Bill
AB 983
AB 983 allows warrants to seize/impound vehicles used in speeding over 100 mph, using speed-safety system evidence when off‑scene, with notice and poststorage hearings.
Status and key dates
- Bill number: AB 983
- Introduced: February 20, 2025
- Current status (as of documents): In committee (Assembly Public Safety). Set for hearings on April 21 and April 29; hearings were canceled at the request of the author. Amended April 10, 2025 and re-referred to Public Safety (re-referred April 21).
Purpose
- To add driving at speeds greater than 100 mph (Vehicle Code §22348, subd. (b)) to the list of offenses for which a magistrate may issue a warrant or order authorizing immediate seizure and impoundment of a vehicle, and to allow peace officers to establish reasonable cause for that offense using evidence from authorized “speed safety systems” when the violation occurred outside the officer’s presence.
Key provisions (substantive changes)
- Amends Vehicle Code §14602.7 to:
- Include subdivision (b) of §22348 (driving over 100 mph) among offenses that may justify issuance of a warrant/court order to seize and impound a vehicle as an “instrumentality” used in commission of the offense.
- Permit a peace officer to establish reasonable cause for a §22348(b) violation that occurred outside the officer’s presence by submitting evidence recorded by an authorized speed safety system (see Articles commencing at §22425 and §22435).
- Maintain that impounded vehicles may be held up to 30 days and that warrants/court orders may be entered into computerized databases.
- Notice, release, and hearing procedures:
- Impounding agency must notify the legal owner within two working days (certified mail with return receipt or electronic service per Penal Code §690.5). Failure to timely notify limits chargeable impound days to 15 when the legal owner redeems.
- Specific conditions require immediate release by the impounding agency (e.g., stolen vehicles, bailment driven by an unlicensed employee, or when the registered owner convinces an officer they were not the driver for certain offenses).
- Poststorage hearing notice must be sent within 48 hours; owners must request a hearing within 10 days; the hearing must be held within two court days after the request. If impoundment is found not to have had reasonable cause, the agency pays towing/storage costs.
Who is affected
- Drivers and registered owners whose vehicles are suspected of being used in high‑speed (>100 mph) offenses.
- Law enforcement agencies and magistrates (procedural responsibilities for warrants, notices, hearings).
- Speed safety system operators and administrators (evidence providers).
- Legal owners/lienholders (rights to redeem and notice requirements; lien sale fee protections before day 15).
Potential impacts and considerations
- Increases enforcement tools to remove vehicles involved in extreme speeding, including via automated speed evidence, potentially expanding impound actions where officers did not witness the violation.
- Administrative duties on agencies to meet tight notice/hearing timelines; potential fiscal impacts are indicated as not requiring state appropriation, though local implementation costs (notifications, hearings, storage) could arise.
- Raises due‑process and civil‑liberties considerations around automated speed evidence and vehicle seizure without officer presence; the bill preserves poststorage hearings and remedies (agency pays costs if reasonable cause not established).
Relevant codes cited
- Amends Vehicle Code §14602.7; references §§22348(b), 2800.1–2800.3, 23103, 23109, and speed safety system articles beginning at §§22425 and 22435.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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