NY State Senate Bill 2023-S2447

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to transportation
Jan 20, 2023	referred to transportation

2023-S2447 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A5234
Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§401, 402 & 510, V & T L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S8880, A10711

2023-S2447 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Increases the penalties for purposefully obstructed license plates including the suspension of a vehicle's registration if the vehicle owner does not remove the artificial or synthetic material or substance that conceals or obscures the license plate or does not purchase new license plates.

2023-S2447 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2447

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to increasing
the penalties for purposefully obstructed license plates

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this legislation is to discourage purposefully obstructed
license plates and provide law enforcement and government the authority
to properly enforce such violations.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends subdivision 5-a of section 401 of the Vehi-
cle and Traffic Law by creating a new paragraph d to provide that it
shall be unlawful for any person to register, reregister, renew,
replace, or transfer the registration of any vehicle which block vehicle
identification number is associated with a vehicle whose registration
has been suspended or is subject to a pending suspension. This section

further provides that the commissioner has the authority to block vehi-
cle identification numbers of vehicles in violation of unpaid tolls,
fees, or other charges associated with such vehicle identification
numbers.

Section 2 amends subdivision 8 of section 402 of the Vehicle and Traffic
Law to provide increased penalties for violating this section, and
further provides law enforcement the authority to confiscate any cover-
ing affixed over a license plate which obscures the ability to easily
read such plate. Additionally, where such plates are concealed by an
artificial or synthetic substance vehicle owners shall have one week to
cure the violation.

Section 3 amends section 510 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law by adding a
new subdivision 4-h which provides the commissioner the authority to
revoke vehicle registrations for failure to comply with subdivision
eight of section four hundred of the motor vehicle law.

Section 4 sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Purposefully covering, defacing, and otherwise obscuring license plates
to avoid law enforcement and penalties is a problem. The State Police
and Metropolitan Transportation Authority have made clear that the
enforcement tools available to them are not addressing the issue, and
drivers are actively abusing this shortcoming on a large scale to avoid
tolls and fines.

When considering that automated enforcement or tolls can be avoided by
intentionally defacing or obscuring a license plate, and that if viola-
tors are caught the current penalty is far cheaper than paying a few
tolls, or a couple of red-light violations, it is a no brainer for
people who are looking to game the system.

This bill would not only increase penalties for such a violation to an
appropriate level that will discourage such behavior, but also impose a
set of reasonable actions that law enforcement and the government can
take, such as to confiscate obscuring plate covers, suspend the regis-
tration of vehicles that do not come into compliance, or in extreme
cases temporarily block certain vehicle identification numbers from
registration.

While blocking a vehicle identification number for a violation of this
section may seem extreme, law enforcement has repeatedly seen that
repeat violators avoid a registration suspension by simply reregistering
the vehicle with a family member or friend.

This legislation enacts common sense updates to this section of law
without imposing undue hardships on the least egregious offenders while
at the same time providing the tools to ensure that repeat offenders are
forced into compliance.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022: S8880A - Referred to Transportation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law.

2023-S2447 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2447
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 20, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to increasing
   the penalties for purposefully obstructed license plates
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision 5-a of section 401 of the vehicle and traffic
 law is amended by adding a new paragraph d to read as follows:
   D. IT SHALL BE UNLAWFUL FOR ANY PERSON TO REGISTER, REREGISTER, RENEW,
 REPLACE OR TRANSFER THE REGISTRATION, CHANGE THE NAME, ADDRESS OR  OTHER
 INFORMATION  OF THE REGISTERED OWNER, OR CHANGE THE REGISTRATION CLASSI-
 FICATION OF ANY VEHICLE WHOSE VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER  IS  ASSOCI-
 ATED WITH A VEHICLE WHOSE REGISTRATION HAS BEEN SUSPENDED, OR IS SUBJECT
 TO  A  PENDING REQUEST FROM A TOLLING AUTHORITY TO SUSPEND THE REGISTRA-
 TION, UNDER PARAGRAPH D OF SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION FIVE HUNDRED TEN
 OF THIS CHAPTER AND 15 NYCRR 127.14. THE COMMISSIONER OR THE COMMISSION-
 ER'S AGENT SHALL IMPOSE A VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER BLOCK  AND  DENY
 THE  REGISTRATION,  REREGISTRATION,  RENEWAL, REPLACEMENT OR TRANSFER OF
 THE REGISTRATION FOR SUCH  VEHICLE  AND  VEHICLE  IDENTIFICATION  NUMBER
 UNTIL  THE  TOLLING  AUTHORITY  ADVISES,  IN SUCH FORM AND MANNER AS THE
 COMMISSIONER SHALL  PRESCRIBE,  THAT  NOTICES  OF  VIOLATION  HAVE  BEEN
 RESPONDED TO AND ANY UNPAID TOLLS, FEES OR OTHER CHARGES ASSOCIATED WITH
 THE  VEHICLE AND THE VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER HAVE BEEN PAID TO THE
 TOLLING AUTHORITY. WHERE AN APPLICATION IS DENIED PURSUANT TO THIS PARA-
 GRAPH, THE COMMISSIONER MAY, IN THE COMMISSIONER'S  DISCRETION,  DENY  A
 REGISTRATION,  REREGISTRATION,  RENEWAL,  REPLACEMENT OR TRANSFER OF THE
 REGISTRATION FOR ANY OTHER MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTERED IN THE NAME  OF  THE
 APPLICANT  WHERE  THE COMMISSIONER HAS DETERMINED THAT SUCH REGISTRANT'S
 INTENT HAS BEEN TO EVADE THE PURPOSES OF THIS PARAGRAPH  AND  WHERE  THE
 COMMISSIONER  HAS  REASONABLE GROUNDS TO BELIEVE THAT SUCH REGISTRATION,
 REREGISTRATION, RENEWAL, REPLACEMENT OR TRANSFER  OF  REGISTRATION  WILL
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06613-01-3

 S. 2447                             2
 
 HAVE  THE EFFECT OF DEFEATING THE PURPOSES OF THIS PARAGRAPH. SUCH VEHI-
 CLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER BLOCK AND DENIAL SHALL ONLY REMAIN  IN  EFFECT
 UNTIL  THE  TOLLING  AUTHORITY  ADVISES,  IN SUCH FORM AND MANNER AS THE
 COMMISSIONER  SHALL  PRESCRIBE,  THAT  NOTICES  OF  VIOLATION  HAVE BEEN
 RESPONDED TO AND ANY UNPAID TOLLS, FEES OR OTHER CHARGES ASSOCIATED WITH
 THE VEHICLE AND THE VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER HAVE BEEN PAID TO  THE
 TOLLING AUTHORITY.
   §  2.  Subdivision 8 of section 402 of the vehicle and traffic law, as
 amended by chapter 451 of the laws  of  2021,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   8.  A  violation  of this section shall be punishable by a fine of not
 less than twenty-five nor more than two hundred dollars, except  that  a
 violation of subparagraph (ii) or subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (b) of
 subdivision  one  of  this  section shall be punishable by a fine of not
 less than fifty nor more than three hundred dollars.   A POLICE  OFFICER
 AS  DEFINED  IN  SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED THIRTY-TWO OF THIS CHAPTER ACTING
 PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL SEIZE AND CONFISCATE ANY COVERING AFFIXED
 OVER THE NUMBER PLATES WHICH OBSCURES THE ABILITY TO  EASILY  READ  SUCH
 NUMBER  PLATES AND IS MADE OF GLASS OR ANY PLASTIC MATERIAL, EXCEPT THAT
 A VIOLATION OF PARAGRAPH (B) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE
 PUNISHABLE BY A FINE OF NOT LESS THAN TWO HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS AND  THE
 OWNER  OF  THE VEHICLE WHO SUCH NUMBER PLATES WERE ISSUED SHALL HAVE ONE
 WEEK FROM THE DATE SUCH VIOLATION IS ISSUED TO REMOVE ANY ARTIFICIAL  OR
 SYNTHETIC  MATERIAL  OR  SUBSTANCE THAT CONCEALS OR OBSCURES SUCH NUMBER
 PLATES OR TO PURCHASE NEW NUMBER PLATES.
   § 3. Section 510 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a
 new subdivision 4-h to read as follows:
   4-H. SUSPENSION OF REGISTRATION FOR FAILURE TO  COMPLY  WITH  REMOVING
 ANY  ARTIFICIAL  OR  SYNTHETIC  MATERIAL  OR  SUBSTANCE THAT CONCEALS OR
 OBSCURES NUMBER PLATES OR THE PURCHASE OF NEW NUMBER PLATES.   UPON  THE
 RECEIPT  OF  A  NOTIFICATION  FROM A COURT OR AN ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
 THAT AN OWNER OF A MOTOR VEHICLE FAILED TO COMPLY WITH SUBDIVISION EIGHT
 OF SECTION FOUR HUNDRED TWO OF THIS CHAPTER, THE COMMISSIONER OR HIS  OR
 HER  AGENT SHALL SUSPEND THE REGISTRATION OF THE VEHICLE INVOLVED IN THE
 VIOLATION AND SUCH SUSPENSION SHALL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL SUCH TIME  AS
 THE COMMISSIONER IS ADVISED THAT THE OWNER OF SUCH VEHICLE HAS SATISFIED
 THE REQUIREMENTS OF SUCH SUBDIVISION.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately,
 the  addition,  amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
 sary for the implementation of  this  act  on  its  effective  date  are
 authorized to be made on or before such date.

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Senate Bill S2447

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

2023-S2447 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S2447 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S2447 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S2447 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S2447

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Sponsored By

Andrew Gounardes

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

2023-S2447 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S2447 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S2447 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S2447 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments