Senate committee moves tow and out-of-state title reforms to speed clearing of towed vehicles

The Senate Transportation Committee advanced several related bills aimed at reducing title-search delays that leave towed vehicles sitting in recovery lots.

Sen. (patron) said SB 135 would let Virginia DMV plug into an automated national title database to return quicker title information for out-of-state vehicles, reducing the lengthy waits that can block title processing. The sponsor said the change would help small towing companies that now store vehicles for months while DMV waits for other states to respond.

A companion bill (substitute to SB 455) would allow DMV to share certain title-search outcomes with tow operators so they can move forward on disposition and avoid long storage backlogs. Representatives of the Virginia Association of Towing and Recovery Operators and regional towing alliances testified they’ve seen cases where companies held hundreds of vehicles while title research took months.

The committee voted to report the bills to Finance. Witnesses emphasized secure data handling and the need for DCJS to process tow-operator registrations efficiently; committee members noted improvements already made by DCJS on faster license turns but several witnesses warned about staffing gaps that created delays.

The measures aim to reduce administrative friction that keeps property in storage and raises costs for towers and localities.