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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | October 26, 2023 03:11 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Tracy Pennycuick |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Cleaning up the Abandoned Vehicle Process for Vehicle Auction Businesses |
| In the near future, I plan on introducing legislation that will reform the current insurance abandoned vehicle process in the commonwealth. Salvaged vehicle auction companies play an important role in processing totaled vehicles. In a majority of cases, a totaled vehicle is taken to one of these businesses, the insurance company pays out to the owner and receives title, and the auction company sells the vehicle to a new owner and the title is transferred. In some cases, a vehicle is towed to one of these lots and the owner abandoned the vehicle, typically as a result of unpaid insurance premiums, the claim is denied due to no liability or the vehicle owner refuses to participate in the claim and disappears. As a result, these vehicles sit, effectively abandoned, for months before the company is allowed to dispose of the vehicles. My legislation would speed up this process, while still giving ample legal notice to vehicle owners to claim their vehicle. If the lienholder of the vehicle does not pick up their vehicles within 30 of notice, the vehicle can be declared abandoned and salvaged. This bill only applies to vehicle auction companies with the primary business purpose of selling salvaged vehicles on behalf of insurance companies and does not affect other provisions of law. This legislation mirrors processes already instituted in other states, including Mississippi. I hope you will join me in cosponsoring this worthwhile legislation to reform the abandoned vehicle process. Should you have any questions, please contact Matt Szuchyt in my office. |