Legislature(2019 - 2020)BUTROVICH 205
03/05/2020 03:30 PM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB133 | |
| SB97 | |
| SB183 | |
| SCR11 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 133 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 97 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 183 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SCR 11 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 183-ABANDONED VEHICLES; PRIVATE PROPERTY
4:49:32 PM
CHAIR REVAK announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 183,
"An Act relating to vehicles abandoned on private property."
CHAIR REVAK solicited a motion for the proposed committee
substitute (CS).
4:49:38 PM
SENATOR COGHILL moved to adopt the committee substitute (CS) for
SB 183, work order 31-LS0587\M, as the working document.
CHAIR REVAK objected for discussion purposes.
4:50:15 PM
BETTY TANGEMAN, Staff, Senator Joshua Revak, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, on behalf of the committee,
explained that version M changes the timeframe in SB 183 from 30
days to 45 days to allow private property owners the ability to
deal with abandoned vehicles on their property while still
giving vehicle owners adequate time to retrieve their vehicle.
She said the sponsor wants to ensure that people who travel for
work or family obligations receive adequate notice. People often
receive monthly bills so this would give them an additional
buffer to retrieve their vehicles.
4:51:00 PM
CHAIR REVAK removed his objection and version M was adopted.
4:51:46 PM
SENATOR JESSE KIEHL, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska,
sponsor of SB 183, said this bill intends to shorten a long
process required to dispose of abandoned vehicles. He explained
that vehicles are often intentionally left on someone else's
property by owners who have no intention of ever coming back for
them. When vehicles are abandoned on private property, it takes
seven months for the property owner to get the title to the
vehicle. He described the process. First, the owner must wait
six months to obtain the address of record, must send a legal
notice, and then wait 30 days to allow the vehicle owner to
remove it. At that point, if the owner has not taken action to
remove the vehicle, the property owner can obtain the title to
the vehicle and remove it at his or her expense.
The committee substitute, version M, would increase the
timeframe to 45 days before the legal notice is sent, which
seems to be a reasonable amount of time for the vehicle owner to
reclaim the vehicle. At the end of the entire process, the
property owner is still stuck with the cost to dispose of the
vehicle.
4:54:26 PM
CHAIR REVAK asked if he could obtain the title to his in-laws'
car if it was parked on his property for 31 days.
SENATOR KIEHL answered that if they leave their vehicle parked
in his driveway for 45 days, he will need to send his in-laws a
legal notice at their address of record. Then after 30 days has
lapsed, he could obtain the title to the vehicle.
4:55:10 PM
SENATOR KAWASAKI asked what type of consent is required for a
person to park on private property. For example, he asked if the
person could leave a note saying the car broke down. He
commented that the person could be attending a legislative
session and be out of town for some time.
SENATOR KIEHL answered that if the person obtained consent to
leave the vehicle, the vehicle owner would receive the legal
notice and have an opportunity to remove it. If the parties
exchanged a verbal agreement, the vehicle owner would have cause
to recover, but that isn't generally the case with abandoned
vehicles.
4:56:44 PM
SENATOR WILSON recalled that the state has an abandoned property
statute. He asked why the owner couldn't just ask the state to
pay to have the vehicle removed after the notice time lapsed.
SENATOR KIEHL replied that is one option, but some
municipalities do not use that route and it remains a burden on
the property owner to remove the vehicle. He cautioned that
vehicles abandoned in rights-of-ways throughout Alaska could
"eat up" the fund. This bill pertains to vehicles abandoned on
private property, he said.
SENATOR WILSON said some people suggest that vehicles should be
towed from private property to public property. He asked if the
property owner could move the vehicle to a highway right-of-way.
4:58:44 PM
SENATOR KIEHL replied that hypothetical solution makes a private
problem a public problem. This bill is focused on property
owners who want to handle abandoned vehicles in the most
responsible manner. It would provide an opportunity to do so in
a little over two months.
5:00:05 PM
DAVID CAMPBELL, Deputy Chief, Juneau Police Department (JPD),
Juneau, Alaska, explained that about 18 months ago the City and
Borough of Juneau struggled with abandoned vehicles. In one
year, the JPD received almost 900 calls reporting abandoned
vehicles. Once reported, the case is assigned to a community
service officer who works with the property owner and vehicle
owner to get the vehicle moved. When that fails, and it often
does, JPD recommends that property owners resolve the issue by
going to the Division of Motor Vehicles to obtain title to the
abandoned vehicle. The owner can then bring the abandoned
vehicle to the recycle center and drop it off free of charge. It
now takes six to seven months for the property owner to go
through this process, which he views as too long. As a police
officer, he encourages people to clean up their sites quickly
because the abandoned vehicle can attract more abandoned
vehicles. Often vehicles are abandoned in shopping mall lots or
other businesses, which creates a significant problem for these
private property owners. The Juneau Police Department supports
the committee substitute for SB 183, version M, increasing the
timeframe to 45 days.
5:04:12 PM
CHAIR REVAK asked him to walk through the noticing procedure.
DEPUTY CHIEF CAMPBELL responded that the JPD's community service
officer spends a lot of time trying to identify vehicle owners
using the vehicle identification number (VIN) and trying to get
them to comply with the law. He stated that the recycling center
will not accept a vehicle unless the owner takes it in.
5:05:47 PM
SENATOR WILSON asked if the private notices posted on lots such
as Safeway or Fred Meyer stores apply.
DEPUTY CHIEF CAMPBELL responded that in Juneau none of the tow
operators manage their own lots. Therefore, the abandoned
vehicles must sit on the private property until the vehicle is
retitled and towed to the recycling center.
SENATOR WILSON asked if it is it feasible to move the vehicles
to the public right-of-way.
DEPUTY CHIEF CAMPBELL replied vehicles end up in the highway
rights-of-way when homeowners tow abandoned vehicles off their
property. The community service officers monitor the abandoned
vehicles in Juneau, so if someone tows an abandoned vehicle to
the Egan or other highway right of way, an officer will inform
the property owner that he or she cannot do so. In his
experience the large retailers try to do the right thing by
obtaining the title and providing notice, which currently takes
six to seven months to resolve, he said.
5:08:13 PM
CHAIR REVAK held SB 183 in committee.