A. After the removal or storage of any abandoned or wrecked vessel at the request of a public agency, the registered or legal owner of the vessel, or their agent, may contest the validity of the removal or storage, by filing a written request for a hearing with the public agency. The written request may be filed before or after the vessel is retrieved from the storage operator. The public agency shall not be required to conduct a hearing if the request is received more than ten (10) days following actual or constructive notice to the owner or driver of the vessel that the vessel has been so removed or stored. A hearing shall be scheduled within seventy-two (72) hours of the request, excluding weekends and holidays. The public agency may authorize its own officer or employee to conduct the hearing, so long as the hearing officer is not the same person who directed the removal or storage of the vessel. The public agency may, with the consent of the person requesting the hearing, schedule the hearing by telephone and conduct the hearing on the merits by telephone conference call.

The hearing officer shall apply the law to the evidence and make a determination whether the vessel removal and storage was justified. If deemed unjustified, the public agency shall bear the cost of hookup and tow mileage, and the operator shall waive all storage costs in such cases as a condition of eligibility to respond to a service call request from a public agency. The vessel owner or agent shall not be charged any type of fee or costs relating to impoundment or storage in such case. If the tow and storage is deemed justified, the owner or agent shall bear the cost of reasonable tow and storage.

B. Failure of either the registered or legal owner, or their agent, to timely request or to timely appear for a scheduled hearing shall satisfy the hearing requirement of this section.

C. The hearing conducted by the public agency pursuant to this section shall not be governed by the Administrative Procedures Act. The owner of a stored vessel may, either in lieu of such hearing or after such hearing, file a petition in the district court of the county wherein the vessel is stored. The district court is vested with original jurisdiction to conduct a de novo hearing and determine the validity of removal and storage.

D. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the removal of vessels pursuant to Section 954A of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

Added by Laws 2002, c. 66, § 5.