GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1983 SESSION
CHAPTER 687
AN ACT TO ALLOW GASTON COUNTY TO REGULATE VEHICLE TOWING BUSINESSES WITHIN THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS OF GASTON COUNTY.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. Vehicle Towing Services. Gaston County may by ordinance, subject to the general law of the State, regulate and license vehicle towing services for emergencies and accidents provided in the county to the public at large. The ordinance may:
(1) Grant a license to vehicle towing operators on terms set by the Board of Commissioners;
(2) Make it unlawful to provide vehicle towing services or to operate a tow truck in the county from a business office within the county without such a license;
(3) Determine the areas of the county that may be served for emergencies and accidents by each licensed operator;
(4) Set minimum limits of liability insurance for each licensed operator;
(5) Limit the number of towing services that may be operated within the county;
(6) Require designated towing vehicle specifications to be met by each licensed operator;
(7) Make it unlawful for operators to answer calls for assistance without having been called by a vehicle operator or law enforcement officer, or dispatched by the County Communications Center;
(8) Establish other necessary regulations consistent with and supplementary to any statute or regulation relating to vehicle towing services, and consistent with the promotion of the general welfare of the citizens and residents of Gaston County.
Before it may adopt an ordinance pursuant to this subsection, the Board of Commissioners must first hold a public hearing on the need for vehicle towing service regulations. The Board shall cause notice of the hearing to be published once a week for two successive weeks before the hearing. After the hearing the Board may adopt an ordinance if it finds that to do so is necessary to assure the provision of adequate and continuing vehicle towing service and to preserve, protect and promote the public health, safety and welfare.
If a person, firm, or corporation is providing vehicle towing services in a county or any portion thereof on the effective date of an ordinance adopted pursuant to this subsection, the person, firm or corporation is entitled to a license to continue to serve that part of the county in which the service is being provided. The Board of Commissioners shall determine whether the person, firm or corporation so entitled to a license is in compliance with any regulations that may be adopted by said Board of Commissioners, and if that is the case, the Board shall grant the license.
Sec. 2. This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 6th day of July, 1983.