New Tennessee bill puts restrictions on vehicle towing, booting

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WDEF) — The Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill putting restrictions on vehicle towing, parking and booting.

The General Assembly said SB1692 is meant to protect vehicle owners from abuse.

“This legislation will protect vehicle owners in Tennessee from bad actors seeking to profit off of immobilizing and confiscating vehicles,” said Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson. “I’ve received complaints from many constituents who have had to go through unreasonably long and expensive processes to regain control of their vehicles which were unfairly immobilized or towed. Unfortunately, our current laws do not provide legal recourse to punish parking enforcers engaged in certain nefarious practices. This bill targets those bad actors and protects Tennessee vehicle owners.”

The bill will prohibit unlicensed individuals from booting vehicles in Tennessee. This means no one can boot a vehicle in Tennessee unless they are licensed to do so through local government.

It also caps the fee to remove a boot at $75.

In addition, Johnson says the bill requires licensed parking attendants to be “present, identifiable as an employee and available to remove a boot within 45 minutes of a driver’s call.”

The bill also ensures vehicle owners are notified of their vehicle being towed, sold or demolished by a towing company.

“Furthermore, if the towing process has begun, but the vehicle hasn’t left the parking area, the bill requires towing companies to release vehicles to the owner for a fee of no more than $100,” according to the General Assembly.

Gov. Lee must now sign the bill into law.

It is slated to take effect on July 1.