A. No operator shall be permitted nor shall any employee of any operator be permitted, allowed or caused to solicit business or make service calls without the operator first having obtained from the Department of Public Safety a license to operate a wrecker or towing service. The number of the license shall be displayed, in conformance with rules of the Department, on both sides of every wrecker vehicle operated by the wrecker or towing service.

B. The license fee required by this section shall be in lieu of the motor carrier filing fee as required in Section 165 of this title. No applicant for a wrecker license shall be required to prove public convenience and necessity, file notices, nor shall a public hearing be held. The fee for such license shall be One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), of which Ten Dollars ($10.00) shall be allocated to the Department for the administration of the Nonconsensual Towing Act of 2011.

C. All licenses shall expire on the last day of the calendar year and may be renewed annually at a cost of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) upon application to the Department as prescribed by rule. No license fee shall be refunded in the event that the license is suspended or revoked.

D. The Department shall issue a letter of reprimand, cancel, suspend, revoke, or refuse to issue or renew the license of an operator when it finds the licensee or applicant has not complied with or has violated any of the provisions of the Nonconsensual Towing Act of 2011, or any rules adopted by the Department. A suspension or revocation shall be for a period of time deemed appropriate by the Department for the violation. Any canceled, suspended, or revoked license shall be returned to the Department by the operator, and the operator shall not be eligible to apply for another license until the period of suspension or revocation has elapsed.

E. The provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act are expressly made applicable to the Nonconsensual Towing Act of 2011.

F. In any civil action to enforce the equal application of the alternation or rotation of wrecker or towing services regulated by a political subdivision of the state, the prevailing party shall be allowed attorney fees determined by the court, to be taxed and collected as costs.

G. Fees collected pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be remitted to the State Treasurer to be credited to the General Revenue Fund in the State Treasury except as provided by subsection H of this section.

H. Fees allocated to the Department by this section shall be deposited in the Department of Public Safety Restricted Revolving Fund.

Added by Laws 1970, c. 323, § 3. Amended by Laws 1977, c. 73, § 1, emerg. eff. May 25, 1977; Laws 1980, c. 11, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1980; Laws 1982, c. 170, § 3, operative Oct. 1, 1982; Laws 1983, c. 286, § 32, operative July 1, 1983; Laws 1984, c. 264, § 9, operative July 1, 1984; Laws 1986, c. 144, § 3, emerg. eff. April 21, 1986; Laws 1987, c. 5, § 167, emerg. eff. March 11, 1987; Laws 1995, c. 50, § 3, emerg. eff. April 10, 1995; Laws 2004, c. 418, § 26, eff. July 1, 2004; Laws 2012, c. 283, § 15, eff. July 1, 2012.