An Act Regarding the Contents of a Commercial Vehicle Towed without the Consent of the Vehicle's Owner
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1022
Committee Amendment CA_A_H153 (House)
Amends: 29-A MRSA §1861, 29-A MRSA §1863

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "H" to H.P. 724, L.D. 1022, Bill, "An Act 
Regarding the Contents of a Commercial Vehicle Towed without the Consent of the 
Vehicle's Owner" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §1861, first 1, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 150, §9, is 
amended to read: 
A person holding or storing an abandoned vehicle, holding or storing a vehicle towed 
at the request of the vehicle's operator, owner or owner's agent or holding or storing a 
vehicle stored at the request of a law enforcement officer may hold the vehicle and all its 
accessories, contents and equipment, not including the personal effects of the registered 
owner, until reasonable towing and storage charges of the person holding or storing the 
vehicle are paid, except that a person may not hold the perishable cargo of a commercial 
motor vehicle, as defined in 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 390.5, as amended, 
when the perishable cargo being transported in interstate or intrastate commerce is not 
owned by the motor carrier or driver of the commercial motor vehicle being held and the 
person holding or storing the towed vehicle is presented with evidence of insurance, as 
defined in section 1551, covering the commercial motor vehicle and the vehicle's cargo. 
For purposes of this paragraph, "perishable cargo" means cargo of a commercial motor 
vehicle that is subject to spoilage or decay or is marked with an expiration date. 
Sec. 2. 29-A MRSA §1863 is enacted to read: 
§1863. Commercial motor vehicle nonconsensual tow 
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A. "Commercial motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in 49 Code of Federal 
Regulations, Part 390.5. as amended. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
R. of S. 
COMMITIEE AMENDMENT"~" to H.P. 724, L.D. 1022 
B. 
"Commercial motor vehicle nonconsensual tow" means the towing of a 
commercial motor vehicle, its contents or other items related to removing the 
commercial motor vehicle from a roadway or a parking area without the consent of 
the owner, possessor, agent, insurer or lienholder. 
2. Requirement to itemize invoice. Before demanding payment for any charge 
relating to a commercial motor vehicle nonconsensual tow, the towing facility must 
itemize the invoice, in detail, for all costs incurred with the recovery, towing, cleanup or 
storage of the towed vehicle or its contents. 
3. No liability without itemization. A customer who has received a commercial 
motor vehicle nonconsensual tow is not liable for any charge not itemized on the invoice 
under subsection 2.
SUMMARY 
This amendment strikes and replaces the bill. Like the bill, the amendment requires a 
person who tows a commercial motor vehicle without consent to provide an itemized 
invoice before demanding payment for any charge relating to a commercial vehicle 
nonconsensual tow. 
Unlike the bill, the amendment does not require that a person 
holding or storing a towed vehicle place on the invoice a notice to direct complaints about 
overcharging to the traffic division of the State Police. The amendment also does not 
impose a penalty for failure to itemize an invoice or post the required notice or for the 
improper impoundment of contents or cargo of a commercial motor vehicle, all of which 
are required in the bill. 
Like the bill, the amendment defines "commercial motor vehicle" and "commercial 
motor vehicle nonconsensual tow." The amendment adds a definition of "perishable 
cargo." 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT