Pub. 4 2015-2016 Issue 3

28 San Diego Dealer G overnor Brown signed AB 1222 (Bloom) this year, a bill which greatly modifies how tow companies operate and what types of records they must keep. Since the bill may not apply to all dealers, it was left out of CNCDA’s 2015 Legislative Summary. However, we have heard from several dealers that this bill will impact their businesses, and we are therefore now including it in our year-end summary and explaining the bill below. Effective January 1, 2016, businesses taking possession of vehicles from tow truck companies must record information about the tow truck company, truck operator, and the towed vehicle. This information must be retained by the business for three years and made available within 48 hours of a written request by a police officer or agent of a police department, sheriff’s department, the California Highway Patrol, Attorney General’s office, the Bureau of Automotive Repair, a district attorney’s office, or a city attorney’s office. If the vehicle was dropped off after hours, the business must obtain the information from the tow company the next day. DOES THE REQUIREMENT APPLY TO DEALERS? The towing information mandate applies to any dealer who takes possession of a vehicle from a towing service, regardless of whether the vehicle is repaired at the dealership. Dealers should gather the required information whenever a vehicle owned by a third-party is towed to the dealership. WHAT INFORMATION MUST BE RECORDED? The following information must be gathered from the towing operator either at the time that possession is taken, if during business hours, or the following business day, if the vehicle is dropped off after hours: • Towing Company: • Name of the company • Address of the company • Telephone number of the company • Tow Truck Operator: • Name of the operator • Driver’s license number of the operator • Vehicle Information: • Make, model and license plate OR • Vehicle Identification Number • Possession Information: • Date of possession • Time of possession Records may be retained in electronic or paper form. There is no specific format for the records. A model towing information record form is attached here. WHO CAN REQUEST THE INFORMATION? Dealers must make the information above available to the following groups within 48 hours after receiving a written request: • Police departments • Sheriffs’ departments • Department of the California Highway Patrol • Attorney General’s office • Bureau of Automotive Repair • District attorneys’ offices • City attorneys’ offices HOW LONG SHOULD RECORDS BE RETAINED? Records of towing information must be retained for three years. This is a shorter period of time than for most repair records, but dealerships may find that retaining these records in a manner similar to repair records streamlines record retention. ANOTHER NEW LAW IMPACTING DEALERS IN 2016: TOWING INFORMATION RECORD MANDATE