Public Act 102-0759
 
HB3124 EnrolledLRB102 13122 RAM 18465 b

    AN ACT concerning transportation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by
changing Section 4-203.5 as follows:
 
    (625 ILCS 5/4-203.5)
    Sec. 4-203.5. Tow rotation list.
    (a) Each law enforcement agency whose duties include the
patrol of highways in this State shall maintain a tow rotation
list which shall be used by law enforcement officers
authorizing the tow of a vehicle within the jurisdiction of
the law enforcement agency. To ensure adequate response time,
a law enforcement agency may maintain multiple tow rotation
lists, with each tow rotation list covering tows authorized in
different geographic locations within the jurisdiction of the
law enforcement agency. A towing service may be included on
more than one tow rotation list.
    (b) Any towing service operating within the jurisdiction
of a law enforcement agency may submit an application in a form
and manner prescribed by the law enforcement agency for
inclusion on the law enforcement agency's tow rotation list.
The towing service does not need to be located within the
jurisdiction of the law enforcement agency. To be included on
a tow rotation list the towing service must meet the following
requirements:
        (1) possess a license permitting the towing service to
    operate in every unit of local government in the law
    enforcement agency's jurisdiction that requires a license
    for the operation of a towing service;
        (2) if required by the law enforcement agency for
    inclusion on that law enforcement agency's tow rotation
    list, each owner of the towing service and each person
    operating a vehicle on behalf of the towing service shall
    submit his or her fingerprints to the Illinois State
    Police in the form and manner prescribed by the Illinois
    State Police. These fingerprints should be transmitted
    through a live scan fingerprint vendor licensed by the
    Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. These
    fingerprints shall be checked against the fingerprint
    records now and hereafter filed in the Illinois State
    Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal
    history records databases. The Illinois State Police shall
    charge a fee for conducting the criminal history record
    check, which shall be deposited in the State Police
    Services Fund and shall not exceed the actual cost of the
    State and national criminal history record check. The
    Illinois State Police shall furnish, pursuant to positive
    identification, all Illinois conviction information to the
    law enforcement agency maintaining the tow rotation list
    and shall forward the national criminal history record
    information to the law enforcement agency maintaining the
    tow rotation list. A person may not own a towing service or
    operate a vehicle on behalf of a towing service included
    on a tow rotation list if that person has been convicted
    during the 5 years preceding the application of a criminal
    offense involving one or more of the following:
            (A) bodily injury or attempt to inflict bodily
        injury to another person;
            (B) theft of property or attempted theft of
        property; or
            (C) sexual assault or attempted sexual assault of
        any kind;
        (3) each person operating a vehicle on behalf of the
    towing service must be classified for the type of towing
    operation he or she shall be performing and the vehicle he
    or she shall be operating;
        (4) possess and maintain the following insurance in
    addition to any other insurance required by law:
            (A) comprehensive automobile liability insurance
        with a minimum combined single limit coverage of
        $1,000,000;
            (B) commercial general liability insurance with
        limits of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence,
        $100,000 minimum garage keepers legal liability
        insurance, and $100,000 minimum on-hook coverage or
        cargo insurance; and
            (C) a worker's compensation policy covering every
        person operating a tow truck on behalf of the towing
        service, if required under current law;
        (5) possess a secure parking lot used for short-term
    vehicle storage after a vehicle is towed that is open
    during business hours and is equipped with security
    features as required by the law enforcement agency;
        (6) utilize only vehicles that possess a valid vehicle
    registration, display a valid Illinois license plate in
    accordance with Section 5-202 of this Code, and comply
    with the weight requirements of this Code;
        (7) every person operating a towing or recovery
    vehicle on behalf of the towing service must have
    completed a Traffic Incident Management Training Program
    approved by the Department of Transportation;
        (8) hold a valid authority issued to it by the
    Illinois Commerce Commission;
        (9) comply with all other applicable federal, State,
    and local laws; and
        (10) comply with any additional requirements the
    applicable law enforcement agency deems necessary.
    The law enforcement agency may select which towing
services meeting the requirements of this subsection (b) shall
be included on a tow rotation list. The law enforcement agency
may choose to have only one towing service on its tow rotation
list. Complaints regarding the process for inclusion on a tow
rotation list or the use of a tow rotation list may be referred
in writing to the head of the law enforcement agency
administering that tow rotation list. The head of the law
enforcement agency shall make the final determination as to
which qualified towing services shall be included on a tow
rotation list, and shall not be held liable for the exclusion
of any towing service from a tow rotation list.
    (c) Whenever a law enforcement officer initiates a tow of
a vehicle, the officer shall contact his or her law
enforcement agency and inform the agency that a tow has been
authorized. The law enforcement agency shall then select a
towing service from the law enforcement agency's tow rotation
list corresponding to the geographical area where the tow was
authorized, and shall contact that towing service directly by
phone, computer, or similar means. Towing services shall be
contacted in the order listed on the appropriate tow rotation
list, at which point the towing service shall be placed at the
end of that tow rotation list. In the event a listed towing
service is not available, the next listed towing service on
that tow rotation list shall be contacted.
    (d) A law enforcement agency may deviate from the order
listed on a tow rotation list if the towing service next on
that tow rotation list is, in the judgment of the authorizing
officer or the law enforcement agency making the selection,
incapable of or not properly equipped for handling a specific
task related to the tow that requires special skills or
equipment. A deviation from the order listed on the tow
rotation list for this reason shall not cause a loss of
rotation turn by the towing service determined to be incapable
or not properly equipped for handling the request.
    (e) In the event of an emergency a law enforcement officer
or agency, taking into account the safety and location of the
situation, may deviate from the order of the tow rotation list
and obtain towing service from any source deemed appropriate.
    (f) If the owner or operator of a disabled vehicle is
present at the scene of the disabled vehicle, is not under
arrest, and does not abandon his or her vehicle, and in the law
enforcement officer's opinion the disabled vehicle is not
impeding or obstructing traffic, illegally parked, or posing a
security or safety risk, the law enforcement officer shall
allow the owner of the vehicle to specify a towing service to
relocate the disabled vehicle. If the owner chooses not to
specify a towing service, the law enforcement agency shall
select a towing service for the vehicle as provided in
subsection (c) of this Section.
    (g) If a tow operator is present or arrives where a tow is
needed and it has not been requested by the law enforcement
agency or the owner or operator, the law enforcement officer,
unless acting under Section 11-1431 of this Code, shall advise
the tow operator to leave the scene.
    (h) (Blank). Nothing contained in this Section shall apply
to a law enforcement agency having jurisdiction solely over a
municipality with a population over 1,000,000.
(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)