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<section article="gps" article_name="Public Safety" number="2-314" title_number="2" title_name="Department of State Police" subtitle_number="3" subtitle_name="Powers and Duties of Department">
  <level label="a">
    <level label="1">
      <text>In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>“Approved rates” means the maximum rates approved by the Department that apply to police–initiated towing and recovery services.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>“Authorized tow company” means a company providing towing and recovery services at the request of the Department and designated on the tow list.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>“Heavy–duty towing” means towing and recovery of a vehicle including trailers and semitrailers with a gross vehicle weight rating over 26,000 pounds.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="5">
      <text>“Light–duty towing” means towing and recovery of a vehicle including trailers or semitrailers with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="6">
      <text>“Medium–duty towing” means towing and recovery of a vehicle including trailers or semitrailers with a gross vehicle weight rating from over 10,000 pounds to 26,000 pounds.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="7">
      <text>“Per pound billing” means a method of calculating a fee for towing and recovery services using a formula that considers the weight of the vehicle, equipment, or cargo that is the subject of the towing and recovery and multiplies the weight of the vehicle, equipment, or cargo by a monetary amount.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="8">
      <text>“Police–initiated towing” means the towing or recovery of a motor vehicle which was authorized, requested, or dispatched by the Department.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="9">
      <text>“Recovery” means winching, hoisting, up–righting, removing, or otherwise relocating a vehicle when the vehicle is found in a location, state, or position in which it cannot be removed from the location, state, or position using only the vehicle’s own power, even if it were in complete operating condition.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="10">
      <text>“Tow list” means the list of towing businesses authorized by the Department to perform police–initiated towing services of disabled or abandoned vehicles within the Department’s jurisdiction.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="11">
      <text>“Towing” means using another vehicle to move or remove a vehicle.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <text>The Department shall:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>establish and maintain a tow list, by county, of qualifying tow companies for use by the Department in carrying out the duties of this subtitle; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>make the tow list available to the public on request.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>The Department may adopt regulations to establish standards for tow companies, including application procedures and minimum qualification requirements, and must include on the list all qualifying tow companies.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>The Department shall:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>require a tow company that is on the tow list to ban the use of per pound billing;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>establish the approved rates for light–, medium–, and heavy–duty towing and recovery that may be charged by a tow company on the tow list, based on recommendations made by the Committee on Rate Setting and Complaint Resolution for Police–Initiated Towing and Recovery established under § 2–314.1 of this subtitle; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>develop a process to receive, investigate, and adjudicate complaints from a vehicle owner or operator or the owner’s designee against an authorized tow company regarding the police–initiated towing of a motor vehicle, including a process to suspend or remove an authorized tow company from the tow list.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <level label="1">
      <text>An authorized tow company may charge less than but may not charge more than the approved rates authorized by the Department for a police–initiated towing and recovery.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The approved rates for light–duty towing and recovery may not exceed 80% of the maximum approved rates for medium–duty towing and recovery charged by a tow company.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="f">
    <text>If a vehicle owner or the owner’s designee requests the use of a specific towing company, the Department shall honor that request and allow the vehicle owner to engage the services of the requested towing company except when:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>the requested towing company cannot arrive at the location of the vehicle within a reasonable time period;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>a traffic safety problem exists and the requested towing company cannot arrive at the location within 30 minutes of a police employee’s arrival at the location of the vehicle; or</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>the vehicle is disabled in the roadway as a result of a collision or vehicle fire and the requested towing company cannot arrive within 30 minutes of a police employee’s arrival at the location of the vehicle.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
</section>
