SB692: Vehicles: homelessness.

Amended IN Assembly June 25, 2026 Amended IN Assembly July 16, 2025 Amended IN Assembly July 03, 2025 Amended IN Senate May 23, 2025 Amended IN Senate April 09, 2025 Amended IN Senate March 25, 2025 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Senate Bill No. 692 Introduced by Senator Arreguín (Principal coauthor: Senator Richardson) (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Mark González) (Coauthor: Assembly Member Nguyen) February 21, 2025 An act to amend Section 22661 of of, and to add Section 22851.35 to, the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 692, as amended, Arreguín. Vehicles: homelessness. Existing law makes it unlawful for a peace officer or an unauthorized person to remove an unattended vehicle from a highway, except as provided. Under existing law, the removal of a vehicle is a seizure, subject to the limits set forth in jurisprudence for the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Existing law authorizes a city, county, or city and county to adopt an ordinance establishing procedures for the abatement and removal, as public nuisances, of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles or parts of vehicles from private or public property. Existing law requires that any ordinance for the removal of abandoned vehicles contain certain provisions, including a provision exempting vehicles under certain circumstances, and a provision providing no less than a 10-day notice of intention to abate and remove the vehicle or part thereof as a public nuisance, unless the property owner and the owner of the vehicle sign releases. Existing law also exempts from the 10-day notice prior to removal provision, a vehicle meeting specified requirements, including being valued at less than $200 and being determined to be a public nuisance, if the property owner has signed a release. This bill would specifically authorize a local government to perform emergency summary abatement of vehicles creating imminent health and safety hazards. The bill would modify the exemption from prior 10-day notice of intention to abate and remove a vehicle to no longer require that both the vehicle be determined to be a public nuisance and that the property owner sign a release. Existing law, whenever a peace officer or other public employee removes an abandoned vehicle valued at $500 or less, requires the public agency that removed, or caused the removal of, the vehicle to cause the disposal of the vehicle subject to specified requirements, including providing notice, as specified, to the registered and legal owners and any other person known to have an interest in the vehicle, and a process for the owners and interested persons to request and have a poststorage hearing, as specified. This bill would authorize a public agency of a city, county, or city and county to dismantle, or cause the dismantlement of, an abandoned vehicle, as defined, if the abandoned vehicle cannot be towed or otherwise moved and the vehicle has been declared a nuisance or hazard by a fire marshal, environmental health director, or public health officer of a city, county, or city and county, if various requirements are met, including attaching a distinctive notice to the vehicle at least 15 days prior to dismantlement that states the vehicle will be dismantled by the public agency if the hazard is not abated, sending a notice, within 48 hours of the attachment of the notice to the vehicle, to the owners and any other person known to have an interest in the vehicle informing them of specified information, including that the vehicle may be disposed of at least 15 days from the date of the notice and that they may have a hearing before the public agency if a request for a hearing is made within 10 days from the date of notice, as specified. This bill would require a requested hearing to be conducted within 5 business days of the request. If, after at least 15 days from the notification, the vehicle remains unclaimed, and if no request for a hearing was made or a hearing was not attended, the bill would require the public agency to provide the lienholder authorization to dismantle the vehicle. The bill would provide that a local government is not prevented from performing emergency summary abatement of an abandoned vehicle that is creating imminent health or safety hazards. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 22661 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read: 22661. Any ordinance establishing procedures for the removal of abandoned or inoperable vehicles shall contain all of the following provisions: (a) The requirement that notice be given to the Department of Motor Vehicles within five days after the date of removal, identifying the vehicle or part thereof and any evidence of registration available, including, but not limited to, the registration card, certificates of ownership, or license plates. (b) Making the ordinance inapplicable to (1) a vehicle or part thereof that is completely enclosed within a building in a lawful manner where it is not visible from the street or other public or private property or (2) a vehicle or part thereof that is stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the business of a licensed dismantler, licensed vehicle dealer, or a junkyard. This exception shall not, however, authorize the maintenance of a public or private nuisance as defined under provisions of law other than this chapter. (c) (1) The requirement that not less than a 10-day notice of intention to abate and remove the vehicle or part thereof as a public nuisance be issued, unless the property owner and the owner of the vehicle have signed releases authorizing removal and waiving further interest in the vehicle or part thereof. (2) However, prior notice of intention is not required for removal of a vehicle or part thereof that is inoperable due to the absence of a motor, transmission, or wheels, and is valued at less than two hundred dollars ($200) by a person specified in Section 22855, if either of the following criteria is met: (A) The property owner has signed a release authorizing removal and waiving their interest in the vehicle or part thereof. (B) The vehicle or part is determined by the local agency to be a public nuisance presenting an imminent threat to public health or safety. (3) Prior to final disposition pursuant to Section 22662 of a vehicle or part for which evidence of registration was recovered pursuant to subdivision (a), the local agency shall provide notice to the registered and legal owners of intent to dispose of the vehicle or part, and if the vehicle or part is not claimed and removed within 12 days after the notice is mailed, from a location specified in Section 22662, or if the owner signs a release waiving the waiting period, final disposition may proceed. A local agency or contractor thereof is not liable for damage caused to a vehicle or part thereof by removal consistent with this section. (4) Paragraph (2) applies only as follows: (A) To inoperable vehicles located upon a parcel that is zoned for agricultural use. (B) To inoperable vehicles located upon a parcel that is not improved with a residential structure containing one or more dwelling units. (d) The 10-day notice of intention to abate and remove a vehicle or part thereof, when required by this section, shall contain a statement of the hearing rights of the owner of the property on which the vehicle is located and of the owner of the vehicle. The statement shall include notice to the property owner that they may appear in person at a hearing or may submit a sworn written statement denying responsibility for the presence of the vehicle on the land, with their reasons for such denial, in lieu of appearing. The notice of intention to abate shall be mailed, by registered or certified mail, to the owner of the land as shown on the last equalized assessment roll and to the last registered and legal owners of record unless the vehicle is in such condition that identification numbers are not available to determine ownership. (e) The requirement that a public hearing be held before the governing body of the city, county, or city and county, or any other board, commissioner, or official of the city, county, or city and county as designated by the governing body, upon request for such a hearing by the owner of the vehicle or the owner of the land on which the vehicle is located. This request shall be made to the appropriate public body, agency, or officer within 10 days after the mailing of notice of intention to abate and remove the vehicle or at the time of signing a release pursuant to subdivision (c). If the owner of the land on which the vehicle is located submits a sworn written statement denying responsibility for the presence of the vehicle on their land within that time period, this statement shall be construed as a request for hearing that does not require the presence of the owner submitting the request. If the request is not received within that period, the appropriate public body, agency, or officer shall have the authority to remove the vehicle. (f) The requirement that after a vehicle has been removed, it shall not be reconstructed or made operable, unless it is a vehicle that qualifies for either horseless carriage license plates or historical vehicle license plates, pursuant to Section 5004, in which case the vehicle may be reconstructed or made operable. (g) A provision authorizing the owner of the land on which the vehicle is located to appear in person at the hearing or present a sworn written statement denying responsibility for the presence of the vehicle on the land, with their reasons for the denial. If it is determined at the hearing that the vehicle was placed on the land without the consent of the landowner and that they have not subsequently acquiesced to its presence, then the local authority shall not assess costs of administration or removal of the vehicle against the property upon which the vehicle is located or otherwise attempt to collect those costs from the owner. SEC. 2. Section 22851.35 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read: 22851.35. (a) For the purposes of this section, “abandoned vehicle” means any of the following: (1) A vehicle that does not have signs of human habitation and where the city, county, or city and county reasonably believes the vehicle is not being used for human habitation based on recently conducted outreach. (2) The vehicle is inoperable due to the absence of a motor, transmission, or wheels and incapable of being towed. (b) If an abandoned vehicle cannot be towed or otherwise moved and the abandoned vehicle has been declared a nuisance or hazard by the fire marshal, environmental health director, or public health officer of the city, county, or city and county in which the public agency is located, the public agency may dismantle, or cause the dismantlement of, the vehicle in the place that it was abandoned, if all of the following requirements are met: (1) Except as provided in subdivision (d), at least 15 days prior to dismantlement of the abandoned vehicle, the peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code, or any other employee of a public agency authorized pursuant to Section 22669, shall securely attach a distinctive notice to the vehicle that states the vehicle will be dismantled by the public agency if the hazard is not abated. (2) Immediately after identifying the abandoned vehicle for dismantlement and posting the public notice on the vehicle, the public agency that seeks to dismantle, or caused the dismantlement of, the abandoned vehicle, shall notify the Stolen Vehicle System of the Department of Justice in Sacramento of the intent to dismantle. (3) The public agency that seeks to dismantle, or cause the dismantlement of, the abandoned vehicle or, at the request of the public agency, the lienholder shall obtain a copy of the names and addresses of all persons having an interest in the vehicle, if any, from the Department of Motor Vehicles either directly or by use of the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System. This subdivision does not require the public agency or lienholder to obtain a copy of the actual record on file at the Department of Motor Vehicles. (4) Within 48 hours of the posting of the notice pursuant to subdivision (a), excluding weekends and holidays, the public agency that seeks to dismantle, or cause the dismantlement of, the vehicle shall send a notice to the registered and legal owners at their addresses of record with the Department of Motor Vehicles, and to any other person known to have an interest in the vehicle. A notice sent by the public agency shall be sent by certified or first-class mail, and a notice sent by the lienholder shall be sent by certified mail. The notice shall include all of the following information: (A) The name, address, and telephone number of the public agency providing the notice. (B) The location of the place of the vehicle and description of the vehicle that shall include, if available, the vehicle make, license plate number, vehicle identification number, and mileage. (C) The authority and purpose for the removal of the vehicle. (D) A statement that the vehicle may be disposed of at least 15 days from the date of the notice. (E) A statement that the owners and interested persons, or their agents, have the opportunity for a hearing before the public agency that seeks to dismantle, or caused the dismantlement of, the vehicle to determine the validity of the determination if a request for a hearing is made in person, in writing, or by telephone within 10 days from the date of notice. The statement shall also advise that if the owner or interested person, or their agent, disagrees with the decision of the public agency, the decision may be reviewed pursuant to Section 11523 of the Government Code. The statement shall further include that during the time of the initial hearing, or during the time the decision is being reviewed pursuant to Section 11523 of the Government Code, the vehicle in question may not be disposed of. (5) (A) A requested hearing shall be conducted within five business days of the request, excluding weekends and holidays. The public agency that seeks to dismantle the vehicle may authorize its own officers to conduct the hearing if the hearing officer is not the same person who directed the storage of the vehicle. (B) Failure of either the registered or legal owner or interested person, or their agent, to request or to attend a scheduled hearing shall satisfy the hearing requirement of this section. (6) An authorization for disposal may not be issued by the public agency prior to the conclusion of a requested hearing or any judicial review of that hearing. (7) If, after at least 15 days from the notification, the vehicle remains unclaimed and if no request for a hearing was made or a hearing was not attended, the public agency that sought to dismantle, or sought to cause the dismantlement of, the vehicle shall provide to the lienholder, on a form approved by the Department of Motor Vehicles, authorization to dismantle the vehicle. The lienholder may request the public agency to provide the authorization to dismantle the vehicle. (8) If the names and addresses of the registered and legal owners of the vehicle are not available from the records of the Department of Motor Vehicles, either directly or by use of the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, the public agency may dismantle or cause the dismantlement of the vehicle at any time after the 15th day from the date of the notice. (c) A vehicle disposed of pursuant to this section shall not be reconstructed or made operable, unless it is a vehicle that qualifies for either horseless carriage license plates or historical vehicle license plates, pursuant to Section 5004, in which case the vehicle may be reconstructed or made operable. (d) This section does not prevent a local government from performing emergency summary abatement of an abandoned vehicle that is creating imminent health and safety hazards pursuant to state law or local ordinance.