage days would create labor and operational burdens, overtime pay exposure and dispatch/records‑access problems. "If I'm controlling somebody's time, I have to pay them," Faul said, describing potential overtime liability for staff who would need to be available on weekends.

Jared Bornadeau, president of Tow and Recovery Professionals Louisiana, told the committee enforcement could be problematic where callers report non‑availability. He also warned that many rural operators are small, often husband‑and‑wife businesses that lack capacity to staff weekend call coverage.

Senator Foyle said he wants to address the problem of people who cannot access towed property on weekends but does not want to create unintended consequences for small operators; he told industry representatives he will keep working with stakeholders on technical fixes if the bill moves to the Senate floor.

After discussion the committee voted to report SB431 as amended without objection. The author said he will try to refine rates, enforcement language and PSC coordination before floor consideration.