SB 521

Under current law, an authority that issues citations (tickets) for nonmoving

traffic (parking) violations may enforce parking violations in several ways. A person

issued a parking ticket may pay the ticket by mail as the parking ticket provides and,

if the person does so, the parking ticket is not filed with or transmitted to court. The

person may also appear in court to contest the parking ticket. If the person does not

pay the parking ticket or make a timely appearance in court, the authority that

issued the ticket may issue a summons to the person and follow a procedure to

request that the Department of Transportation (DOT) suspend the person's vehicle

registration or, in lieu of this procedure, follow a procedure for the issuance of a

warrant for the person and for the person's arrest or deposit of money or a driver's

license to secure the person's appearance in court.

Also under current law, any city, village, or town (municipality) or any county

may enact an ordinance prohibiting unregistered motor vehicles on highways and

providing for the immobilization, removal (towing), impoundment, and disposal of

these vehicles.

This bill creates an alternative method for the enforcement of multiple parking

violations. The bill allows a municipality or county to enact an ordinance providing

for the immobilization with an immobilization device (typically a "car boot") or

towing, impoundment, and disposal of vehicles owned by habitual parking violators.

The ordinance must be limited to those vehicles for which all of the following apply:

1. The municipality or county has issued tickets to the owner of the motor

vehicle for three or more parking violations that, at the time of the vehicle's

immobilization or towing, occurred more than 28 days previously and for which the

owner has neither paid the ticket nor scheduled an appearance in court in response

to the unpaid ticket.

2. The municipality or county has mailed to the last-known address of the

owner at least one notice that provides, for each parking ticket, certain information,

including the manner in which each parking ticket may be paid or contested. The

notice must also inform the owner that the owner's vehicles may be immobilized or

towed and impounded if, within 28 days after the owner has received three or more

citations and at the time the vehicle is immobilized or towed, the owner has not either

paid the ticket or scheduled an appearance in court in response to the ticket for each

unpaid ticket issued more than 28 days previously. The notice may be combined with

any other notice provided by the municipality or county to the vehicle owner.

The ordinance authorizes any parking enforcer to have a vehicle to which the

ordinance applies immobilized on, or towed and impounded from, or both, any

portion of a highway or publicly owned or leased parking facility, regardless of

whether the vehicle is legally or illegally parked. Upon immobilization or towing of

the vehicle, the parking enforcer must follow certain procedures for notification of

law enforcement and the vehicle owner, which are the same procedures applicable