Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-0215 Page: 1 of 5
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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
GREGABBOTT
July 12, 2:004
The Honorable Robert E. Talton Opinion No. GA-02 5
Chairman, Urban Affairs Committee
Texas House of epresentatives Re: Whether a peace officer may order the removal
Post Office Box 2910 of a disabled vehicle to a location othea than a
Austin, Texas 78768-2910 licensed vehicle storage facility when te driver has
not given consent to the removal (RQ-0164-GA)
Dear Representative Talton:
You ask whether a peace officer may order the removal ofa disabled vehicle to a location
other than a licensed vehicle storage facility when the driver has not given consent to the removal,,
In particular, you ask whether section 545.305 of te Transportation Code, concerning a peace
officer's authority to order removal, conflicts with section 643.206(a) of te Code, regulating
nonconsent tows by towing ser ices?.
A highway construction project for improvements to Iiterstate Highway 10 eqres reducing
sections ofthe highway to two lanes without shoulders. To facilitate the project, cameras hae been
installed along the highway, which will be monitored by peace officers to watch for accidents and
stalled vehicles. Se Bibler Brief, supra note 3, at, I According to the plan, when a peace officer
sees that a disabled vehicle has blocked traffic, the officer may order the vehicle immediately towed.
Id, If the driver consents, the vehicle may be towed for a fee to a site designated for temporary
removals. i If the driver is not available or does not consent, the officer may order what is known
as a nonconsent tow, Id. Vehicles removed pursuant to a nonconsent tow are taken to a state-
licensed vehicle storage facility, which generally involves a greater fee than that charged for a tow
to makeshift temporary storage locations near the construction site. Id. at 2.
See Letter from Honorable Robert E. Taton, Chairman, House Urban Affairs Conmnittee, Texas House of
Representatives, to Honorable Greg Abbott, Texas Attorney General (Jan. 13, 20041) (on file with Opinion Committee,
alo available at http: ww,.oag.state.tx.us).
. d.
0See Brieffrom Paul Bibler Jr., Senior Counsel, Ciy ofHouston Legal Deparment to honorable Greg Abbott,
Texas Attorney General (Feb. 26, 2004) (on file with Opinion Committee) [hereinafter Bibler Brief].
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-0215, text, July 12, 2004; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth275111/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.