What's happening
This bill, called the "parking protection act," sets new requirements for parking facilities in New York regarding signage, pricing disclosure, and restrictions on towing and immobilization of vehicles.
Why it matters
Mandates clear, upfront disclosure of parking costs. Parking facilities must prominently display very large, easy-to-read signage with the exact price of parking and the time period for which prices apply, helping to prevent surprise fees or last-minute price hikes.
Limits towing and immobilization practices. Vehicles can only be towed or immobilized after at least two prior violations at the same facility, and never if someone or an animal is inside, reducing the risk of predatory or unsafe removals.
Sets strict consumer protections for vehicle retrieval. If an owner arrives before their car is towed, they can reclaim it for at most half the towing fee; immobilized vehicles must be released within 30 minutes of payment, and all operators must accept both cash and credit cards.
Caps towing and storage fees. The bill imposes maximum charges—$125 total for towing and the first three days of storage, and $15 per day thereafter—curbing excessive or exploitative fees for vehicle owners.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Limit Parking Towing Fees
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 39
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to consumer protection
- Referred to rules
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Protect Drivers from Unfair Towing
In Assembly Committee · Consumer Affairs And Protection · Sponsor Sean Ryan
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6783
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
October 18, 2019
Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to establishing the parking protection act
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "parking protection act".
§ 2. The section heading, subdivisions 2 and 3, and paragraph (i) of subdivision 7 of section 399-v of the general business law, the section heading and subdivision 2 as amended, and paragraph (i) of subdivision 7 as added by chapter 328 of the laws of 2008 and subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 655 of the laws of 1997, are amended to read as follows:
Parking facilities; towing and immobilization of vehicles, posting of notices.
2. (a) Every parking facility shall display prominently a conspicuous notice stating the name, address and telephone number of the operator of the parking facility together with the name, address and telephone number of any individual or entity authorized to tow from such parking facility any motor vehicle or the name, address and telephone number of any individual or entity authorized to place a device designed to immobilize any motor vehicle in such parking facility. Such notice shall also state that unauthorized vehicles will be towed or immobilized at the vehicle owner's expense and shall state the cost for the towing and storage or for the immobilization.
(b) All parking facilities shall display prominently a conspicuous sign, not less than three feet by four feet in size, that unambiguously states the currently applicable price of parking at the facility and the period of time during which the price is valid. A higher price shall not take effect unless a sign providing notice of the change in price has been posted at least one hour prior to the time at which the higher
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13117-01-9
S. 6783 2
price is intended to commence. The signs required under this paragraph shall be separate from the notice required under paragraph (a) of this subdivision and shall comply with and contain all of the following:
(i) black letters on a white background;
(ii) letters and numbers that are at least six inches in height;
(iii) all letters shall be in the same font;
(iv) all letters and numbers shall be proportionately spaced;
(v) each type of rate shall be specified on a separate line; and
(vi) no prices shall be expressed as a range.
(c) No person shall be charged a price for parking except as set forth on the sign posted pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision.
3. (a) No owner or operator of a parking facility shall tow or authorize the towing of any motor vehicle or immobilize or authorize the immobilization of any motor vehicle in such parking facility unless such owner or operator displays a notice pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision two of this section and the commercial tower is duly licensed by a municipality or local government.
(b) No motor vehicle may be towed or immobilized:
(i) unless the motor vehicle has, on at least two previous occasions, parked in a manner inconsistent with law or posted instructions at the parking facility from which the owner seeks to have it towed or at which the owner seeks to have it immobilized; or
(ii) when the vehicle is occupied by any person or live animal.
(c) No vehicle towed pursuant to this section shall be stored more than ten miles from the parking facility from which is it removed. If no such storage facility is available, the closest available facility for storage shall be utilized. The storage facility must be a secure place for safekeeping vehicles.
(d) (i) If the registered owner or other person in control of the motor vehicle arrives at the scene prior to the removal of the vehicle, and the vehicle is connected to any apparatus for towing, the vehicle shall be removed from the apparatus and the registered owner or other person having control of the vehicle shall be allowed to remove the vehicle from the premises upon payment of a reasonable service fee of not more than one-half of the charge allowed for towing.
(ii) A person who has immobilized a motor vehicle shall release the vehicle to the registered owner or other person in control of the motor vehicle within thirty minutes of having received payment for the vehicle's release.
(iii) A tow operator who has removed a motor vehicle under this section, or person who has immobilized a vehicle under this section, shall accept for payment either cash or credit card, at the election of the owner or person in control of the vehicle and a receipt for payment shall be offered.
(i) regulate the reasonable amount, which amount shall not exceed one hundred twenty-five dollars total for the towing and first three days of storage and not more than fifteen dollars per day of storage for the fourth and subsequent days of storage, that a commercial tower may charge for the towing and storage of a vehicle removed from a parking facility;
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to establishing the parking protection act
Purpose or general idea of the bill
This bill enhances regulations and protections for users of private parking facilities outside New York City.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS::
Read the full memo (734 words)
Section 1 of the bill titles the legislation the "parking protection act".
Section 2:
-- Adds to existing signage requirements a mandate that the costs for towing and immobilization of vehicles improperly parked be displayed;
-- Requires private parking facility operators to display a separate sign that states that current applicable price to park and the time during which that time is valid;
-- Provides that any price increase cannot take effect unless notice of the change has been posted at least one hour in advance;
-- Specifies uniform minimum formatting, content, and size requirements for the pricing signs, including a prohibition on expressing the price to park as a range;
-- Requires a tower to be licensed by the municipality or local govern- ment in which the private parking lot from which a car is to be towed is located;
-- Prohibits a vehicle from being towed or immobilized unless it has parked improperly at the private parking facility on two prior occa- sions;
-- Prevents towing or immobilization of any vehicle occupied by a person or live animal;
-- Requires the storage facility to which a vehicle is towed to be located within 10 miles of the private parking facility or, if no such storage facility is available, the closest available facility;
-- Specifies that if the owner or person having control of a vehicle connected to a towing apparatus arrives on the scene prior to to wing, the vehicle must be disconnected upon payment of one-half of the towing charge;
-- Provides that an immobilized vehicle must be released within 30 minutes after payment is made;
-- Requires a tow operator to accept payment via cash or credit card, at the election of the owner or person in control of the motor vehicle;
-- Limits the amount that may be charged for towing $125; and -- Limits the amount that may be charged for storage to $15 for the first three days of storage and $15/day for the fourth and any subse- quent days.
Section 3 sets for the effective date.
Justification
Pay-to-park lot operators are given great latitude when enforcing the payment for their services and when providing for the removal or immobi- lization of motor vehicles improperly parked. In many areas of the state, however, consumers have been subject to deceptive and predatory practices by some unscrupulous private parking lot operators.
These practices include posting deliberately incomprehensible or inade- quate signage and changing prices with little or no notice. When consum- ers haven't paid the correct price to park, it is often through no fault of their own because the price was impossible to discern or was switched at the last minute. The consumer is this situation is subject to towing, immobilization (most often via "booting"), or payment of additional fees. Creating minimum standard signage requirements for parking prices and for towing/immobilization and implementing a "three-strike" approach(under which consumers cannot be booted or towed unless that same car has been the subject of two prior parking infractions at that lot) will assist the vast majority of consumers who are making a good faith effort to pay the applicable price to park.
Moreover, consumers are often in a position of extreme vulnerability when faced with a car that has been booted, connected to a towing appa- ratus, or removed from the parking lot. Increasing notice and transpar- ency, requiring the car to be towed to a storage facility at a reason- able distance from the lot, providing that a car must be disconnected from a towing apparatus if the owner pays half the towing fee prior to removal, and allowing a consumer to elect to pay the towing/immobilization fee via cash or credit card will make the proc- esses of towing and immobilization more fair.
This bill is intended to increase protections to users of private pay- to-park lots while maintaining the ability of those lots' operators (many of whom conduct business in a professional and fair manner) to have unauthorized vehicles removed or immobilized.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS::
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE::
This act takes effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.