Until recently, getting on the police tow rotation in Huntsville, Texas, meant what it means in most small cities: have a truck, carry the right insurance, answer the phone when dispatch calls.
Then the city changed the rules.
Under Ordinance 26-136, the Huntsville Police Department adopted what it calls a “Voluntary Wrecker Service Rotation List Policy”—a seven-page framework that dictates which towing companies can respond to police-initiated calls, what they can charge, where they can store vehicles, and who can drive their trucks. Among its requirements: every participating company must own the property where its vehicle storage facility operates.
For operators who lease their yards, that single provision was enough to knock them off the list.
According to an industry source who contacted TowShark, multiple towing companies lost their rotation positions after the ordinance took effect. These were not newcomers. They held valid state licenses. They operated within the law. But they did not own their dirt, and in Huntsville, that now matters more than a license from the state of Texas.
What the Ordinance Requires
The policy reads like a routine administrative document. It is not.
Buried in its pages are provisions that, taken together, give the Huntsville Police Department control over nearly every dimension of how towing companies operate within city limits:
- Three-company cap. Only three towing companies may participate in the rotation at any time. The Chief of Police decides if and when that number expands. (p. 3)
- Property ownership. Participating companies must own their facility and the land it sits on within city limits. Leased yards do not qualify. (p. 3)
- City-approved storage. Every towed vehicle must go to a “City-approved” vehicle storage facility, regardless of whether the facility holds a state VSF license. (p. 3–5)
- Fee caps. Maximum towing charges are set by the city. Additional charges are prohibited. (p. 3)
- City-issued driver permits. Each wrecker driver must obtain a permit from the police department, subject to background checks and the chief’s approval. (p. 4)
- Unilateral removal authority. The Chief of Police can suspend or remove any company from the rotation and modify the rules at any time. (p. 2, 6–7)
The word “voluntary” appears in the policy’s title. But for operators who depend on police-dispatched calls—accident scenes, abandoned vehicles, DWI impounds—there is nothing voluntary about being excluded from the list that generates that work.
The Law the City May Have Overlooked
In 2023, the Texas Legislature passed HB 2127, known as the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act. The law was broad and blunt: it bars cities and counties from regulating conduct in fields already covered by a list of state codes, including the Texas Occupations Code.
Towing and vehicle storage are regulated under Chapter 2303 of the Occupations Code. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation issues the licenses, sets the standards, writes the administrative rules, and handles enforcement. Section 1.003 of the Occupations Code confirms the scope: the Code applies to every occupation it covers, statewide.
The TRCA does not prohibit cities from managing their own police dispatch. Nobody disputes that. What the statute does prohibit, according to its text, is municipalities adopting ordinances that regulate conduct in a field the state has already claimed.
The question is whether Huntsville’s rotation policy crosses that line.
Six Places Where the Policy Collides with State Authority
TowShark reviewed the ordinance against the TRCA framework and identified six provisions that regulate conduct already governed at the state level.
Local licensing on top of state licensing. TDLR already licenses towing operators. Huntsville requires its own permit, with its own background check, subject to the police chief’s discretion. An operator who clears every state hurdle can still be denied at the city level.
Property ownership as a condition of participation. No provision of the Texas Occupations Code requires a towing company to own the land under its storage yard. Huntsville does. This is the provision that, according to industry sources, has already removed multiple companies from the rotation.
A hard cap on competition. Three companies. That is the ceiling. A fourth operator—fully licensed by the state, fully insured, fully equipped—cannot get on the list unless the Chief of Police decides to expand it. State law sets no such limit.
City-controlled pricing. The ordinance caps towing fees and prohibits additional charges. State law already addresses towing and storage pricing. When a city cap conflicts with or adds to the state fee structure, the TRCA’s preemption language applies.
City approval layered on top of state VSF licensing. TDLR licenses vehicle storage facilities. Huntsville requires its own “City-approved” designation. A facility that meets every state standard may still fail the city’s test—and under the ordinance, no rotation-list tow can go there without that approval.
Enforcement without state-level procedural protections. The Chief of Police can remove a company from the rotation at any time. TDLR enforcement proceedings come with notice, hearings, and administrative due process. The Huntsville policy offers none of that.
The Line Between Dispatch and Regulation
Cities will argue, as they always do, that a rotation list is just internal police administration. And there is a version of a rotation list that probably is. A list that says “we call these three companies in this order” is dispatch management. A list that says “you must own your property, get a city permit, accept our fee schedule, and use only city-approved storage facilities, and we can remove you at any time for any reason” is something else.
When a policy determines who may participate in a state-licensed industry, imposes licensing requirements beyond what the state demands, caps prices the state already regulates, and restricts competition to a number the police chief selects—it is regulation. The label on the cover page does not change what the document does.
The TRCA was written precisely for this kind of conflict. Whether a court agrees that Huntsville’s ordinance falls within its reach is an open question. But the text of the statute, and the text of the ordinance, make the argument straightforward to frame.
What Happens If a Court Agrees
The consequences under the TRCA are not abstract. Section 102A.005 lays them out:
- The ordinance can be declared void and unenforceable.
- Affected operators can seek injunctive and declaratory relief.
- The city can be ordered to pay attorney’s fees and costs.
- The city’s sovereign immunity is waived for TRCA claims.
Before filing suit, a claimant must give the city written notice and ninety days to fix the problem. That notice period is mandatory. But it also means the clock can start with a letter, not a lawsuit.
Beyond Huntsville
Huntsville is not the only city in Texas running a rotation list with requirements that exceed state licensing standards. It may just be the city where the gap between what the ordinance demands and what state law authorizes is widest—and where operators have already felt the cost.
The TRCA is barely two years old. Courts have not drawn a bright line between permissible municipal dispatch management and impermissible local regulation of a state-licensed industry. That line will be drawn, eventually, by the operators willing to challenge the ordinances that cross it.
In Huntsville, several of them already have a reason to.
TowShark was unable to reach the Huntsville Police Department for comment prior to publication. This story will be updated if the city responds.