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Senate passes wide motor‑vehicle and DMV reforms including towing, accessible‑parking and dealer rules
Summary
Lawmakers approved a large transportation and DMV package covering towing rates and transparency, accessible‑parking placard changes, dealer conveyance disclosures and technical updates to e‑bike, rental and vessel title rules.
The Connecticut Senate passed an omnibus motor‑vehicle package after floor debate that combined multiple transportation, consumer‑protection and DMV changes.
Sponsor Senator Cohen described the bill as a compilation of stakeholder‑driven reforms intended to modernize DMV functions and strengthen consumer protections. Key provisions include: redesigning and clarifying accessible‑parking placards and mandating educational materials for physicians and the public; updating queue endorsements for emergency drivers; raising an e‑scooter statutory weight limit to 110 pounds; adding all‑terrain and convertible vehicles to the list for which rental companies may require credit‑card authorizations; and tightening vessel record privacy and replacement‑title procedures to reduce fraud.
A major element of the package was a suite of towing reforms following last year’s law. The bill creates an electronic towed‑vehicle portal to allow vehicle owners and the public to find where a towed vehicle is held and to track sales of unclaimed vehicles. It updates towing notice requirements, establishes traffic‑incident management training expectations for towers and provides interim rate adjustments tied to inflation while rate hearings proceed. The measure also adds more explicit consumer protections and a towing 'bill of rights' that towers must post.
The bill contains dealer‑franchise updates that limit circumstances in which manufacturers can require costly dealer property renovations, add protections for dealer data privacy and set compensations to dealers in some stop‑sale situations. Senator Cohen and others emphasized that manufacturers, dealers and consumer groups negotiated compromise language.
Senator Wong, the ranking member, supported the compromise and noted it balanced consumer protections and dealer operational realities. The Senate approved the substitute and the bill passed on the floor by roll call.
Next steps: The measure, after transmittal, will go to the House; some provisions (e.g., towing rate implementations and the DMV portal) require executive‑branch rulemaking and procurement steps.
