AUTHORITY FOR REMOVAL OF VEHICLE FROM PUBLIC ROADWAY

(a) Under an ordinance of a municipality regulating the parking of vehicles in the municipality, to aid in the enforcement of the ordinance, an employee designated by the municipality may be authorized to: (1) immobilize a vehicle parked in the municipality; (2) remove an immobilized vehicle from a public roadway in the municipality; and (3) request the removal and storage of a vehicle that is located in an area where on-street parking is regulated by the ordinance and that: (A) is parked illegally; or (B) is parked legally and: (i) has been unattended for more than 48 hours; and (ii) the employee has reasonable grounds to believe is abandoned. (b) A parking facility owner or towing company may not remove a vehicle from a public roadway except under: (1) this chapter or a municipal ordinance that complies with Section 2308.208; or (2) the direction of a peace officer, a municipal employee under Subsection (a)(3), or the owner or operator of the vehicle. (c) Subsection (a) does not apply to a vehicle owned by an electric, gas, water, or telecommunications utility while the vehicle is parked for the purpose of conducting work on a facility of the utility that is located below, above, or adjacent to the street.