14602.8
. (a) (1) If a peace officer determines that a person has
been convicted of a violation of Section 23140, 23152, or 23153, that
the violation occurred within the preceding 10 years, and that one
or more of the following circumstances applies to that person, the
officer may immediately cause the removal and seizure of the vehicle
that the person was driving, under either of the following
circumstances:
(A) The person was driving a vehicle when the person had 0.10
percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood.
(B) The person driving the vehicle refused to submit to or
complete a chemical test requested by the peace officer.
(2) A vehicle impounded pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
impounded for the following period of time:
(A) Five days, if the person has been convicted once of violating
Section 23140, 23152, or 23153, and the violation occurred within the
preceding 10 years.
(B) Fifteen days, if the person has been convicted two or more
times of violating Section 23140, 23152, or 23153, or any combination
thereof, and the violations occurred within the preceding 10 years.
(3) Within two working days after impoundment, the impounding
agency shall send a notice by certified mail, return receipt
requested, to the legal owner of the vehicle, at the address obtained
from the department, informing the owner that the vehicle has been
impounded. Failure to notify the legal owner within two working days
shall prohibit the impounding agency from charging for more than five
days' impoundment when the legal owner redeems the impounded
vehicle. The impounding agency shall maintain a published telephone
number that provides information 24 hours a day regarding the
impoundment of vehicles and the rights of a registered owner to
request a hearing. The law enforcement agency shall be open to issue
a release to the registered owner or legal owner, or the agent of
either, whenever the agency is open to serve the public for regular,
nonemergency business.
(b) The registered and legal owner of a vehicle that is removed
and seized under subdivision (a) or his or her agent shall be
provided the opportunity for a storage hearing to determine the
validity of, or consider any mitigating circumstances attendant to,
the storage, in accordance with Section 22852.
(c) Any period during which a vehicle is subjected to storage
under this section shall be included as part of the period of
impoundment ordered by the court under Section 23594.
(d) (1) The impounding agency shall release the vehicle to the
registered owner or his or her agent prior to the end of the
impoundment period under any of the following circumstances:
(A) When the vehicle is a stolen vehicle.
(B) When the vehicle is subject to bailment and is driven by an
unlicensed employee of a business establishment, including a parking
service or repair garage.
(C) When the driver of the vehicle is not the sole registered
owner of the vehicle and the vehicle is being released to another
registered owner of the vehicle who agrees not to allow the driver to
use the vehicle until after the end of the impoundment period.
(2) A vehicle shall not be released pursuant to this subdivision
without presentation of the registered owner's or agent's currently
valid driver's license to operate the vehicle and proof of current
vehicle registration, or upon order of a court.
(e) The registered owner or his or her agent is responsible for
all towing and storage charges related to the impoundment, and any
administrative charges authorized under Section 22850.5.
(f) A vehicle removed and seized under subdivision (a) shall be
released to the legal owner of the vehicle or the legal owner's agent
prior to the end of the impoundment period if all of the following
conditions are met:
(1) The legal owner is a motor vehicle dealer, bank, credit union,
acceptance corporation, or other licensed financial institution
legally operating in this state, or is another person who is not the
registered owner and holds a security interest in the vehicle.
(2) (A) The legal owner or the legal owner's agent pays all towing
and storage fees related to the seizure of the vehicle. A lien sale
processing fee shall not be charged to the legal owner who redeems
the vehicle prior to the 10th day of impoundment. The impounding
authority or any person having possession of the vehicle shall not
collect from the legal owner of the type specified in paragraph (1)
or the legal owner's agent any administrative charges imposed
pursuant to Section 22850.5 unless the legal owner voluntarily
requested a poststorage hearing.
(B) A person operating or in charge of a storage facility where
vehicles are stored pursuant to this section shall accept a valid
bank credit card or cash for payment of towing, storage, and related
fees by a legal or registered owner or the owner's agent claiming the
vehicle. A credit card shall be in the name of the person presenting
the card. "Credit card" means "credit card" as defined in
subdivision (a) of Section 1747.02 of the Civil Code, except, for the
purposes of this section, credit card does not include a credit card
issued by a retail seller.
(C) A person operating or in charge of a storage facility
described in subparagraph (B) who violates subparagraph (B) shall be
civilly liable to the owner of the vehicle or to the person who
tendered the fees for four times the amount of the towing, storage,
and other related fees, but not to exceed five hundred dollars
($500).
(D) A person operating or in charge of a storage facility
described in subparagraph (B) shall have sufficient funds on the
premises of the primary storage facility during normal business hours
to accommodate, and make change in, a reasonable monetary
transaction.
(E) Credit charges for towing and storage services shall comply
with Section 1748.1 of the Civil Code. Law enforcement agencies may
include the costs of providing for payment by credit when making
agreements with towing companies on rates.
(3) (A) The legal owner or the legal owner's agent presents to the
law enforcement agency or impounding agency, or any person acting on
behalf of those agencies, a copy of the assignment, as defined in
subdivision (b) of Section 7500.1 of the Business and Professions
Code; a release from the one responsible governmental agency, only if
required by the agency; a government-issued photographic
identification card; and any one of the following as determined by
the legal owner or the legal owner's agent: a certificate of
repossession for the vehicle, a security agreement for the vehicle,
or title, whether paper or electronic, showing proof of legal
ownership for the vehicle. The law enforcement agency, impounding
agency, or any other governmental agency, or any person acting on
behalf of those agencies, shall not require the presentation of any
other documents.
(B) The legal owner or the legal owner's agent presents to the
person in possession of the vehicle, or any person acting on behalf
of the person in possession, a copy of the assignment, as defined in
subdivision (b) of Section 7500.1 of the Business and Professions
Code; a release from the one responsible governmental agency, only if
required by the agency; a government-issued photographic
identification card; and any one of the following as determined by
the legal owner or the legal owner's agent: a certificate of
repossession for the vehicle, a security agreement for the vehicle,
or title, whether paper or electronic, showing proof of legal
ownership for the vehicle. The person in possession of the vehicle,
or any person acting on behalf of the person in possession, shall not
require the presentation of any other documents.
(C) All presented documents may be originals, photocopies, or
facsimile copies, or may be transmitted electronically. The law
enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person acting on behalf
of them, shall not require a document to be notarized. The law
enforcement agency, impounding agency, or any person in possession of
the vehicle, or anyone acting on behalf of those agencies may
require the agent of the legal owner to produce a photocopy or
facsimile copy of its repossession agency license or registration
issued pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 7500) of
Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, or to demonstrate,
to the satisfaction of the law enforcement agency, the impounding
agency, any other governmental agency, or any person in possession of
the vehicle, or anyone acting on behalf of them, that the agent is
exempt from licensure pursuant to Section 7500.2 or 7500.3 of the
Business and Professions Code.
(D) Administrative costs authorized under subdivision (a) of
Section 22850.5 shall not be charged to the legal owner of the type
specified in paragraph (1) who redeems the vehicle unless the legal
owner voluntarily requests a poststorage hearing. A city, county,
city and county, or state agency shall not require a legal owner or a
legal owner's agent to request a poststorage hearing as a
requirement for release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the
legal owner's agent. The law enforcement agency, the impounding
agency, any governmental agency, or any person acting on behalf of
those agencies shall not require any documents other than those
specified in this paragraph. The law enforcement agency, impounding
agency, or other governmental agency, or any person acting on behalf
of those agencies, shall not require any documents to be notarized.
The legal owner or the legal owner's agent shall be given a copy of
any documents he or she is required to sign, except for a vehicle
evidentiary hold logbook. The law enforcement agency, impounding
agency, or any person acting on behalf of those agencies, or any
person in possession of the vehicle, may photocopy and retain the
copies of any documents presented by the legal owner or legal owner's
agent.
(4) A failure by a storage facility to comply with any applicable
conditions set forth in this subdivision shall not affect the right
of the legal owner or the legal owner's agent to retrieve the
vehicle, provided all conditions required of the legal owner or legal
owner's agent under this subdivision are satisfied.
(g) (1) A legal owner or the legal owner's agent who obtains
release of the vehicle pursuant to subdivision (f) shall not release
the vehicle to the registered owner of the vehicle or the person who
was listed as the registered owner when the vehicle was impounded or
any agents of the registered owner unless the registered owner is a
rental car agency, until after the termination of the impoundment
period.
(2) The legal owner or the legal owner's agent shall not
relinquish the vehicle to the registered owner or the person who was
listed as the registered owner when the vehicle was impounded until
the registered owner or that owner's agent presents his or her valid
driver's license or valid temporary driver's license to the legal
owner or the legal owner's agent. The legal owner or the legal owner'
s agent or the person in possession of the vehicle shall make every
reasonable effort to ensure that the license presented is valid and
possession of the vehicle will not be given to the driver who was
involved in the original impoundment proceeding until the expiration
of the impoundment period.
(3) Prior to relinquishing the vehicle, the legal owner may
require the registered owner to pay all towing and storage charges
related to the impoundment and any administrative charges authorized
under Section 22850.5 that were incurred by the legal owner in
connection with obtaining custody of the vehicle.
(4) A legal owner who knowingly releases or causes the release of
a vehicle to a registered owner or the person in possession of the
vehicle at the time of the impoundment or an agent of the registered
owner in violation of this subdivision is guilty of a misdemeanor and
subject to a fine in the amount of two thousand dollars ($2,000) in
addition to any other penalties established by law.
(5) The legal owner, registered owner, or person in possession of
the vehicle shall not change or attempt to change the name of the
legal owner or the registered owner on the records of the department
until the vehicle is released from the impoundment.
(h) (1) A vehicle removed and seized under subdivision (a) shall
be released to a rental car agency prior to the end of the
impoundment period if the agency is either the legal owner or
registered owner of the vehicle and the agency pays all towing and
storage fees related to the seizure of the vehicle.
(2) The owner of a rental vehicle that was seized under this
section may continue to rent the vehicle upon recovery of the
vehicle. However, the rental car agency shall not rent another
vehicle to the driver of the vehicle that was seized until the
impoundment period has expired.
(3) The rental car agency may require the person to whom the
vehicle was rented to pay all towing and storage charges related to
the impoundment and any administrative charges authorized under
Section 22850.5 that were incurred by the rental car agency in
connection with obtaining custody of the vehicle.
(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
registered owner, and not the legal owner, shall remain responsible
for any towing and storage charges related to the impoundment, any
administrative charges authorized under Section 22850.5, and any
parking fines, penalties, and administrative fees incurred by the
registered owner.
(j) The law enforcement agency and the impounding agency,
including any storage facility acting on behalf of the law
enforcement agency or impounding agency, shall comply with this
section and shall not be liable to the registered owner for the
improper release of the vehicle to the legal owner or the legal owner'
s agent provided the release complies with the provisions of this
section. The legal owner shall indemnify and hold harmless a storage
facility from any claims arising out of the release of the vehicle to
the legal owner or the legal owner's agent and from any damage to
the vehicle after its release, including the reasonable costs
associated with defending any such claims. A law enforcement agency
shall not refuse to issue a release to a legal owner or the agent of
a legal owner on the grounds that it previously issued a release.