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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
S. B. No. 304
2025-2026
Senator Lang
To
amend section 4513.61 of the Revised Code
to
address lienholder responsibility for the payment of towing and
storage charges for specified motor vehicles.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
section 4513.61 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec.
4513.61.
(A)
The sheriff of a county or chief of a law enforcement agency of a
municipal corporation, township, port authority, conservancy
district, university campus police department, park district police
force, or township or joint police district, within the sheriff's or
chief's respective territorial jurisdiction, or a state highway
patrol trooper, natural resources officer, or wildlife officer, upon
notification to the sheriff, chief, or department of natural
resources, as applicable, of such action and of the location of the
place of storage, may order into storage any motor vehicle, including
an abandoned junk motor vehicle as defined in section 4513.63 of the
Revised Code, that:
(1)
Has come into the possession of the sheriff, chief, state highway
patrol trooper, or officer as a result of the performance of the
sheriff's, chief's, trooper's, or officer's duties; or
(2)
Has been left on a public street or other property open to the public
for purposes of vehicular travel, or upon or within the right-of-way
of any road or highway, for forty-eight hours or longer without
notification to the sheriff, chief, or department of the reasons for
leaving the motor vehicle in such place. However, when such a motor
vehicle constitutes an obstruction to traffic it may be ordered into
storage immediately unless either of the following applies:
(a)
The vehicle was involved in an accident and is subject to section
4513.66 of the Revised Code;
(b)
The vehicle is a commercial motor vehicle. If the vehicle is a
commercial motor vehicle, the sheriff, chief, trooper, or officer
shall allow the owner or operator of the vehicle the opportunity to
arrange for the removal of the motor vehicle within a period of time
specified by the sheriff, chief, trooper, or officer. If the sheriff,
chief, trooper, or officer determines that the vehicle cannot be
removed within the specified period of time, the sheriff, chief,
trooper, or officer shall order the removal of the vehicle.
Subject
to division (C) of this section, the sheriff, chief, or department
shall designate the place of storage of any motor vehicle so ordered
removed.
(B)
If the sheriff, chief, trooper, or officer issues an order under
division (A) of this section and arranges for the removal of a motor
vehicle by a towing service, the towing service shall deliver the
motor vehicle to the location designated by the sheriff, chief, or
department not more than two hours after the time it is removed.
(C)(1)
The sheriff, chief, or department shall cause a search to be made of
the records of an applicable entity listed in division (F)(1) of
section 4513.601 of the Revised Code to ascertain the identity of the
owner and any lienholder of a motor vehicle ordered into storage by
the sheriff, chief, trooper, or officer within five business days of
the removal of the vehicle. Upon obtaining such identity, the
sheriff, chief, or department shall send or cause
notice
to
be sent to the owner and any lienholder at the owner's and any
lienholder's last known address by certified or express mail with
return receipt requested, by certified mail with electronic tracking,
or by a commercial carrier service utilizing any form of delivery
requiring a signed receipt. The notice shall inform the owner and any
lienholder that the motor vehicle will be declared a nuisance and
disposed of if not claimed within ten days of the date of the sending
of the notice.
(2)
The
Subject
to division (G) of this section, the
owner
or lienholder of the motor vehicle is responsible for payment of any
expenses or charges incurred in its removal and storage and may
reclaim the motor vehicle upon payment of those expenses or charges,
and presentation of proof of ownership, which may be evidenced by a
certificate of title or memorandum certificate of title to the motor
vehicle, a certificate of registration for the motor vehicle, or a
lease agreement. Upon presentation of proof of ownership evidenced as
provided above, the owner of the motor vehicle also may retrieve any
personal items from the vehicle without retrieving the vehicle and
without paying any fee. However, a towing service or storage facility
may charge an after-hours retrieval fee established by the public
utilities commission in rules adopted under section 4921.25 of the
Revised Code if the owner retrieves the personal items after hours,
unless the towing service or storage facility fails to provide the
notice required under division (B)(3) of section 4513.69 of the
Revised Code, if applicable. However, the owner shall not do either
of the following:
(a)
Retrieve any personal item that has been determined by the sheriff,
chief, trooper, or officer, as applicable, to be necessary to a
criminal investigation;
(b)
Retrieve any personal item from a vehicle if it would endanger the
safety of the owner, unless the owner agrees to sign a waiver of
liability.
For
purposes of division (C)(2) of this section, "personal items"
do not include any items that are attached to the vehicle.
(3)
If the owner or lienholder of the motor vehicle reclaims it after a
search of the applicable records has been conducted and after notice
has been sent to the owner and any lienholder as described in this
section, and the search was conducted by the place of storage, and
the notice was sent to the motor vehicle owner by the place of
storage, the owner or lienholder shall pay to the place of storage a
processing fee of twenty-five dollars, in addition to any expenses or
charges incurred in the removal and storage of the vehicle.
(D)
If the owner or lienholder makes no claim to the motor vehicle within
ten days of the date of sending the notice, and if the vehicle is to
be disposed of at public auction as provided in section 4513.62 of
the Revised Code, the sheriff, chief, or department, without charge
to any party, shall file with the clerk of courts of the county in
which the place of storage is located an affidavit showing compliance
with the requirements of this section. Upon presentation of the
affidavit, the clerk, without charge, shall issue a salvage
certificate of title, free and clear of all liens and encumbrances,
to the sheriff, chief, or department. If the vehicle is to be
disposed of to a motor vehicle salvage dealer or other facility as
provided in section 4513.62 of the Revised Code, the sheriff, chief,
or department shall execute in triplicate an affidavit, as prescribed
by the registrar of motor vehicles, describing the motor vehicle and
the manner in which it was disposed of, and that all requirements of
this section have been complied with. The sheriff, chief, or
department shall retain the original of the affidavit for the
sheriff's, chief's, or department's records, and shall furnish two
copies to the motor vehicle salvage dealer or other facility. Upon
presentation of a copy of the affidavit by the motor vehicle salvage
dealer, the clerk of courts, within thirty days of the presentation,
shall issue a salvage certificate of title, free and clear of all
liens and encumbrances.
(E)
Whenever a motor vehicle salvage dealer or other facility receives an
affidavit for the disposal of a motor vehicle as provided in this
section, the dealer or facility shall not be required to obtain an
Ohio certificate of title to the motor vehicle in the dealer's or
facility's own name if the vehicle is dismantled or destroyed and
both copies of the affidavit are delivered to the clerk of courts.
(F)
No towing service or storage facility shall fail to comply with this
section.
(G)
A lienholder is not liable for any expenses or charges incurred in
the removal or storage of a vehicle under this section if the
lienholder does not reclaim the motor vehicle.
Section
2.
That
existing section 4513.61 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.