SB 840 - This act establishes a transfer notice procedure when one person sells or transfers an interest in a motor vehicle to another person. Under the terms of the act, the transferor must notify the Department of Revenue within 10 days of transferring the motor vehicle. The Department of Revenue will determine the notice's form. A new motor vehicle franchise dealer is exempt from this requirement. The notice required by this act does not constitute an assignment or release of any interest in the vehicle. Once the Department of Revenue receives the transfer notice, it shall make a notation in its records that the motor vehicle has been transferred. Until a new title is issued for the transferred motor vehicle, whenever the Department is asked to provide the name of the owner of the motor vehicle as show in its records, the Department shall provide the transferor's name and indicate that the records show a notification of transfer but do not show a title transfer. The Department shall also provide the name of the transferee if available. If the Department does not receive a title application from the named transferee within 60 days of receiving the transfer notice, the Department shall notify the transferee to apply for title. A person will be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor if he knowingly submits false information on the transfer notice (sections 301.196-301.198). These provisions are similar to ones contained in SS/SCS/HCS/HB 600 (2003). The provisions are modeled after provisions contained in Oregon law. These provisions will not go into effect until January 1, 2005. This act provides that tow trucks requested by law enforcement shall be considered an emergency vehicle after arriving at the scene of an accident. Tow trucks shall only be considered emergency vehicles after arriving and when working the scene at the direction and supervision of law enforcement. This act provides that towing companies performing tows pursuant to Section 304.155 (law enforcement requested tows) and Section 304.157 (nonconsensual private property tows) shall meet the following requirements: (1) Have a verifiable commercial address or storefront; (2) Have a fenced, secure and lighted storage lot or an enclosed, secure building for the storage of vehicles; (3) Be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; (4) Maintain an insurance policy or other form of security in the amount of $1,000,000 per incident; (5) Provide worker's compensation on all of its employees, if required to do so by law; and (6) Maintain current motor vehicle registrations on all the tow trucks within the towing company's fleet. The act allows municipalities to adopt ordinances with respect to towing company standards in addition to these minimum standards. This act modifies the current criminal statute on abandoning a motor vehicle. Under this act, the last owner of record of a motor vehicle shall be deemed prima facie to have been the owner of the motor vehicle at the time of abandonment. The last owner of record shall not be deemed to have been the owner of the motor vehicle or to have been the person who abandoned the vehicle if the person has filed notice with the Department of Revenue pursuant to Section 301.196 that the person's interest in the motor vehicle has been transferred. The registered owner shall not be subject to the penalties of the statute if the motor vehicle was in the care, custody, or control of another person at the time of the violation. The owner can submit an affidavit naming the other person who was in control of the car. The affidavit shall raise a rebuttable presumption that the named person in the affidavit was in control of the vehicle. The court can then terminate the prosecution. If the vehicle is alleged to have been stolen, the owner shall submit a police report. Any person convicted of abandoning a motor vehicle shall be liable for all towing and storage charges and such liability shall remain even if the motor vehicle is sold pursuant a towing lien. This act authorizes a law enforcement officer to remove abandoned property abandoned on the right-of-way of an interstate highway which is left unattended for two hours, instead of 10 hours, if the law enforcement officer determines that the abandoned property to be a serious hazard to other motorists. The act also authorizes a law enforcement officer to remove abandoned property abandoned on the right-of-way of an interstate highway outside of an urbanized area which is left unattended for two hours, instead of 48 hours, if the law enforcement officer determines that the abandoned property to be a serious hazard to other motorists. STEPHEN WITTE