Relating to providing notice of a vehicle towed to a vehicle storage facility by publication on a third-party Internet website.

Contracts

• Newspapers: Review termination clauses in bulk-buy or retainer agreements with local newspapers. Prepare to renegotiate or cancel these contracts, as your ad volume will decrease by approximately 80-90% once the digital system is active.
• Web Vendors: You will need to execute service agreements with the new digital providers. Ensure these contracts include an indemnity clause holding the VSF harmless if the website suffers downtime or loses TDLR compliance during a statutory notice period.

Hiring/Training

• SOP Update: Update "Second Notice" Standard Operating Procedures. Staff must be trained to stop routing unknown-owner files to the newspaper and instead upload them to the approved web portal *only after* the TDLR list is published.
• Verification: Staff must verify the chosen website is still on the active TDLR list before every batch upload.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Audit Trail: Replace physical newspaper clippings with digital affidavits or permanent screenshots from the third-party website.
• Data Integrity: Ensure the digital listing contains the exact statutory data points required by the Occupations Code (Make, Model, VIN, Storage Location, Charges).
• Retention: Retain digital proofs in the vehicle packet for the standard two-year statutory period to defend against conversion claims.

Fees & Costs

• Cost Reduction: Expect a significant reduction in operational costs regarding notification fees.
• New Fees: Budget for per-listing fees charged by the third-party websites. While likely lower than print rates, these fees are not currently capped by the statute.