AB415 - Revises provisions governing the towing of motor vehicles. (BDR 43-821)

- 83rd Session (2025) Assembly Bill No. 415–Assemblymembers Carter, Goulding; and Dickman Joint Sponsors: Senators Titus, Taylor; and Lange CHAPTER.......... AN ACT relating to motor vehicles; revising provisions governing the disposition of certain vehicles abandoned on public or private property; revising provisions governing the issuance of junk certificates by the Department of Motor Vehicles; revising provisions governing lists of operators of tow cars used by law enforcement agencies; prohibiting the operator of a tow car from falsely reporting the location of the operator or tow car to a law enforcement agency for certain purposes; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Existing law: (1) authorizes certain persons and law enforcement agencies to request the removal of a vehicle that has been abandoned on public or private property; and (2) requires the person who requests such a removal to inquire into whether the vehicle was stolen and the identity of the vehicle’s owner. (NRS 487.230, 487.235) Existing law requires a person who removed an abandoned vehicle to notify the registered owner and any person having a security interest in the vehicle by registered or certified mail that the vehicle has been removed and will be junked, dismantled or otherwise disposed of unless the owner or the person having the security interest responds and pays the costs of removal. (NRS 487.250) Existing law additionally requires a tow operator to notify the registered and legal owner of a vehicle if the vehicle was towed and placed in storage at the request of someone other than the owner or the owner’s authorized agent. (NRS 706.4479) Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a junk certificate to a tow operator or automobile wrecker for a vehicle that: (1) has been discarded or abandoned; (2) has been ruined, wrecked, dismantled or rendered inoperative; (3) is unfit for further use in accordance with the vehicle’s original purpose; (4) is unregistered or is not reclaimed by the registered owner or person having a security interest in the vehicle within a certain period of time; and (5) has value principally as scrap which does not exceed $200. (NRS 487.260) Section 4 of this bill increases the value of a vehicle for which a junk certificate may be issued to include a vehicle which has value principally as scrap which does not exceed $500. Section 4 authorizes the Department to issue a junk certificate for a vehicle that is appraised as a junk vehicle by an automobile wrecker or tow operator in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Department. Sections 1 and 2 of this bill authorize certain persons, with respect to an abandoned, unregistered vehicle which appears likely to be appraised as a junk vehicle and for which the identity of the owner is not known or readily ascertainable, to affix to the vehicle a notice that if the abandoned vehicle is not removed from the public or private property within 7 days, the vehicle is subject to being junked, dismantled or otherwise disposed of. Sections 1 and 2 require the notice to include certain information, including that the owner of the vehicle may request an expedited hearing in the local justice court to contest the classification of the vehicle as an abandoned junk vehicle. If the notice is affixed to certain unregistered vehicles which are appraised as junk – 2 – - 83rd Session (2025) vehicles, sections 1-5 of this bill excuse the person or law enforcement agency that authorized the removal of the vehicle and the tow operator who removed the vehicle from other provisions requiring such persons to make inquiries into the identity of the owner of the vehicle and provide the owner with certain notice regarding the removal of the vehicle. Section 4 requires the person or law enforcement agency that authorized the removal of the vehicle to provide the contact information of the automobile wrecker or tow operator who removed the vehicle if contacted by the vehicle’s owner. Existing law prohibits a law enforcement agency that maintains and uses a list of tow cars which are called by that agency to provide towing from including an operator of a tow car on that list unless the operator meets certain requirements. Existing law prohibits the Nevada Highway Patrol from removing an operator of a tow car from the list used by the Nevada Highway Patrol solely on the ground that the operator is insured under the same policy of insurance as one other operator of a tow car who is included on the list and operates in the same geographical area. (NRS 706.4485) Section 6 of this bill: (1) expands the applicability of this prohibition to all law enforcement agencies; and (2) prohibits an operator of a tow car from using any software, device or other means to falsely report the location of the operator or tow car to a law enforcement agency or any agent of a law enforcement agency for the purpose of securing a request from the law enforcement agency to provide towing services. Section 6 requires a law enforcement agency to remove an operator of a tow car from the list used by the law enforcement agency for 1 year if the operator violates that prohibition. EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. NRS 487.230 is hereby amended to read as follows: 487.230 1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 487.235, any sheriff or designee of a sheriff, constable, member of the Nevada Highway Patrol, officer of the Legislative Police, investigator of the Division of Compliance Enforcement of the Department, personnel of the Capitol Police Division of the Department of Public Safety, designated employees of the Housing Division of the Department of Business and Industry, special investigator employed by the office of a district attorney, marshal or police officer of a city or town or his or her designee, a marshal or park ranger who is part of a unit of specialized law enforcement established pursuant to NRS 280.125, or any other person charged with the enforcement of county or city ordinances who has reason to believe that a vehicle has been abandoned on public property in his or her jurisdiction may remove the vehicle from that property or cause the vehicle to be removed from that property. At the request of the owner or person in possession or control of private property – 3 – - 83rd Session (2025) who has reason to believe that a vehicle has been abandoned on his or her property, the vehicle may be removed by the operator of a tow car or an automobile wrecker from that private property. 2. [A] Except as otherwise provided in NRS 487.260, a person who authorizes the removal of an abandoned vehicle pursuant to subsection 1 shall: (a) Have the vehicle taken to the nearest garage or other place designated for storage by: (1) The state agency or political subdivision making the request if the vehicle is removed from public property. (2) The owner or person in possession or control of the property if the vehicle is removed from private property. (b) Make all practical inquiries to ascertain if the vehicle is stolen by checking the license plate number, vehicle identification number and other available information which will aid in identifying the registered and legal owner of the vehicle and supply the information to the person who is storing the vehicle. 3. If: (a) The vehicle appears likely to be appraised as a junk vehicle; (b) The vehicle is not registered with the Department and it is not readily ascertainable whether the vehicle is registered in any other state; and (c) The identity of the owner of the vehicle is not known or readily ascertainable,  an operator of a tow car, an automobile wrecker or, in the case of a vehicle abandoned on public property, a state agency or political subdivision, may, before the removal of a vehicle pursuant to this section, affix a notice to the vehicle stating that the vehicle, if not removed from the property within 7 days, is subject to being junked, dismantled or otherwise disposed of without further notice. The notice must state the date and time that the notice was affixed to the vehicle and that the owner of the vehicle may, at any time before the vehicle is removed from the property, request an expedited hearing in the justice court of the township where the property on which the vehicle was purportedly abandoned is located to contest the classification of the vehicle as an abandoned junk vehicle. 4. As used in this section, “junk vehicle” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 487.260. Sec. 2. NRS 487.235 is hereby amended to read as follows: 487.235 1. [If] Except as otherwise provided in NRS 487.260, if a sheriff’s office or other law enforcement agency – 4 – - 83rd Session (2025) discovers that, or receives notification that, a vehicle has been abandoned on public lands, the sheriff’s office or other law enforcement agency shall: (a) Make all practical inquiries to ascertain if the vehicle is stolen by checking the license plate number, vehicle identification number and other available information which will aid in identifying the owner of the vehicle; and (b) If the vehicle has not been reported as stolen and the sheriff’s office or other law enforcement agency is able to determine the identity of the owner of the vehicle, notify the Department of those facts. 2. Upon the receipt of a notice from a sheriff’s office or other law enforcement agency pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 1 and if the registration of the vehicle has not expired, the Department shall send by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, a written notice to the owner of the vehicle stating that the owner must remove or cause the vehicle to be removed from the public lands within 30 days after the date on which the notice was sent. 3. If an owner receives a notice pursuant to subsection 2, the owner may submit to the Department an affidavit which states that the owner has taken action which meets the requirements of paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection 2 of NRS 487.220. If the owner submits such an affidavit, the Department: (a) Shall maintain a record of the affidavit; and (b) Shall not suspend the registration of each vehicle currently registered to that owner as otherwise required by subsection 4. 4. If an owner: (a) Receives a notice pursuant to subsection 2; (b) Fails to remove or cause the vehicle to be removed within the 30-day period set forth in that notice; and (c) Does not submit an affidavit as described in subsection 3,  the Department shall suspend the registration of each vehicle currently registered to the owner pursuant to chapter 482 of NRS. For the purposes of this subsection, the determination of the sheriff’s office or other law enforcement agency that notified the Department pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 1 is conclusive as to whether the abandoned vehicle was removed within the 30-day period. 5. If the registration of a vehicle is suspended pursuant to subsection 4, the Department shall reinstate the registration upon receipt from the registered owner of the vehicle of: (a) An affidavit setting forth that the registered owner caused the removal and disposition of, or proof that the registered owner paid – 5 – - 83rd Session (2025) the cost of removal and disposition of, the vehicle discovered abandoned upon public lands; and (b) If applicable, proof that the registered owner redeemed any lien placed pursuant to NRS 487.270 on the vehicle discovered abandoned on public lands. 6. If a vehicle has been abandoned on public lands and: (a) The vehicle appears likely to be appraised as a junk vehicle; (b) The vehicle is not registered with the Department and it is not readily ascertainable whether the vehicle is registered in any other state; and (c) The identity of the owner of the vehicle is not known or readily ascertainable,  the sheriff’s office or other law enforcement agency, an operator of a tow car or an automobile wrecker may, before the removal of the vehicle, affix a notice to the vehicle stating that the vehicle, if not removed from the property within 7 days, is subject to being junked, dismantled or otherwise disposed of without further notice. The notice must state the date and time that the notice was affixed to the vehicle and state that the owner of the vehicle may, at any time before the vehicle is removed from the property, request an expedited hearing in the justice court of the township where the property on which the vehicle was purportedly abandoned is located to contest the classification of the vehicle as an abandoned junk vehicle. 7. If a sheriff’s office or other law enforcement agency is notified by a person or another governmental entity that a vehicle has been abandoned on public lands, the sheriff’s office or other law enforcement agency shall, insofar as practicable and authorized by law, inform the person or entity making such notification of the actions taken by the sheriff’s office or other law enforcement agency pursuant to this section. 8. As used in this section, “junk vehicle” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 487.260. Sec. 3. NRS 487.250 is hereby amended to read as follows: 487.250 1. The state agency or political subdivision shall, within 48 hours after the appraisal, notify the head of the state agency of the removal of the vehicle. The notice must contain: (a) A description of the vehicle. (b) The appraised value of the vehicle. (c) A statement as to whether the vehicle will be junked, dismantled or otherwise disposed of. – 6 – - 83rd Session (2025) 2. [The] Except as otherwise provided in NRS 487.260, the person who removed the vehicle must notify the registered owner and any person having a security interest in the vehicle by registered or certified mail that the vehicle has been removed and will be junked or dismantled or otherwise disposed of unless the registered owner or the person having a security interest in the vehicle responds and pays the costs of removal. 3. Failure to reclaim within 15 days after notification a vehicle appraised at $500 or less constitutes a waiver of interest in the vehicle by any person having an interest in the vehicle. 4. If all recorded interests in a vehicle appraised at $500 or less are waived, either as provided in subsection 3 or by written disclaimer by any person having an interest in the v [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]