New law in Virginia curbs predatory towing practices

Virginia passes bill to regulate predatory towing practices

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin recently signed a bill to help prevent predatory towing practices. The legislation – HB 959 – was introduced by Delegate Alfonso Lopez. FOX 5's Sierra Fox has the story.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin recently signed a bill to help prevent predatory towing practices.

The legislation – HB 959 – was introduced by Delegate Alfonso Lopez. He has been working for nearly a decade to get his proposals passed to ensure proper towing practices are being executed.

"It’s incredibly frustrating for my constituents," Lopez said. "You’ve seen countless examples of folks delivering meals to seniors having their vans towed, police cruisers being towed, people who actually have documentation saying I’m allowed to park someplace being towed anyway, cars with babies inside, cars with pets inside being towed. We need to have proper regulations in place to address this."

This new bill allows localities to pass ordinances that require a towing company to get a second signature aka written consent from the property owner before they tow a vehicle; Monday through Friday only during business hours.

In addition, the Virginia Attorney General can now penalize a towing company for an illegal tow by charging them a fine that is 10 times the cost of the tow. The victim gets the money collected.

"It means we’re going to have a towing system where complaints are rare, and we actually have a functional, working towing system that we can all be proud of," Lopez said.

New law in Virginia curbs predatory towing practices

John O’Neill, the owner of Advanced Towing, sent FOX 5 a statement that says:

"It’s an onerous burden and safety issue for property owners. We never tow the wrong car, so what purpose does it serve? None! This is all in retribution for Delegate Lopez getting his car towed for parking illegally and going down the street for some pie!

When FOX 5 asked Delegate Lopez for his response he said, "I have been towed twice several years ago, and I was in the wrong and I paid those fines, but the fact is that this is not an onerous thing."

HB 959 goes into effect on July 1st, 2024.