This website and the documents it makes are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.
Plain-language guides for people who were towed, and the audits, reports and court rulings behind them. Each summary is ours; follow the link to read the original.
Newest first. Government reports are public records; the others belong to their authors, so we link to them and do not post copies.
Explains a 2025 bill that would have required cities that regulate nonconsent tow fees to study and adjust them every two years. It did not pass.
Why it matters: El Paso is one of the cities whose fee rules the bill would have changed.
The exact date of the committee report is not shown on the analysis page.
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The federal case alleging that at least 176 servicemembers' vehicles were auctioned from the City's storage facility without court orders, and the 2025 settlements with the City and two contractors.
Why it matters: Shows the extra protection servicemembers have before a towed car can be sold.
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Announces the statewide maximums in force from November 1, 2021 ($272 for a private-property tow of a car) and the previous ones.
Why it matters: The state amount our tool shows next to El Paso's $100.
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Tested whether the police department and the storage-lot contractor followed the 2019 contract. It found early auction sales, no servicemember check before sales, an outdated manual and an overfull hold lot.
Why it matters: The City's own warning, three years before the federal lawsuit, that servicemembers' cars were not being checked before sale.
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Surveyed local towing companies' costs per tow and compared El Paso's $85.46 limit with Austin ($150) and Dallas ($121); it recommended $100.
Why it matters: Explains where El Paso's $100 limit came from.
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Gives the city's fee history, compares Texas and regional cities (including Las Cruces and Albuquerque), and summarizes TDLR's 2012 statewide towing-fee study, which it said did not reflect the El Paso region well.
Why it matters: A rare official comparison of tow limits across Texas cities.
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Court rulings about towing in El Paso. A case decides the dispute in front of the court; whether it applies to a tow depends on the facts.
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