SB0066sam001 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Terry Link

Filed: 3/3/2005

09400SB0066sam001 LRB094 05931 DRH 41893 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 66

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 66 on page 1, by replacing lines 4 and 5 with the following:

"Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing Sections 4-203 and 18a-300 and by adding Section 18a-402.1 as follows:"; and

on page 7, by replacing lines 10 through 12 with the following: "the Labor and Storage Lien (Small Amount) Act. "An"; and

on page 7, line 32, by replacing "$5,000" with "$2,000"; and

on page 8, below line 7, by inserting the following:

"(625 ILCS 5/18a-300) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18a-300)

Sec. 18a-300. Commercial vehicle relocators - Unlawful practices. It shall be unlawful for any commercial vehicle relocator:

(1) To operate in any county in which this Chapter is applicable without a valid, current relocator's license as provided in Article IV of this Chapter;

(2) To employ as an operator, or otherwise so use the services of, any person who does not have at the commencement of employment or service, or at any time during the course of employment or service, a valid, current operator's employment permit, or temporary operator's employment permit issued in accordance with Sections 18a-403 or 18a-405 of this Chapter; or to fail to notify the Commission, in writing, of any known criminal conviction of any employee occurring at any time before or during the course of employment or service;

(3) To employ as a dispatcher, or otherwise so use the services of, any person who does not have at the commencement of employment or service, or at any time during the course of employment or service, a valid, current dispatcher's or operator's employment permit or temporary dispatcher's or operator's employment permit issued in accordance with Sections 18a-403 or 18a-407 of this Chapter; or to fail to notify the Commission, in writing, of any known criminal conviction of any employee occurring at any time before or during the course of employment or service;

(4) To operate upon the highways of this State any vehicle used in connection with any commercial vehicle relocation service unless:

(A) There is painted or firmly affixed to the vehicle on both sides of the vehicle in a color or colors vividly contrasting to the color of the vehicle the name, address and telephone number of the relocator. The Commission shall prescribe reasonable rules and regulations pertaining to insignia to be painted or firmly affixed to vehicles and shall waive the requirements of the address on any vehicle in cases where the operator of a vehicle has painted or otherwise firmly affixed to the vehicle a seal or trade mark that clearly identifies the operator of the vehicle; and

(B) There is carried in the power unit of the vehicle a certified copy of the currently effective relocator's license and operator's employment permit. Copies may be photographed, photocopied, or reproduced or printed by any other legible and durable process. Any person guilty of not causing to be displayed a copy of his relocator's license and operator's employment permit may in any hearing concerning the violation be excused from the payment of the penalty hereinafter provided upon a showing that the license was issued by the Commission, but was subsequently lost or destroyed;

(5) To operate upon the highways of this State any vehicle used in connection with any commercial vehicle relocation service that bears the name or address and telephone number of any person or entity other than the relocator by which it is owned or to which it is leased;

(6) To advertise in any newspaper, book, list, classified directory or other publication unless there is contained in the advertisement the license number of the relocator;

(7) To remove any vehicle from private property without having first obtained the written authorization of the property owner or other person in lawful possession or control of the property, his authorized agent, or an authorized law enforcement officer. The authorization may be on a contractual basis covering a period of time or limited to a specific removal;

(8) To charge the private property owner, who requested that an unauthorized vehicle be removed from his property, with the costs of removing the vehicle contrary to any terms that may be a part of the contract between the property owner and the commercial relocator. Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent a relocator from assessing, collecting, or receiving from the property owner, lessee, or their agents any fee prescribed by the Commission;

(9) To remove a vehicle when the owner or operator of the vehicle is present or arrives at the vehicle location at any time prior to the completion of removal, and is willing and able to remove the vehicle immediately;

(10) To remove any vehicle from property on which signs are required and on which there are not posted appropriate signs under Section 18a-302;

(11) To fail to notify law enforcement authorities in the jurisdiction in which the trespassing vehicle was removed within one hour of the removal. Notification shall include a complete description of the vehicle, registration numbers if possible, the locations from which and to which the vehicle was removed, the time of removal, and any other information required by regulation, statute or ordinance;

(12) To impose any charge other than in accordance with the rates set by the Commission as provided in paragraph (6) of Section 18a-200 of this Chapter;

(13) To fail, in the office or location at which relocated vehicles are routinely returned to their owners, to prominently post the name, address and telephone number of the nearest office of the Commission to which inquiries or complaints may be sent;

(13.1) To fail to distribute to each owner or operator of a relocated vehicle, in written form as prescribed by Commission rule or regulation, the relevant statutes, regulations and ordinances governing commercial vehicle relocators, including, in at least 12 point boldface type, the name, address and telephone number of the nearest office of the Commission to which inquiries or complaints may be sent;

(13.2) To fail, in a county with a population of more than 2,000,000, to make available to their owners or operators, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 52 weeks per year, relocated vehicles.

(14) To remove any vehicle, otherwise in accordance with this Chapter, more than 15 air miles from its location when towed from a location in an unincorporated area of a county or more than 10 air miles from its location when towed from any other location;

(15) To fail to make a telephone number available to the police department of any municipality in which a relocator operates at which the relocator or an employee of the relocator may be contacted at any time during the hours in which the relocator is engaged in the towing of vehicles, or advertised as engaged in the towing of vehicles, for the purpose of effectuating the release of a towed vehicle; or to fail to include the telephone number in any advertisement of the relocator's services published or otherwise appearing on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act; or to fail to have an employee available at any time on the premises owned or controlled by the relocator for the purposes of arranging for the immediate release of the vehicle.

Apart from any other penalty or liability authorized under this Act, if after a reasonable effort, the owner of the vehicle is unable to make telephone contact with the relocator for a period of one hour from his initial attempt during any time period in which the relocator is required to respond at the number, all fees for towing, storage, or otherwise are to be waived. Proof of 3 attempted phone calls to the number provided to the police department by an officer or employee of the department on behalf of the vehicle owner within the space of one hour, at least 2 of which are separated by 45 minutes, shall be deemed sufficient proof of the owner's reasonable effort to make contact with the vehicle relocator. Failure of the relocator to respond to the phone calls is not a criminal violation of this Chapter;

(16) To use equipment which the relocator does not own, except in compliance with Section 18a-306 of this Chapter and Commission regulations. No equipment can be leased to more than one relocator at any time. Equipment leases shall be filed with the Commission. If equipment is leased to one relocator, it cannot thereafter be leased to another relocator until a written cancellation of lease is properly filed with the Commission;

(17) To use drivers or other personnel who are not employees or contractors of the relocator;

(18) To fail to refund any amount charged in excess of the reasonable rate established by the Commission;

(19) To violate any other provision of this Chapter, or of Commission regulations or orders adopted under this Chapter.

(Source: P.A. 88-448.)

(625 ILCS 5/18a-402.1 new)

Sec. 18a-402.1. Relocator's licenses; expedited transfer procedures.

(a) The Commission may provide for the transfer of a license, without notice and hearing, and without the necessity of making the findings provided for in Sections 18a-400 and 18a-401, when the transfer is to:

(1) a member or members of the transferor's immediate family;

(2) a corporation, the stock of which is wholly owned by the transferor or members of the transferor's immediate family or a member or members of the transferor partnership;

(3) a member or members of a partnership of which the transferor is a partner;

(4) a stockholder or stockholders of the transferor corporation or of a corporation wholly owned by the transferor or the transferor's immediate family;

(5) the heirs of a person who dies intestate or the legatees of a testator, upon order of the court having jurisdiction;

(6) the heirs or legatees of the transferor under the Probate Act of 1975;

(7) a corporation, more than 50% of the stock of which is controlled by the stockholders of the transferor corporation; or

(8) a corporation, all of the stock of which is controlled by a member or members of the immediate family of the stockholder or stockholders of the transferor corporation.

(b) When a transfer of a license may be accomplished on an expedited basis without notice and hearing through 2 or more transactions of the type described in subsection (a), and they do, in fact, represent a single, contemporaneous transaction, then the Commission shall allow the transfer to be made as a single transaction in a single application. It shall, however, be the applicants' burden to demonstrate that the applicants are entitled to this treatment of their application by setting forth each of the individual qualifying transactions under subsection (a) with the same detail and specificity as if each individual application were filed.

(c) Upon the filing of an application for expedited transfer under this Section, the Commission shall issue to the proposed transferee a provisional license that shall remain valid for 90 days. During that 90 days, the Commission shall consider, with regard to the proposed transferee, the following:

(1) the criminal conviction records of the applicant, its owners or controllers, directors, officers, employees and agents;

(2) the safety record of the applicant, its owners or controllers, directors, officers, employees and agents;

(3) the compliance record of the applicant, its owners or controllers, directors, officers, employees and agents;

(4) the equipment, facilities, and storage lots of the applicant; and

(5) other facts which may bear on the fitness of the applicant, its owners or controllers, directors, officers, employees and agents to hold a relocator's license.

(d) The Commission shall issue a new relocator's license to the proposed transferee if the Commission determines, after completion of the investigation described in subsection (c), that the proposed transferee is fit, willing, and able properly to perform the proposed service and to conform to the law and the rules and of the Commission. The license shall be deemed a successor license bearing all of the obligations and responsibilities of the original licensee under this Act.

(e) The Commission shall deny the expedited transfer application if the the Commission determines, after completion of the investigation, that the proposed transferee is not fit, willing, and able properly to perform as described in subsection (d).

(625 ILCS 5/18a-402 rep.) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18a-402)

Section 10. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by repealing Section 18a-402.".