As Connecticut lawmakers took a bow Friday for passing landmark legislation overhauling the state's century-old towing laws, proponents of the measure said there are still problems to be addressed, including how to ensure companies give the state the proceeds from selling towed cars.
They also said they want to increase oversight of the state Department of Motor Vehicles after learning from news accounts that an employee was placed on leave for allegedly manipulating the towing system for personal financial gain.
"I think it's an illustrative case-in-point about why government has to be vigilant on regulation, because there are so many cases like this," Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said of the law. "If a vacuum exists, someone who is predatory will move into it."
Lawmakers, local elected officials and tenant union members on Friday celebrated the passage of House Bill 7162, a major overhaul of the state's towing statutes that garnered overwhelming legislative support following reporting by The Connecticut Mirror and ProPublica earlier this year.
The news organizations found that Connecticut allows tow truck companies to start the process to sell cars valued under $1,500 in 15 days, one of the shortest windows in the country. The stories explained how this and other laws favored towing companies at the expense of low-income residents.
"It's a bill that had, it felt like, hundreds of pages, but about 80 pages of cleaning up old legislation, cleaning up old statutes, and really addressing the most important part of this, which was how this was hurting working families, how this was hurting people who were just trying to get to work, get to the grocery store," said Transportation Committee co-chair Rep. Aimee Berger-Girvalo, D-Ridgefield, referring to House Bill 7162.
Berger-Girvalo and other officials gathered in Hamden, across the street from the Seramonte Apartments where tenants reported excessive, predatory towing. The towing practices have since stopped at Seramonte, but the renters' complaints sparked larger conversations about towing statewide.
Rep. Laurie Sweet, D-Hamden, said when she started visiting constituents to learn more about their problems with towing, she heard stories about cars being towed overnight, while people were visiting family and even when someone was simply dropping off a birthday cake.
"I myself was nervous parking on this street for fear my own car would be towed when I was simply meeting with one of my constituents," Sweet said. "I know that I will breathe a little easier when I visit constituents here, and I hope residents across Connecticut will too."
CT Mirror and ProPublica reporters found that the DMV has failed to enforce a law requiring towing companies to hold onto the proceeds from the sales of towed vehicles for a year to give vehicle owners a chance to claim the money. Tow companies can subtract their fees from the proceeds of the sale, but if the owner doesn't come forward, the companies are required to turn over any remaining money to the state.
The recently passed law requires the DMV to set up a working group to study the issue. That group, which is scheduled to have its first meeting Sept. 8, is mandated to report its findings to the legislature. DMV Commissioner Tony Guerrera, who will serve as chairman, has named 10 people to the working group, including two consumer advocates and three tow company representatives.
"We're going to have to work with the Treasurer's Office as well because the claim [from tow companies] has often been that there was nothing left," to give to the state, Berger-Girvalo said. "And so by casting this big, bright light on it, we're going to learn whether or not that's really true."
She added that the group will set up a system of oversight for the agency.
CT Mirror and ProPublica reporting also found internal documents showing that a DMV employee allegedly made thousands by gaming the towing system and selling towed cars for large profits.
"We didn't really address [in the legislation] that level of corruption within the DMV itself, but by creating this working group there is going to be a default oversight that exists. But that's one of the things that we're going to be looking at very closely for future sessions," Berger-Girvalo said.
Sen. Jorge Cabrera, D-Bethany, said the towing bill showcases the importance of lawmakers standing up to private interest groups for the good of their constituents.
The legislation "is a testament to the kind of change we can have in Connecticut and across this country as working people face daunting tasks to make a living, to put food on the table, to raise their families," Cabrera said.