California's SB 1112, aimed at curbing "bandit towing," cleared the Assembly Judiciary Committee on a 12-0 vote June 16 and is now pending before the Assembly Appropriations Committee, according to bill tracking data from LegiScan and the committee's own June 16 hearing agenda.
While the bill is written to target fraudulent towing operators, the current amended text also places notice-posting requirements and civil fines directly on "auto body shop" as an entity, alongside towing companies, impound yards, and storage facilities, according to the bill text posted by LegiScan. A summary circulated to the Bureau of Automotive Repair's advisory group confirms the same point, describing the bill as requiring "businesses, including auto body shops," to post the required consumer notice.
SB 1112 would let a vehicle's registered owner, legal owner, lienholder or insurer post a bond or other adequate security with a county court clerk to force release of a vehicle before it is sold by a towing company, impound yard or storage facility, per the bill text.
Once the bond is posted, the court would issue a certificate directing release of the vehicle. The party posting the bond would then have 10 court days to file a claim alleging a violation of one of several existing vehicle code sections governing towing and storage.
The bill's fine and disclosure provisions apply broadly. Under the current text, an auto body shop, impound yard or storage facility that knowingly participates in or profits from a wrongful towing or storage violation would be subject to a civil fine of up to four times the amount charged to the vehicle owner.
The California Bureau of Automotive Repair would be required to develop, by Jan. 1, 2028, a consumer notice describing owners' rights under the section, and towing companies, impound yards, storage facilities, and auto body shops alike would have to post that notice where customers can see it by July 1, 2028, with fines for noncompliance capped at four times the amount charged.
The bill exempts vehicles towed at the request of the California Highway Patrol, local law enforcement, Caltrans or a local transportation agency, according to the bill text.
Why lawmakers say the bill is needed
At an April 21 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Sen. Bob Archuleta, D-Pico Rivera described the measure as "a small but necessary consumer protection measure targeted to bad actors in the towing industry," according to a transcript published by CalMatters Digital Democracy.
Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, testified that some tow operators monitor roadside safety-service radio signals, pose as those services and then charge thousands of dollars to return vehicles to consumers, and cited an instance in which people impersonating government representatives removed a vehicle belonging to a victim of the Eaton fire from private property and effectively held it for ransom.
Where the bill stands now
The full Senate passed SB 1112 38-0 on May 20, and the bill has not received a single "no" vote at any stage so far, per LegiScan's roll call records. It is currently pending in Assembly Appropriations.
Because the bill's notice-posting and fine language names "auto body shop" as a covered entity, not just towing companies and storage facilities, the outcome in Appropriations carries direct compliance implications for registered collision repair shops in California, even though the measure is aimed at unlicensed tow operators rather than legitimate repair businesses.
