H.B. No. 914

	AN ACT
	relating to the authority of certain municipal employees to request
	the removal and storage of certain abandoned or illegally parked
	vehicles.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 2308.354, Occupations Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	Sec. 2308.354.  AUTHORITY FOR REMOVAL OF VEHICLE FROM PUBLIC
	ROADWAY. (a) Under an ordinance of a municipality regulating the
	parking of vehicles in the municipality, to aid in the enforcement
	of the ordinance, an employee designated by the municipality may be
	authorized to:
	(1)  immobilize a vehicle parked in the municipality;
	[and]
	(2)  remove an immobilized vehicle from a public
	roadway in the municipality; and
	(3)  request the removal and storage of a vehicle that
	is located in an area where on-street parking is regulated by the
	ordinance and that:
	(A)  is parked illegally; or
	(B)  is parked legally and:
	(i)  has been unattended for more than 48
	hours; and
	(ii)  the employee has reasonable grounds to
	believe is abandoned.
	(b)  A parking facility owner or towing company may not
	remove a vehicle from a public roadway except under:
	(1)  this chapter or a municipal ordinance that
	complies with Section 2308.208; or
	(2)  the direction of a peace officer, a municipal
	employee under Subsection (a)(3), or the owner or operator of the
	vehicle.
	(c)  Subsection [In addition to the authority granted under
	Subsection (a) and to aid in the enforcement of an ordinance
	regulating the parking of vehicles, a municipality with a
	population of 1.9 million or more may authorize a designated
	employee to request the removal of a vehicle parked illegally in an
	area designated as a tow-away zone in a residential area where
	on-street parking is regulated by the ordinance.
	[(d)  Subsections] (a) does [and (c) do] not apply to a
	vehicle owned by an electric, gas, water, or telecommunications
	utility while the vehicle is parked for the purpose of conducting
	work on a facility of the utility that is located below, above, or
	adjacent to the street.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 914 was passed by the House on April
	7, 2021, by the following vote:  Yeas 128, Nays 17, 2 present, not
	voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 914 was passed by the Senate on May
	19, 2021, by the following vote:  Yeas 30, Nays 1.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED:  _____________________
	Date
	_____________________
	Governor