Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Arkansas General Assembly, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
1 State of Arkansas A Bill
2 95th General Assembly
3 Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 2001
4
5 By: Representative Painter
6 By: Senator K. Hammer
7
8 For An Act To Be Entitled
9 AN ACT TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS TOWING AND RECOVERY
10 REFORM AND EFFICIENCY ACT OF 2025; TO AMEND THE LAW
11 CONCERNING THE ARKANSAS TOWING AND RECOVERY BOARD; TO
12 AMEND THE QUALIFICATIONS AND MEMBERSHIP OF THE
13 ARKANSAS TOWING AND RECOVERY BOARD; TO AMEND THE LAW
14 CONCERNING A LIEN PLACED ON CARGO OR THE CONTENTS OF
15 A PERSONAL VEHICLE; TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY; AND FOR
16 OTHER PURPOSES.
17
18
19 Subtitle
20 TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS TOWING AND
21 RECOVERY REFORM AND EFFICIENCY ACT OF
22 2025; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE
23 ARKANSAS TOWING AND RECOVERY BOARD; AND
24 TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
25
26 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
27
28 SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. Title.
29 This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Arkansas Towing and
30 Recovery Reform and Efficiency Act of 2025".
31
32 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code � 27-50-1202, concerning definitions related
33 to the removal or immobilization of unattended or abandoned vehicles, is
34 amended to add additional subdivisions to read as follows:
35 (17) "Cargo" means goods and materials transported by a motor
36 carrier, as defined under 49 C.F.R. � 390.5, as it existed on January 1,
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1 2025, including without limitation:
2 (A) A pallet;
3 (B) A container;
4 (C) Bracing;
5 (D) An air pillow;
6 (E) A tie-down assembly or other securement system;
7 (F) A cradle;
8 (G) A chock; and
9 (H) Any other dunnage or packing; and
10 (18)(A) "Towing services" means to tow, recover, upright,
11 transport, repossess, immobilize, store, or otherwise facilitate the movement
12 or storage of vehicles on or off of a road, street, or highway.
13 (B) "Towing services" includes the solicitation of towing
14 services and the incidental labor, services, and equipment necessary for on-
15 road or off-road recovery and cleanup for work actually performed by the tow
16 business.
17
18 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code � 27-50-1203(a) and (b), concerning the
19 creation of the Arkansas Towing and Recovery Board, are amended to read as
20 follows:
21 (a)(1) There is hereby created the Arkansas Towing and Recovery Board
22 consisting of nine (9) members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the
23 Senate, who shall serve terms of three (3) years.
24 (2)(A) Five (5) members shall be appointed from the towing
25 industry and shall be: Three (3) members shall be actively engaged in
26 business in the towing industry, licensed by the board, and appointed from
27 the state at large
28 (i) Licensed by the board to engage in nonconsent
29 towing; and
30 (ii) Appointed from the state at large.
31 (B) One (1) member who is permitted to engage in
32 repossession of vehicles using a tow vehicle shall be appointed from the
33 state at large shall be the Director of the Division of the Arkansas State
34 Police or his or her designee.
35 (C)(i) Two (2) members who are not associated with the
36 towing industry shall be appointed from the state at large One (1) member
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1 shall be a current or former municipal chief of police or current or former
2 county sheriff with knowledge of the towing industry.
3 (ii) A member appointed under subdivision
4 (a)(2)(C)(i) of this section may designate a member of his or her staff with
5 knowledge of the towing industry to act on his or her behalf at any meeting
6 of the board.
7 (D) One (1) member shall be appointed from the commercial
8 trucking insurance industry.
9 (E) One (1) member shall be appointed from the trucking
10 industry.
11 (F) One (1) member shall have no affiliation with the
12 towing industry and shall serve as a representative of consumers of towing
13 services.
14 (G) One (1) member shall be a currently employed or
15 retired person with at least five (5) years of experience responding to fire
16 and emergency response incidents.
17 (b)(1) The appointed board members shall be residents of the State of
18 Arkansas at the time of appointment and throughout their terms.
19 (2)(A) A member appointed under subdivision (a)(2)(A) of this
20 section shall remain licensed and engaged in the business of nonconsent
21 towing.
22 (B) A member appointed under subdivision (a)(2)(B) of this
23 section shall be engaged in the business of vehicle repossession using a tow
24 vehicle.
25 (C) A member appointed under subdivision (a)(2)(D) of this
26 section shall remain actively engaged in the insurance industry.
27 (D) A member appointed under subdivision (a)(2)(A),
28 subdivision (a)(2)(B), or subdivision (a)(2)(D) of this section who no longer
29 satisfies the requirements for his or her board position under subdivision
30 (b)(2)(A), subdivision (b)(2)(B), or subdivision (b)(2)(C) of this section
31 shall:
32 (i) Provide notification of his or her change of
33 status to the Governor and the Director of the Arkansas Towing and Recovery
34 Board; and
35 (ii) Resign from the board within thirty (30) days
36 of the date upon which the member no longer satisfies the requirements of
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1 subdivision (b)(2)(A), subdivision (b)(2)(B), or subdivision (b)(2)(C) of
2 this section immediately.
3
4 SECTION 4. Arkansas Code � 27-50-1208(a)(2), concerning a possessory
5 lien on an unattended or abandoned vehicle held by a towing and storage firm,
6 is amended to add an additional subdivision to read as follows:
7 (D)(i) A possessory lien under this section shall not
8 extend to:
9 (a) Cargo, if the owner of the cargo or his or
10 her authorized representative pays a fee not to exceed twenty percent (20%)
11 of the invoice for the towing and storing services to the towing and storage
12 firm; or
13 (b) Except for items to which a possessory
14 lien under this section shall not extend under subdivision (a)(2)(B) of this
15 section, the contents of a personal vehicle if the owner of the personal
16 vehicle or his or her authorized representative pays a fee not to exceed five
17 percent (5%) of the invoice for the towing and storing services to the towing
18 and storage firm.
19 (ii) When making a payment of a fee under
20 subdivision (a)(2)(D)(i) of this section, the owner of the cargo or the
21 contents of a personal vehicle or his or her authorized representative shall
22 provide the towing and storage firm with an assurance of future financial
23 responsibility for the total invoice amount for the towing and storage
24 services for the motor vehicle from which the cargo or the contents of a
25 personal vehicle are taken.
26 (iii)(a) An owner of the cargo or the contents of a
27 personal vehicle or his or her authorized representative who has paid a fee
28 under subdivision (a)(2)(D)(i) of this section shall not be required to pay
29 the total invoice amount for the towing and storing services before the
30 release of the cargo or the contents of a personal vehicle.
31 (b) This subdivision (a)(2)(D) does not
32 prohibit a towing and storage firm from collecting the total invoice amount
33 for towing and storage services from the owner or lienholder or perfecting
34 the possessory lien under this section.
35 (c) Upon the payment of a fee under
36 subdivision (a)(2)(D)(i) of this section, the owner of the cargo or the
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1 contents of a personal vehicle shall be credited the amount paid toward the
2 total invoice amount for the towing and storing services.
3 (iv) An owner of the cargo or the contents of a
4 personal vehicle or his or her authorized representative shall ensure that
5 the entity retrieving the cargo or the contents of a personal vehicle from a
6 towing and storage firm is insured and is liable for any damage that may
7 occur at the business location of the towing and storage firm as a result of
8 the retrieval of the cargo or the contents of a personal vehicle.
9 (v) If a motor vehicle is towed due to a police-
10 initiated tow and there is no dispute as to the fees assessed by the
11 authorized towing and storage firm:
12 (a) The owner or operator of the vehicle or
13 his or her authorized representative shall pay the authorized towing and
14 storage firm's invoice; and
15 (b) The authorized towing and storage company
16 shall release the motor vehicle and any cargo immediately.
17 (vi) If a motor vehicle is towed due to a police-
18 initiated tow and there is a genuine dispute as to the reasonableness of
19 amount of the fees assessed by the authorized towing and storage company, the
20 authorized towing and storage company shall release the cargo immediately to
21 the owner or the owner's designee in accordance with this subsection upon the
22 submission of:
23 (a) If the cargo does not belong to the
24 transportation company, proof of ownership of the cargo; or
25 (b) If the cargo belongs to the transportation
26 company:
27 (1) A letter from the vehicle owner's
28 insurance company stating that there is coverage for the relevant claim or
29 accident that includes without limitation a claim number, a policy number,
30 and the policy limits; or
31 (2) If the transportation company does
32 not have an insurance policy sufficient to cover the cost of the cargo clean-
33 up, a signed letter of guarantee from the transportation company.
34
35 SECTION 5. Arkansas Code � 27-50-1218, concerning the consumer
36 complaint process with the Arkansas Towing and Recovery Board, is amended to
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1 add an additional subsection to read as follows:
2 (e)(1) A towing and storage company shall display notice of the
3 complaint process as provided for under subdivision (e)(2) of this section.
4 (2) Beginning July 1, 2025, notice of the complaint process
5 provided for under this section shall be:
6 (A) In the form provided in subdivision (e)(3) of this
7 section or as modified by the board; and
8 (B) Prominently printed in bold letters at the bottom of
9 each invoice for towing services.
10 (3) Notice of the complaint process required under this section
11 shall:
12 (A) Include without limitation:
13 (i) A statement that a complaint may be filed with
14 the board under this section;
15 (ii) The telephone number of the board; and
16 (iii) The website of the board; and
17 (B) Be substantially in the following form:
18 "COMPLAINTS: A PERSON DAMAGED OR OVERCHARGED MAY FILE
19 A COMPLAINT UNDER ARKANSAS CODE � 27-50-1218 WITH THE ARKANSAS TOWING AND
20 RECOVERY BOARD, (501) 682-3801, www.artowing.arkansas.gov".
21
22 SECTION 6. TEMPORARY LANGUAGE. DO NOT CODIFY. Transition provisions
23 -- Appointment of members of the Arkansas Towing and Recovery Board.
24 (a) The current members at the time of the effective date of this act
25 of the Arkansas Towing and Recovery Board are removed, and the Governor shall
26 appoint all board member positions, subject to confirmation by the Senate.
27 (b) Until at least seven (7) members of the board are appointed and
28 confirmed by the Senate, the Director of the Arkansas Towing and Recovery
29 Board, in consultation with the Secretary of the Department of Labor and
30 Licensing, shall exercise the powers and duties assigned to the board, except
31 that the hearing and adjudication of a complaint filed with the board shall
32 be continued until a quorum of the newly constituted board is assembled to
33 hear and adjudicate the complaint.
34
35 SECTION 7. TEMPORARY LANGUAGE. DO NOT CODIFY. Transition Provisions
36 - Initial terms of members of the Arkansas Towing and Recovery Board.
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1 (a) The initial term of the three (3) members of the Arkansas Towing
2 and Recovery Board who are actively engaged in business in the towing
3 industry, licensed by the board, and appointed from the state at large shall
4 expire on July 1 of 2026, 2027, and 2028, respectively.
5 (b) The term of the member of the board who is the Director of the
6 Division of the Arkansas State Police or his or her designee shall be for the
7 duration of time of his or her appointment as Director of the Division of the
8 Arkansas State Police.
9 (c) The initial term of the member of the board who is a current or
10 former municipal chief of police or current or former county sheriff with
11 knowledge of the towing industry shall expire on July 1, 2028.
12 (d) The initial term of the member of the board who is appointed from
13 the commercial trucking insurance industry shall expire on July 1, 2027.
14 (e) The initial term of the member of the board who is appointed from
15 the trucking industry shall expire on July 1, 2028.
16 (f) The initial term of the member of the board who has no affiliation
17 with the towing industry and who serves as a representative of consumers of
18 towing services shall expire on July 1, 2026.
19 (g) The initial term of the member of the board who is a currently
20 employed or retired person with at least five (5) years of experience
21 responding to fire and emergency response incidents shall expire on July 1,
22 2027.
23
24 SECTION 8. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is found and determined by the
25 General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that an urgent need exists to enact
26 towing industry reforms, improve towing industry regulation and enforcement,
27 and provide statewide efficiencies to state and local law enforcement; and
28 that this act will accomplish these objectives and is immediately necessary
29 to protect consumers from illegal, fraudulent, and unauthorized towing
30 practices. Therefore, an emergency is declared to exist, and this act being
31 immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, and
32 safety shall become effective on:
33 (1) The date of its approval by the Governor;
34 (2) If the bill is neither approved nor vetoed by the Governor, the
35 expiration of the period of time during which the Governor may veto the bill;
36 or
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1 (3) If the bill is vetoed by the Governor and the veto is overridden,
2 the date the last house overrides the veto.
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8 04/07/2025 4:31:07 PM ZRC135Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.