A Howard County councilman plans to introduce legislation that would give the council authority to approve rates for towing companies.

Council Chairman C. Vernon Gray, D-3rd, said yesterday that he was pushing the measure because he feared towing companies were charging too much. "I was concerned about the abuse of excessive towing charges, which came to my attention last year when two car owners were each charged $150 after their cars were towed," said Mr. Gray, who plans to prefile the bill Friday for introduction June 3.

Under Mr. Gray's bill, the four towing companies operating in Howard County also would be required to notify the Police Department of the license plate numbers of any cars that were towed. Police would then get the owner's name from the Motor Vehicle Administration and pass it on to the county's Office of Consumer Affairs, which would be responsible for telling the owner where the car was taken.