Public Act 102-0759
 
HB3124 EnrolledLRB102 13122 RAM 18465 b


  
    AN ACT concerning transportation.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  


 
    Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended  by 
changing Section  4-203.5 as follows:
 
    (625 ILCS 5/4-203.5)
    Sec. 4-203.5. Tow rotation list.
    (a)  Each law enforcement agency whose duties include the 
patrol of highways in this State shall maintain a tow rotation 
list which shall be used by law enforcement officers 
authorizing the tow of  a vehicle within the jurisdiction of  
the law enforcement agency. To ensure adequate response time, 
a law enforcement agency may maintain multiple tow rotation 
lists, with each tow rotation list covering tows authorized in 
different geographic locations within the jurisdiction of the 
law enforcement agency.  A towing service may be included on 
more than one tow rotation list.
    (b) Any towing service operating  within the jurisdiction 
of a law enforcement agency may submit an application in a form 
and manner prescribed by the law enforcement agency for 
inclusion on the law enforcement agency's tow rotation list. 
The towing service does not need to be located within the 
jurisdiction of the law enforcement agency. To be included on 
a tow rotation list the towing service must meet the following 
requirements:
        (1)   possess a license permitting the towing service to 
    operate in every unit of local government in the law 
    enforcement agency's jurisdiction that  requires a license 
    for the operation of a towing service;
        (2)   if required by the law enforcement agency for 
    inclusion on that law enforcement agency's tow rotation 
    list, each owner of the towing service and each person 
    operating a vehicle on behalf of the towing service shall 
    submit his or her fingerprints to the Illinois State 
    Police in the form and manner prescribed by the Illinois 
    State Police.  These fingerprints should be transmitted 
    through a live scan fingerprint vendor licensed by the 
    Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.  These 
    fingerprints shall be checked against the fingerprint 
    records now and hereafter filed in the Illinois State 
    Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal 
    history records databases.  The Illinois State Police shall 
    charge a fee for conducting the criminal history record 
    check, which shall be deposited in the State Police 
    Services Fund and shall not exceed the actual cost of the 
    State and national criminal history record check.  The 
    Illinois State Police shall furnish, pursuant to positive 
    identification, all Illinois conviction information to the 
    law enforcement agency maintaining the tow rotation list 
    and shall forward the national criminal history record 
    information to the law enforcement agency maintaining the 
    tow rotation list. A person may not own a towing service or 
    operate a vehicle on behalf of a towing service included 
    on a tow rotation list if that person has been convicted 
    during the 5 years preceding the application of a criminal 
    offense involving one or more of the following:
            (A)  bodily injury or attempt to inflict bodily 
        injury to another person;
            (B)  theft of property or attempted theft of 
        property; or
            (C)  sexual assault or attempted sexual assault of 
        any kind;
        (3)   each person operating a vehicle on behalf of the 
    towing service must be classified for the type of towing 
    operation he or she shall be performing and the vehicle he 
    or she shall be operating;
        (4)   possess and maintain the following insurance in 
    addition to any other insurance required by law:
            (A)   comprehensive automobile liability insurance 
        with a minimum combined single limit coverage of 
        $1,000,000;
            (B)  commercial general liability insurance with 
        limits of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence, 
        $100,000 minimum  garage keepers legal liability 
        insurance, and $100,000 minimum on-hook coverage or 
        cargo insurance; and
            (C)  a worker's compensation policy covering every 
        person operating a tow truck on behalf of the towing 
        service, if required under current law;
        (5)   possess a secure parking lot used for short-term 
    vehicle storage after a vehicle is towed that is open 
    during business hours and is equipped with security 
    features as required by the law enforcement agency;
        (6)   utilize only vehicles that possess a valid vehicle 
    registration, display a valid Illinois license plate in 
    accordance with Section 5-202 of this Code, and comply 
    with the weight requirements of this Code;
        (7)   every person operating a towing or recovery 
    vehicle on behalf of the towing service must have 
    completed a Traffic Incident Management Training Program 
    approved by the Department of Transportation;
        (8)    hold a valid authority issued to it by the 
    Illinois Commerce Commission; 
        (9)   comply with all other applicable federal, State, 
    and local laws; and
        (10) comply with any additional requirements the 
    applicable law enforcement agency deems necessary. 
    The law enforcement agency may  select which towing 
services meeting the requirements of this subsection (b) shall 
be included on a tow rotation list.  The law enforcement agency 
may choose to have only one towing service on  its tow rotation 
list. Complaints regarding the process for inclusion on a tow 
rotation list or the use of a tow rotation list may be referred 
in writing to the head of the law enforcement agency 
administering that tow rotation list. The head of the law 
enforcement agency shall make the final determination as to 
which qualified towing services shall be included on a tow 
rotation list, and shall not be held liable for the exclusion 
of any towing service from a tow rotation list. 
    (c) Whenever a law enforcement officer initiates a tow of 
a vehicle, the officer shall contact his or her law 
enforcement agency and inform the agency that a tow has been 
authorized. The law enforcement agency shall then select a 
towing service from the law enforcement agency's tow rotation 
list corresponding to the geographical area where the tow was 
authorized, and shall contact that towing service directly by 
phone, computer, or similar means. Towing services shall be 
contacted in the order listed on the appropriate tow rotation 
list, at which point the towing service shall be placed at the 
end of that tow rotation list. In the event a listed towing 
service is not available, the next listed towing service on 
that tow rotation list shall be contacted.
    (d) A law enforcement agency may deviate from the order 
listed on a  tow rotation list if the towing service next on 
that tow rotation list is, in the judgment of the authorizing 
officer or the law enforcement agency making the selection, 
incapable of or not properly equipped for handling a specific 
task related to the tow that requires special skills or 
equipment. A deviation from the order listed on the tow 
rotation list for this reason shall not cause a loss of 
rotation turn by the towing service determined to be incapable 
or not properly equipped for handling the request.
    (e) In the event of an emergency a law enforcement officer 
or agency, taking into account the safety and location of the 
situation, may deviate from the order of the tow rotation list 
and obtain towing service from any source deemed appropriate.
    (f) If the owner or operator of a disabled vehicle is 
present at the scene of the disabled vehicle, is not under 
arrest, and does not abandon his or her vehicle, and in the law 
enforcement officer's opinion the disabled vehicle is not 
impeding or obstructing traffic, illegally parked, or posing a 
security or safety risk, the law enforcement officer shall 
allow the owner of the vehicle to specify a towing service to 
relocate the disabled vehicle. If the owner chooses not to 
specify a towing service, the law enforcement agency shall 
select a towing service for the vehicle as provided in 
subsection (c) of this Section.
    (g)  If a tow operator is present or arrives where a tow is 
needed and it has not been requested by the law enforcement 
agency or the owner or operator, the law enforcement officer, 
unless acting under Section 11-1431 of this Code, shall advise 
the tow operator to leave the scene.
    (h) (Blank). Nothing contained in this Section shall apply 
to a law enforcement agency having jurisdiction solely over a 
municipality with a population over 1,000,000. 

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)