California Tow Truck Ass'n v. City & County of San Francisco

Opinion

RIVERA, J.

State law generally preempts local law in the field of traffic control. (Rumford v. City of Berkeley (1982) 31 Cal.3d 545, 550 [183 Cal.Rptr. 73, 645 P.2d 124] [a city has no authority over vehicular traffic control unless expressly provided by the Legislature].) There are exceptions, and this appeal concerns one of those exceptions: The Legislature has allowed local regulation of tow truck companies and drivers. Given that power, San Francisco and other cities have adopted permit systems to regulate towing service. The question is whether tow truck companies and drivers must…