An effort is being made at both the city and state level that would clamp down on what car booters can and cannot do.
In Austin, police are preparing to send their proposed ordinance to the Austin City Council.
"The ordinance is basically going to set a set of standards, that's going to set some regulations," said Assistant Austin Police Chief Frank Dixon.
Dixon said the proposed ordinance will do three things:
1) Set a maximum on how much operators can charge to remove a boot;
2) Set a minimum amount of time a car has to be parked before it can be booted;
3) Set a maximum amount of time operators have to remove the boot from the car.
State Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas) is one of the many who has been booted in Austin, and said its a big problem statewide.
"We have a situation not only in Dallas and Austin but all around the state in what I call carnapping. We've got a group of organizations that are in the business of taking over your car, your possession, your asset until they perceive its the right time for them to release it," said Villalba.
Villalba filed House Bill 925 on Jan. 11. If approved and made into law, it would set the limit car booters statewide can charge at no more than $100. If Austin's ordinance is approved, car booters can only charge $35-50 in the Capital City.
House Bill 925 also stated that before an operator can boot a car, that car has to be there for at least an hour. The proposed legislation would give operators an hour time limit to remove the boots.
In unregulated cities, like Austin and Dallas, operators can charge whatever they want to remove a boot from a car, take as much time as they want to remove the boot and are allowed to install boots within seconds of drivers parking their vehicles.
Austin police plan to send the proposed ordinance to the City Council at the end of February or in March. If approved, the ordinance could go into effect immediately. If House Bill 925 is signed into law, it would go into effect Sept. 1.
GO HERE to track the status of House Bill 925 in the Texas Legislature.