NY State Senate Bill 2023-S4039

Senate Bill S4039

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to requiring fingerprinting as part of the criminal background check for a TNC driver

download bill text pdf

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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to transportation
Feb 02, 2023	referred to transportation

2023-S4039 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §1699, V & T L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S7909
2021-2022: S236

2023-S4039 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to requiring fingerprinting as part of the criminal background check for a TNC driver to secure criminal history records from both the state division of criminal justice services and the federal bureau of investigation.

2023-S4039 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4039

SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring
fingerprinting as part of the criminal background check for a TNC driver

 
PURPOSE:

To ensure the safety of riders in transportation network company vehi-
cles across the state by ensuring that drivers are fingerprinted.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Amends Subdivision 1 and paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of
the section 1699 vehicle and traffic law to require that any background
check performed on a TNC driver include fingerprinting for the purpose
of securing criminal history records from the state division of criminal
justice services and the federal bureau of investigation.

Section 2. Sets an effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Authorized in 2017 under state law, transportation network companies
(TNCs) can operate in New York State outside of New York City.  Through-
out New York State, thousands of people daily use TNCs "app" based ride
sharing to get to and from work, airports, mass transit stations and for
any number of other transportation needs. Dominated by the companies
Uber and Lyft, New Yorkers depend on these services to be a reasonable,
reliable and safe alternative to taxicabs and limousines.

Currently under state law, TNCs are required to conduct background
checks on all their drivers. These background checks are performed based
on self-reported information from the driver and their social security
number, the same method used across the country. Questions about safety
in TNCs have been persistent yet anecdotal until recently. In December
of 2019, Uber released a study of unsafe incidents on the ride-hailing
platform, which listed 3,058 sexual assaults and nine murders across the
United States in 2018.

Concerns are further magnified by reports that Uber has a generous
three-strike system, which allows drivers to continue to drive even
after multiple incidents of misconduct. In the event Uber does bar a
driver for credible accusations, they do not even share information
about accusations with the police or other TNCs. According to a Septem-
ber 2019 Washington Post report, Uber's Special Investigation employees
are forbidden from contacting the police or advising victims of their
legal rights.

New York and the surrounding area have also had multiple high-profile
incidents. In December of 2018 a Bronx driver was charged in Westchester
with Sexual Abuse, Assault and Unlawful Imprisonment based on an inci-
dent with a Westchester woman on her way home. In March of 2019 a Queens
Uber driver was sentenced to three years of prison and three years'
probation by a Federal Court in White Plains for the kidnapping of a
Westchester woman. The driver had changed his destination from White
Plains to Boston during a late-night drive during which the victim fell
asleep. The victim awoke in Connecticut with the drivers' hands under
her skirt and touching the top of her breast. In July 2019, in Stamford,
a common destination and origin for New Yorkers, a ride share driver was
charged with sexual assault after stopping his vehicle and assaulting
his female passenger in the vehicle. This assault caused legislation
similar to this bill to be proposed in Connecticut. In August 2019 on
Long Island, a TNC driver was arrested on kidnapping charges in an inci-
dent that involved a fifteen-year-old girl that was alleged to be sexu-
ally motivated. The driver drove her to Brooklyn instead of her desired
location on Long Island after leaving a sweet 16 party.

In New York City, drivers for Uber and Lyft already undergo both the
social security number-based background check run by the companies and a
fingerprint run background check administered by the Taxi and Limousine
Commission, a system often considered the gold standard.  This bill will
bring all New Yorkers the added level of security assured by finger-
printing that is provided in New York City.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021/22: S236 (Mayer) referred to Transportation

2019/20: S7907 (Mayer) referred to Transportation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth of January next succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the
addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized
to be made and completed on or before such effective date.

2023-S4039 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4039
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 2, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAYER  -- 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  requiring
   fingerprinting  as  part  of  the  criminal background check for a TNC
   driver

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 and paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section
 1699  of  the vehicle and traffic law, as added by section 2 of part AAA
 of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017, are amended to read as follows:
   1. A TNC shall conduct, or have a  third  party  conduct,  a  criminal
 history  background  check using a lawful method approved by the depart-
 ment pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision two of  this  section  for
 persons  applying to drive for such company, PROVIDED THAT SUCH CRIMINAL
 HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECK SHALL INCLUDE WITHOUT LIMITATION,  FINGERPRINT-
 ING  FOR  THE PURPOSE OF SECURING CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS FROM BOTH THE
 STATE DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES AND THE  FEDERAL  BUREAU  OF
 INVESTIGATION.
   (a)  The  method  used  to conduct a criminal history background check
 pursuant to subdivision one of this  section  shall  be  established  in
 regulations  adopted  by the department within thirty days of the effec-
 tive date of [this subdivision] THE CHAPTER OF THE LAWS OF TWO  THOUSAND
 TWENTY-THREE  THAT AMENDED THIS PARAGRAPH TAKES EFFECT. To ensure safety
 of the passengers and the public such regulations  shall  establish  the
 method  used  to  conduct  such  background checks and any processes and
 operations necessary to complete such checks, INCLUDING WITHOUT  LIMITA-
 TION,  CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECKS THAT CONSIST OF FINGERPRINTING
 AS DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION. The review of  criminal
 history information and determinations about whether or not an applicant
 is issued a TNC driver permit shall be controlled by paragraphs (b), (c)
 and (d) of this subdivision.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08377-01-3

 S. 4039                             2
 
   §  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect on the thirtieth of January next
 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective imme-
 diately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation
 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective  date  are
 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.

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