Bill To Reform Tennessee Vehicle Booting Heads To Governor Lee’s Desk

Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov

The Center Square [By Jon Styf] –

A bill to limit how parking lots can boot and immobilize vehicles that places a $75 cap on booting charges is headed to the desk of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee after it passed the Legislature.

The bill prohibits booting unless an individual is licensed through a local government. To boot a car in a commercial parking lot, a licensed parking attendant must be present, identifiable as an employee and available to remove the boot within 45 minutes of a driver’s call.

“This legislation will protect vehicle owners in Tennessee from bad actors seeking to profit off of immobilizing and confiscating vehicles,” said Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin. “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.”

Vehicle owners must be properly notified if their vehicle is being towed, sold or demolished by a towing company and, 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.

If Lee signs the bill, it will become law on July 1.

About the Author: Jon Styf, The Center Square Staff Reporter – Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies. Follow Jon on Twitter @JonStyf.