November 3, 2010, Introduced by Senator VAN WOERKOM and referred to the Committee on Transportation.
A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled
"Michigan vehicle code,"
by amending section 252g (MCL 257.252g), as amended by 2008 PA 539.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 252g. (1) Subject to section 252a(16), a public sale for
a vehicle and its contents that has been determined to be abandoned
under section 252a or removed under section 252d shall be conducted
in the following manner:
(a) It shall be under the control of the police agency.
However, a police agency may designate the custodian of the vehicle
or a third party to conduct the auction.
(b) It shall be open to the public and consist of open auction
bidding or bidding by sealed bids. If sealed bids are received, the
person submitting the bid shall receive a receipt for the bid from
the police agency or the agency's designee or, if the vehicle is
being sold under section 252a(16), the custodian of the vehicle.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in sections 252a(16) and (17)
and 252b(7), it shall be held not less than 5 days after public
notice of the sale has been published.
(d) The public notice shall be published at least once in a
newspaper having a general circulation within the county in which
the vehicle was abandoned. The public notice shall give a
description of the vehicle for sale and shall state the time, date,
and location of the sale.
(2) The money received from the public sale of the vehicle
shall be applied in the following order of priority:
(a) Towing and storage charges.
(b) Expenses incurred by the police agency or the custodian of
the vehicle.
(c) Payment of the $40.00 abandoned vehicle fee in the manner
described in section 252f(3)(a).
(d) Any extra money shall be sent to the department of
treasury's unclaimed property division to be disbursed as follows:
(i) To the secured party, if any, in the amount of the debt
outstanding on the vehicle.
(ii) Remainder to the owner. A reasonable attempt shall be made
to mail the remainder to the last titled owner. If delivery of the
remainder cannot be accomplished, the remainder shall become the
property of the unit of government governing the location from
which the vehicle was towed.
(3) If there are no bidders on the vehicle, the police agency
or the custodian of the vehicle may do 1 of the following:
(a) Turn the vehicle over to the towing firm or the custodian
of the vehicle to satisfy charges against the vehicle. However, if
the value of the vehicle does not satisfy the towing fees and
accrued daily storage fees, the custodian of the vehicle may
collect the balance of those unpaid fees from the last titled
owner, subject to section 252i. Notwithstanding anything else to
the contrary in this act, a towing firm or custodian of a towing
firm that has received a vehicle under this subdivision may
transfer the vehicle to a licensed dealer without first taking
title to the vehicle. The department shall provide or designate a
form for the documentation of transfers under this subdivision
before the expiration of 90 days after the effective date of the
amendatory act that added this sentence.
(b) Obtain title to the vehicle for the police agency or the
unit of government the police agency represents, by doing the
following:
(i) Paying the towing and storage charges.
(ii) Applying for title to the vehicle.
(c) Hold another public sale under subsection (1).
(4) A person who acquires ownership of a vehicle under
subsection (1) or (3) that has been designated as a distressed
vehicle shall apply for a salvage certificate of title within 15
days after obtaining the vehicle.
(5) Upon disposition of the vehicle, the police agency or
towing agency or custodian shall provide the secretary of state and
the police agency, if that police agency did not conduct the sale,
with the vehicle's disposition and the name of the agency that
disposed of it and the police agency shall cancel the entry in the
law enforcement information network.
(6) Not less than 25 days after the date of notice required
under section 252a, if the police agency does not provide a copy of
the bill of sale by the police agency for the abandoned vehicle to
the towing agency or custodian or police agency's designee, the
towing agency or custodian or police agency designee may obtain an
original of the bill of sale by submitting an application to the
secretary of state in a form as determined by the secretary of
state.