HB 5465 Connecticut House · 2026 Regular Session

AN ACT CONCERNING THE TOWING AND STORAGE OF MOTOR VEHICLES.

This bill creates a public online portal where vehicle owners can track the location and status of their towed or impounded cars without needing to create an account. It requires towing companies and storage facilities to electronically submit detailed information about each towed vehicle, including vehicle details, tow location, fees, and redemption hours, within two hours of the vehicle arriving at storage. The legislation also establishes a standardized schedule of rates for police-ordered towing services, covering different vehicle types and specialized equipment like winching, with a future surcharge for electric vehicles starting in 2029. These changes aim to increase transparency in vehicle impoundment and standardize costs for law enforcement-ordered towing services.

Issues: ✓ Technology

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Mar 4, 2026 Last action Apr 7, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Raised Bill → TRA Joint Favorable Substitute · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to replace the original version with a joint substitute, shifting the bill number designation from 'Raised' to 'Substitute'. The most significant substantive change involves the timeline for reporting towed vehicles; the requirement for wrecker services to submit information to the public portal was extended from two hours to forty-eight hours after arrival. Additionally, the new version clarifies that storage fees cannot be charged until this report is filed and exempts private-property tow operators from notifying local police if they file the required portal report.

Scope change

The bill's applicability remains focused on wrecker services, storage facilities, and the Department of Motor Vehicles, but the operational requirements for these entities have been modified to allow more time for reporting and to clarify fee collection rules.

REQUIREMENT

The deadline for submitting vehicle information to the public portal was increased from two hours to forty-eight hours after the vehicle arrives at the storage facility.

A new provision states that wrecker services cannot charge storage fees for a vehicle until the required tow information is electronically submitted to the portal.

The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles is now required to consult with the Towing Advisory Council when designing the public portal to ensure it is user-friendly.

ENFORCEMENT

Private-property tow operators are now exempt from the requirement to notify local police or state troopers if they electronically submit the tow information to the portal as required by the bill.

TECHNICAL

The bill header was updated to reflect a 'Substitute Bill' instead of a 'Raised Bill', and the page count was adjusted from 22 to 23 pages.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 16, 2026

Lower · Passed

Joint Favorable Substitute

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Committee

REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Transportation

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors