DENVER — A new bill that would add greater regulation to Colorado’s towing industry passed both houses of the state legislature and will go to the governor’s desk.
The state Senate approvedHouse Bill 24-1051 on Monday, which will prohibit towing companies from patrolling private lots and give the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) the ability to revoke the business license of carriers if they continuously break the law. Currently, the PUC can only refuse to renew a license when it is up and issue fines for violating the law.
“We think the bill coming out of the legislature is a great step for Colorado and really is going to help a lot of people,” said Zach Neumann, co-founder and CEO of the Community Economic Defense Project.
Neumann, whose group was a strong advocate for the bill, said that landlords or property owners must fill out a form requesting each tow.
A previous version of the bill would have required property owners to pay for a tow, but that provision was removed.
“The fact that towing companies now have to be called out by the landlord will make a huge difference in terms of the number and the frequency of tows,” Neumann said.
Denver7 Investigates has reported at length on issues with the state’s towing industry, including companies that were set up with a “vertical integration” model that controlled all aspects of a tow, from managing the parking lot to selling a towed car at auction.
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Impound Empire: Wyatts Towing, partners connected to many aspects of towing
Last year, one operator, Wyatts Towing, reached a $1 million settlement with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.Some of that money will go toward repaying consumers who were improperly towed.
House Bill 24-1051 passed the Senate with bipartisan support.
“It’s really great to see such broad support for the law,” Neumann said.
