Tow truck reform bill in North Carolina gutted, dead

A North Carolina bill aimed at reforming the tow truck industry was effectively killed after being replaced with a different bill during a finance committee hearing. The original proposal, sponsored by Laura Budd and others, sought to establish a Towing and Recovery Commission to regulate the industry, but it was removed from House Bill 199, which now addresses de-annexation rules. The bill's failure follows years of investigations into unregulated towing practices and a 2014 court ruling limiting local governments' authority to set towing fees.