Both go to full Council vote in December

WASHINGTON, D.C.— A key vote on Thursday moved forward legislation that would allow immediate towing and impoundment of vehicles with counterfeit or obscured license plates.

The Committee on Public Works & Operations also passed a bill to give the Department of For-Hire Vehicles the authority to regulate food and parcel delivery activities.

Both measures go to a vote by the full Council on Dec. 3.

Fraudulent Vehicle Legislation

B25-0435, the “Fraudulent Vehicle Tag and Parking Enforcement Modernization Amendment Act of 2024”, gives the Department of Public Works and other enforcement agencies authority to immediately tow and impound cars whose owners have blatantly flouted the law by having clearly counterfeit, obscured, or long-expired plates.

This legislation would also empower the D.C. Attorney General to proactively investigate and shut down dealers and distributors of falsified and counterfeit temporary tags, classifying that as an act of forgery. 

The bill establishes an entire new chapter of D.C. code governing all aspects of parking enforcement — a complete modernization, streamlining, and strengthening of the law.

Councilmember Nadeau noted in her remarks that experience has shown that premeditated reckless driving is often associated with vehicles that have counterfeit tags, making this legislation even more urgent as one of the tools we can employ to make our roads safer for residents and visitors.

Under current D.C. Law a vehicle with two parking tickets for overstaying a meter is as deserving of the impound lot as a vehicle with 10 speeding tickets.

“If we can’t identify a vehicle, especially when more than 99 percent of our traffic citations are by automated enforcement cameras, then they will never get two unpaid tickets,” Nadeau said.

According to the legislation, vehicles would be assigned points for both moving violations and parking violations. A total of 10 points would make a vehicle eligible for towing. It makes more dangerous activities more likely to lead to impoundment.

“In effect, this targets those with the least ability to pay, rather than those who pose the greatest risk to road safety,” Nadeau said.

The legislation creates a new, comprehensive statute governing parking enforcement, immobilization, and impoundment, incorporating the STEER Act and other existing D.C. code. Establishing a new section of law – rather than inserting language changes in multiple places – will make it easier for the Council to amend in the future as the Committee continues its work to strengthen the use of parking enforcement to enhance enforcement of egregious violations and dangerous road behavior.

“This Committee and I have made it a priority to elevate DPW’s parking enforcement activity – and booting and towing specifically – to a place where it is recognized as a critical element in addressing traffic safety, and hence public safety,” Nadeau said.

Food and Parcel Delivery

The Committee also approved legislation Thursday to grant the Department of For-Hire Vehicles full oversight and enforcement power over food and parcel delivery services, including enforcement of traffic laws.

B25-0416, the Carrier-for-Hire Oversight and Enforcement Amendment Act of 2024 establishes “carriers-for-hire” as a new category of for-hire service, including operators and companies, and creates a regulatory structure similar to the District’s existing laws on ride-hailing services.

The carrier-for-hire industry, which includes restaurants, instant delivery of parcels, and groceries, has seen tremendous growth. Much like the advent of ride-hailing companies, this type of service requires regulation and oversight that it does not currently have, according to Nadeau.

The bill also sets stronger requirements for both vehicles- and carriers-for-hire to display a logo or insignia indicating what company the operator is providing service for – as a safety measure for passengers and to facilitate street enforcement by DFHV.

“Carriers-for-hire use the same or similar mobile apps as the ones used by vehicles-for-hire; it makes no sense for DFHV to be able to regulate and enforce one but not the other,” Nadeau said.

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Read the Legislation

NOTE: The approved marked up versions of these bills have not yet posted to LIMS – they will likely appear there sometime next week.

B25-0435 – Fraudulent Vehicle Tag and Parking Enforcement Modernization Amendment Act of 2024

B25-0416 – Department of For-Hire Vehicles Delivery Vehicle Traffic Enforcement Expansion Amendment Act of 2023