Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Towing Legislation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Iowa's towing law changes prompt Des Moines council to weigh local consumer protections
Summary
Staff briefed council on House File 2617 (effective 07/01/2026), which modifies abandoned-vehicle rules, adds consumer protections and preempts local abandoned-vehicle ordinances; councilors discussed a legal gap for private-to-private tows and asked staff and legal counsel to draft local consumer protections for the 0'to'24-hour window where state protections do not apply.
City staff summarized House File 2617 and compared the new statewide rules with Des Moines' existing towing contract and consumer protections during a council work session.
Emily Harris Percelli, government relations manager, said the bill was passed in May and signed by the governor with an effective date of July 1, 2026. She walked council through key provisions: a required 10-day notice of possession to registered owners and lienholders, a 20-day reclamation period, a list of personal property that owners may recover during reclamation without paying storage fees, required itemized invoices, a maximum $100 inspection fee and a preemption clause that implements the abandoned-vehicle provisions uniformly across the state.
Nut graf: While the bill strengthens some consumer protections for abandoned vehicles held in police custody, councilors and legal counsel warned that gaps remain for many private-property and nonconsensual tows that occur in the 0'to'24-hour period after a vehicle is parked, a window not covered by the abandoned-vehicle law.
Legal counsel ("Meg" in the session) told council the city's contract provisions apply only when police have authority to take a vehicle into custody; private-property towing arrangements between a property owner and a private tow company are not governed by the city contract unless the vehicle meets the statutory abandoned-vehicle definitions.
Several council members argued the city should adopt complementary local measures to protect residents in those private-to-private situations: suggested measures included requiring credit-card acceptance at the time of a tow or drop, capping card-processing fees (several council members suggested a reasonable cap near 3%), limiting or eliminating "drop" fees if a vehicle is still attached and can be released on the spot, requiring posting of daily storage and impound fees, and exploring signage and inspection requirements for lots that have repeated nonconsensual tows.
One council member pointed to other Iowa cities (Sioux City, Davenport, Cedar Rapids) that have nonconsensual-towing ordinances and urged drafting an ordinance or resolution that "fills the gaps" without conflicting with the state's abandoned-vehicle preemption.
There was no vote. The council directed staff and legal counsel to collect ideas, perform legal analysis on preemption risk, and return with suggested ordinance or contract-language options that mirror the consumer protections the law creates where allowed and extend protections to the 0'to'24-hour private-tow window where possible.
What's next: Staff will investigate statutory preemption risks and draft options that aim to protect consumers (drop-fee limits, posted fees, credit-card acceptance and reasonable card-fee limits) while avoiding conflict with state law; council members asked that body-camera and signage proposals be assessed as well.
