This bill protects law enforcement officers, highway patrol agents, and towing companies from liability when they remove disabled or obstructed vehicles from highways and public areas—meaning the vehicle owner generally cannot sue them for damage to the vehicle unless the officers act with gross negligence or willful misconduct. The vehicle owner remains responsible for paying all removal costs. This creates a legal safe harbor for officials who need to quickly clear roads of hazardous or abandoned vehicles.
The amendment weakens law enforcement's obligation to remove disabled vehicles by changing "must" to "may" arrange for removal, making it discretionary rather than mandatory. It also expands the bill's scope to include removal of disabled boats, off-road vehicles, and snowmobiles from public waters, while maintaining liability protections for all removal actions except those involving gross negligence or willful misconduct.
The amendment removed language "clarify the duties and" from the bill's stated purpose, narrowing the focus purely to liability limits rather than addressing officer duties. The amendment also expanded liability protections to explicitly include "removal agency" contractors and clarified cost responsibility extends to removal agencies acting on behalf of the state or political subdivisions, strengthening protections for private removal contractors involved in vehicle and watercraft removal operations.
The amendment reformatted the bill from its engrossed (legislative working) version to its enrolled (final passed) version, removing markup notation and line numbers while adding official certification pages and signature blocks. This is a procedural finalization with no substantive changes to the liability protections for law enforcement and removal agencies.
Signed by the Governor H.J. 534
Delivered to the Governor H.J. 520
Signed by the President S.J. 470
Signed by the Speaker H.J. 492
House of Representatives Concurred in amendments Passed, YEAS 53, NAYS 12. H.J. 468
Senate Do Pass Amended Passed, YEAS 30, NAYS 3. S.J. 403
Senate Deferred to another day S.J. 373
Transportation Certified uncontested, placed on consent S.J. 17
Transportation Do Pass Amended Passed, YEAS 7, NAYS 0. S.J. 17
Transportation Motion to amend S.J. 17
Transportation Scheduled for hearing S.J. 1
First read in Senate and referred to Senate Transportation S.J. 248
House of Representatives Do Pass Amended Passed, YEAS 53, NAYS 13. H.J. 280
House of Representatives Remove from Consent Calendar H.J. 262
Transportation Certified uncontested, placed on consent H.J. 13
Transportation Do Pass Amended Passed, YEAS 9, NAYS 0. H.J. 13
Transportation Motion to amend H.J. 13
Transportation Scheduled for hearing
First read in House and referred to House Transportation H.J. 180
Prime sponsor · Rep.
R
Prime sponsor · Sen.
R
Cosponsors
Concurred in amendments
Do Pass Amended
Transportation — Do Pass Amended
Do Pass Amended
Transportation — Do Pass Amended