Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-0215 Page: 4 of 5
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The Honorable Robert E. Talton - Page 4 (GA-0215)
You ask wh ether Transportation Code sections 545-305 and 643.206(a) conflict. Statutes
concerning the same subject matter are to be harmonized, if possible. giving effec t both. TEX,
G(ovT CODE ANN. 311026(a) (Vernon 1998); City of Dalas v Mitchell, 870 SiW.2d 21, 22 (Tex.
1994). However, sections 545.305 and 643.206(a) do not conflict and full effect may be given to
both. Section 545.305 provides for a peace officer's authority to order vehicles removed, which may
include nonconsent tows. It further provides that an officer may require the vehicle be tken to the
nearest garage or other place of safety, a garage designated or maintained by the officer's employer,
or a position off of the highway.
Section 643.206(a), on the other hand, regulates towing services that perform nonconsent
tows and does not in any way limit a peace officer s authority under section 545.305. Nonconsent
tows are subject to state and local regulation and policy designed in part to protect the nonconsenting
owner or other interest holder. See geneiallj Ca(dlinal Towing & Auto Repair, Ic. . City of
Bedford, 180 F.3d 686 (5th Cir. 1999); Fort Bend Count, Wrecker Ass n v Wright, 39 S.W.3d 421
(Tex, App. Houston [ist Dist,] 2001, no pet,). House Bill 849, which enacted section 643.206 in
2001, expressly mentions nonconsent tows at the direction of a peace officer. See Act of May 30,
2003, 78th Leg. R.S., RSch. 1034, 10 2001 Tex. Gen. Laws 2982, 2984 (adding section 643.206
correlating fees for nonconsent tows from certain private property to fees authorized for peace officer
nonconsent tows); see also TEX. TRANSP, CODE ANN. 643,.201(e)(2) (Vernon Supp. 2004)
(defining "consent tow"" and "nnconsent tow"). By not qualifying the nonconsent tows that are
subject to section 643.206, that section clearly applies to nonconsent tows made at the direction of
a peace officer.
Section 643.206(a) requires a towing company that conducts a nonconsent tow to take the
vehicle to a licensed vehicle storage facility, which is subject to the notice and security requirements
of chapter 2303 of the Occupations Code. Subchapter E, chapter 643 of the Transportation Code
concerns regulation of towing services by the state and political subdivisions, in particular fees that
may be assessed before an owner or other interest holder may reclaim the vehicle. In context, section
643.206(a) applies whenever a vehicle is towed without consent for storage pending reclamation by
the owner for a fee or other disposition under subchapter E, chapter 643 of the Transportation Code
or chapter 2303 of the Occupations Code. We do not construe section 643.206 to apply to tows
pursuant to other financial arrangements between a towing company and a political subdivision.
Consequently, a peace officer may order a nonconsent tow pursuant to section 545.305, but when
the officer uses the services of a towing company the towing company is subject to 643.206.
Section 643.206 does not authorize a towing company to assess a nonconsenting owner or interest
holder a towing fee without taking the vehicle to a licensed vehicle storage facility. Applied to the
facts described in the City's letter, a peace officer may order a nonconsent tow to a nearby place of
safety If a towing service performs the tow, it may not assess a nonconsenting owner or interest
holder a fee without taking the vehicle to a licensed vehicl ae storage fcility.
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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/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.