The next step for a proposal to regulate the towing industry more strictly is the state Senate.

On Wednesday, the House approved House Bill 1051 through a mostly party-line 45-16 vote.

Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, whose car was towed last year, will sponsor the bill in the Senate.

The work of the Transportation Legislative Review Committee from last fall, House Bill 1051 is the result of attention paid to what some described as predatory towing that lawmakers thought they fixed in 2022.

Small business owners, apartment owners, and homeowners’ association representatives are raising concerns that the bill’s intent to require property owners to pay for most tows will result in “towing anarchy” and could drive up the costs of affordable and low-income housing.

The issue caught fire last summer when Gonzales found her car had been towed, believing it was illegal.

She said she went to Wyatt’s Towing to get her car and learned the law she sponsored in 2022, which banned nonconsensual tows and required towing operators to provide payment plans, was not being followed. She made payment arrangements, but she said her money was refunded the next day.

HB 1051 sponsor Rep. Andrew Boesenecker has said that tens of thousands of cars are towed from private property by tow truck operators. He said the price to recover a vehicle is out of reach for many consumers and creates an unnecessary financial burden.

Large, non-consensual tow operators continue to engage in predatory practices to the detriment of those who can least afford a non-consensual tow, the Fort Collins Democrat said.

In addition, he added, investors have combined parking lot management, towing and vehicle removal, auction houses, and car dealerships into a single integrated entity, making them judges, jurors, and executioners with the power to sell a car at their discretion. Boesenecker said it’s not a best practice in the industry.

The Public Utilities Commission regulates towing companies. Under HB 1051, the PUC would put into place rules by Sept. 1, 2025, to bar towing carriers from patrolling or monitoring a property to enforce parking restrictions. Towing carriers must also obtain documented permission, using a PUC-designed form, from a property owner for each vehicle tow within 24 hours of the tow.

Improper tows would require the carrier to return the vehicle to its original location within 48 hours of the tow, an amendment made to the bill on Tuesday. Violations are considered a deceptive trade practice. The bill also extends the sunset for PUC’s regulations of the industry to 2030; it was set to expire next year.

HB 1051 drew opposition from apartment and commercial building owners but was largely supported by the towing industry association.