JUNEAU – Wednesday, the Alaska State Legislature passed Senate Bill 76 by Senator Jesse Kiehl (D-Juneau), which shortens the wait for private property owners to dispose of abandoned vehicles. Current law requires a person to live with an abandoned car in their driveway or on their lot for six months before starting the legal process to deal with it. Senate Bill 76 shortens that six-month waiting period to 30 days. 

 

To protect vehicle owners who might have made a mistake, the bill keeps the long-standing rules and notice requirements in place. “Today’s 7-8 month ordeal will become 2-3 months,” said Sen. Kiehl.

 

“Dumping cars on private property happens way too often, all across our state. With this bill, the process to get rid of abandoned vehicles left on your property gets five months shorter,” said Sen. Kiehl. “In a perfect world, we’d take the burden of paying for disposal off the homeowner’s shoulders, too, but I’m glad we could at least give people an option to deal with it much, much sooner.”

 

Senate Bill 76 passed both the Senate and House unanimously. Senate Bill 76 now heads to the Governor for his signature.