The president of the Vermont Towing Association on Thursday said a proposed ‘towing bill of rights’ that puts a caps on what drivers can charge would put him out of business.

VTA President Mike Kollman, owner of Hillside Auto Sales and Service in Springfield, said each wrecker call costs his buiness $80 — double the $40 cap proposed under H. 21.

“I mean we would just literally give it up,” he said. “We couldn’t afford to do the towing for what they’re asking us to do it for.“

Under the proposal debated this week by the House Committee on Transportation, storage fees would also be capped at $12 a day and tow-truck operators would have to leave the scene if the vehicle’s owner returns before it’s hauled away.

Chittenden Democratic Rep. Barbara Rachelson, the lead sponsor of H. 21, said the new rules would also prevent towing companies declaring a car abandoned after 30 days of storage, obtaining the legal title from the state and selling it.

“I don’t know why it is set up this way, but we need to change it,” Rachelson said.

Racheleson said that, according to Department of Motor Vehicle records, nearly 300 people in Chittenden County lost their vehicles in 2017, “either voluntarily or quasi voluntary because they can’t afford it or because they didn’t get the notice.”

Vermont State Police Lt. Thomas Mozzer of the Shaftsbury barracks said any changes should include exemptions for towing companies contracted by state law enforcement. Most of those tows are involuntary, he said.

“Many of the companies that we currently deal with would be unwilling to render service if it wasn’t cost-effective for them,“ he said.

The committee is scheduled to hear more testimony..