HB 1390 is a broad Bureau of Motor Vehicles and motor-vehicle administration bill that makes a wide range of changes across towing, vehicle titling and registration, driver licensing, insurance verification, tolling, and specialty license plate programs. A major portion of the bill creates new rules for emergency towing rotations used by law enforcement agencies, requiring written policies or contracts that spell out rates, response expectations, storage rules, access to vehicles and belongings, administrative fees, and the ability to suspend towing companies that violate the terms. It also requires periodic review of towing rates for reasonableness, allows emergency exceptions outside a rotation when needed, and expands consumer protections around towing invoices, inspections, release of vehicles, and disputes over allegedly unreasonable charges.
The bill also revises several BMV-related procedures. It updates rules for temporary registration permits, personalized plates, special group recognition plates, salvage titles, learner’s permits, driver’s licenses, identification cards, and proof of financial responsibility. Among other changes, it adds a real-time insurance verification system to be implemented by 2028, creates a temporary advisory board to guide that rollout, and requires certain license and permit applicants to submit supervised driving logs. It also changes some towing- and abandoned-vehicle-related procedures, including notice, release, and storage rules, and adds a new offense for advertising marijuana products or Schedule I controlled substances.
HB 1390’s impact on state law is substantial because it amends or adds provisions in multiple titles of the Indiana Code, especially Title 9 and related consumer-protection and transportation statutes. It creates new chapter-level requirements for towing rotations and towing invoices, modifies state police towing oversight, and adds a new real-time insurance verification chapter effective in 2028. It also changes the standards for special license plate participation, including higher petition and sales thresholds for newer plates, and updates several BMV administrative timelines and fee structures. The bill further authorizes counties to mow state right-of-way vegetation under permit and expands certain public transportation service authority outside existing boundaries in limited circumstances.
The overall sentiment reflected in the voting history was strongly favorable, though not unanimous. The bill passed the House 90-0 on third reading and later passed the Senate 38-11, then returned to both chambers for conference committee approval with narrower but still clear margins. That pattern suggests broad bipartisan support for the bill’s administrative and consumer-protection changes, especially the towing reforms and BMV modernization provisions, while also indicating some reservations in the Senate and on the conference report.
The main points of contention appear to center on the towing provisions and the bill’s broader regulatory reach. The towing industry and law enforcement agencies are likely affected by the new rate-review, invoice-disclosure, and release requirements, while vehicle owners, lienholders, and insurers gain stronger protections and clearer procedures. The special license plate changes may also have drawn attention because they raise participation thresholds and tighten oversight of special groups. More generally, the bill combines many unrelated motor-vehicle policy changes into one measure, which can create debate over whether all provisions belong together even when the individual changes are relatively technical.
The bill amends numerous sections of the Indiana Code, primarily in Titles 8, 9, 10, 24, and 36, and adds several new chapters and sections. Its most significant legal effects are to impose detailed towing-rotation and towing-invoice requirements, strengthen consumer and owner rights in towing and storage disputes, establish a real-time insurance verification framework, and revise BMV procedures for licensing, registration, salvage titles, and specialty plates. It also creates new enforcement authority for the attorney general regarding illegal advertising of marijuana and Schedule I controlled substances, and it authorizes limited county maintenance of state right-of-way vegetation under permit.
The bill appears to have been generally well received, with strong bipartisan support in both chambers and no House opposition on third reading. The Senate vote was still favorable but showed more resistance, and the conference committee report also drew some opposition, suggesting that while the bill’s overall direction was accepted, some members had concerns about specific provisions or the bill’s breadth. The absence of committee transcript discussion limits the ability to identify detailed arguments, but the voting pattern indicates broad support with some lingering reservations.
The most likely areas of contention are the towing reforms, which impose new contract, pricing, disclosure, and release requirements on towing companies and give law enforcement and consumers more leverage over disputed charges. Towing operators may view the bill as increasing compliance burdens and limiting pricing flexibility, while consumer advocates and vehicle owners are likely to support the added transparency and protections. Another possible point of debate is the bill’s large scope: it combines towing regulation, BMV administration, insurance verification, license plate policy, advertising restrictions, and local transportation authority changes, which can draw criticism as an omnibus measure even when individual provisions are technical or popular.