HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.
![handle is hein.sag/sagga0099 and id is 1 raw text is:
Official Opinion 2019-1
September 06, 2019
To:
Commissioner, Georgia Department of Public Safety
Re:
The Department of Public Safety is not authorized to establish maximum rates for the removal
and storage of motor vehicles pursuant to the Abandoned Motor Vehicle Act beyond its
regulatory authority as set forth in O.C.G.A. § 44-1-13
You have asked whether the Department of Public Safety (DPS) is authorized and/or required
to establish maximum rates for the removal and storage of motor vehicles under Section 5 of Act
No. 275 (H.B. 307) (2019) (the Abandoned Motor Vehicle Act), and if so, what enforcement
mechanisms exist for DPS to enforce those rates. For the reasons that follow, I conclude that
DPS is not authorized to establish maximum rates for the removal and storage of motor vehicles
under the Abandoned Motor Vehicle Act beyond those that fall within the regulatory authority of
DPS as set forth in O.C.G.A. § 44-1-13. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-1-13, DPS's regulatory authority
is limited to motor vehicles that are removed from private property at the owner's request
because the vehicle is trespassing. See O.C.G.A. §§ 40-11-11 through 40-11-19.5, 2019 Ga.
Laws 872; O.C.G.A. § 44 1 13.
The Abandoned Motor Vehicle Act (the Act) was enacted during the 2019 legislative session
to create a comprehensive and streamlined process for the removal of abandoned and unclaimed
vehicles from public rights of way and private or public property. See O.C.G.A. § 40-11-
12. The Act, in part, identifies circumstances in which a towing and storage firm may remove
motor vehicles from private and public property, O.C.G.A. §§ 40-11-15, 40-11-16, and limits
fees for removal and storage to the maximum allowable charge as set forth by rule and
regulation of [DPS] for maximum state-wide rate tariffs, or rates specified in agreements with
local governing authorities, except where exempted by federal law, rules, or regulations.
O.C.G.A. § 40-11-19.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.sag/sagga0099&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)