Advocating for an Emergency Moratorium on Poverty Tows in California

Yesterday Bay Area Legal Aid joined 22 partner organizations in a coalition that has worked to stop “poverty tows” at the local and state level. We wrote to Governor Newsom asking that he issue an Executive Order placing an immediate moratorium on all vehicle tows, other than those necessary for public safety or criminal enforcement, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased public health needs of Californians. Public agencies in California tow nearly a million cars a year, and at this time, we cannot separate people living in cars from their only shelter, nor should we risk taking primary transportation away from health workers and other frontline responders.