NY State Senate Bill 2025-S2517

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 21, 2025	referred to transportation

co-Sponsors

2025-S2517 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§1193 & 1198, V & T L

2025-S2517 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires proof of installation, maintenance and regular use of ignition interlock devices when use of such a device is ordered by a court; extends the period of suspension and revocation of a license until such proof is provided.

2025-S2517 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2517

SPONSOR: COONEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to ignition
interlock devices

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill requires compliance with a court order to install, maintain
and regularly use an ignition interlock device, absent a finding of good
cause for a defendant's inability to do so.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Sections 1, 2 and 5 amend Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1193 and § 1198 to
require that interlock ignition devices (HD's) be regularly used by
defendants ordered to install and maintain them.

Section 3 amends Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1193(2)(e) by adding a new
subparagraph 8 to allow people to turn on their parked cars during peri-

ods of license suspension or revocation in order to preserve the battery
life of their vehicles.

Section 4 amends Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1193(2) by adding a new para-
graph (g) giving the court discretion to issue a limited conditional
license during the period of suspension or revocation.

Section 6 amends Vehicle and traffic law § 1198(4)(a) to require that
court-ordered lID's be regularly used, that the defendant provide the
court with proof of compliance with the order, and that failure to
provide such compliance will extend the period of license suspension or
revocation. It also provides that good cause for failure to install an
IID will only be granted if a person does not now own a car, did not own
one at the time of arrest and is not married to someone who owns a car
they routinely drive.

Section 7 provides an effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Leandra's Law (chapter 496 of 2009) was intended to ensure that all DWI
offenders are required as a condition of probation or conditional
discharge to install and maintain an IID for a period of at least 12
months in any vehicle they own or operate, with compliance earning early
release from the IID requirement. Despite the intention of the law, the
utility of IlD's is limited by their exceptionally low utilization rate.
In New York, only 25% of drivers ordered to install an IID in their cars
actually install such a device (see,
https://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/opcafignition.htm). In NYC, 94% of
drivers who were ordered to install an IID from 2010 to 2023 did not do
so.

DWI defendants often get around the IID requirement in New York by
giving their cars away to family members prior to sentencing.  Current-
ly, when a defendant swears in court that they do not own a car at the
time of their sentencing appearance, the court generally excuses them
from installing an IID. Under the terms of the bill, the defendant would
also have to avow that they did not own a car at the time of the arrest
for the drunk driving incident and are not married to someone whose car
they drive at least occasionally. The proposed change in the requirement
for a good cause exception eliminates the defendant's ability to defeat
the IID order by giving their vehicle away to their spouse after their
drunk driving arrest.

Additionally, people who are sentenced to conditional discharge can
ignore the IID order and simply wait out their sentence. The bill
provides that anyone who is ordered to install an IID in a car that they
own or operate will have to install such a device and use it regularly
to get their license back.

It is important to make sure that IlD's are installed and used as a tool
against drunk driving since they are proven to be effective in reducing
DWI's. In a recent study comparing two states that have HD laws with two
states that do not, the Governor's Highway Safety Association found a
significant decrease in DWI recidivism in the states that had such laws
compared to the states that did not. The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration observed that states with stringent IID laws experience a
15% decrease in DWI-related traffic deaths compared to states lacking
such laws. IlD's reduce DWI's while they are installed by approximately
70%. IlD's also teach people when not to drive - many people are in
denial about their alcohol intake or their ability to function after
drinking alcohol.  IlD's provide an effective behavioral feedback mech-
anism to educate drivers about their fitness to get behind the wheel.
Perhaps most importantly, IlD's are the only available technology to
stop people from driving while drunk.

The bill also gives the court discretion to issue a conditional license
during the period of suspension or revocation to allow the person to go
to work, school and medical appointments, as is allowed for other types
of traffic convictions under Vehicle and Traffic Law § 530, but expands
on that restricted license by allowing the person to drive to a depend-
ent child's day care or school, and gives the court the option of adding
other essential travel to the person's conditional license. Such a
license would only be valid in a vehicle equipped with an IID.

Finally, people who have their license suspended or revoked while they
have an IID in place are not currently permitted to start their cars.
When the car battery inevitably dies, it appears to the monitor that the
IID has been disabled, and the person with the installed IID is punished
with a fine or other penalty for non-compliance with the IID order. This
bill would permit people with suspended or revoked licenses to start
their parked cars and run them during the period of license suspension
revocation in order to preserve their battery life and avoid the fees
and penalties associated with non-compliance with the court's IID order.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S775/A4171 of 2023-24: Referred to Transportation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S2517 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2517
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 21, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. COONEY, FERNANDEZ, MARTINEZ, 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  ignition
   interlock devices
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision  1  of
 section  1193  of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter 169
 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   (ii) In addition to the imposition of any fine or period of  imprison-
 ment  set  forth  in  this paragraph, the court shall also sentence such
 person convicted of, or adjudicated a youthful offender for, a violation
 of subdivision two, two-a or three of section eleven hundred  ninety-two
 of  this  article  to a term of probation or conditional discharge, as a
 condition of which it shall order such person to install [and], maintain
 AND REGULARLY USE, in accordance with the provisions of  section  eleven
 hundred  ninety-eight  of  this article, an ignition interlock device in
 any motor vehicle owned or operated by such person during  the  term  of
 such  probation  or  conditional discharge imposed for such violation of
 section eleven hundred ninety-two of this article and in no event for  a
 period  of  less than twelve months; provided, however, that such period
 of interlock restriction shall terminate upon submission of  proof  that
 such  person  installed [and], maintained AND REGULARLY USED an ignition
 interlock device for at least six months, unless the court ordered  such
 person  to  install [and], maintain AND REGULARLY USE an ignition inter-
 lock device for a longer period as authorized by this  subparagraph  and
 specified  in  such  order.  The  period  of interlock restriction shall
 commence from the earlier of the date of sentencing, or the date that an
 ignition interlock  device  was  installed  in  advance  of  sentencing.
 Provided,  however, the court may not authorize the operation of a motor
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06230-01-5

 S. 2517                             2
 
 vehicle by any person whose license or  privilege  to  operate  a  motor
 vehicle has been revoked pursuant to the provisions of this section.
   §  2.  Subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section
 1193 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter  169  of  the
 laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   (iii) In addition to the imposition of any fine or period of imprison-
 ment  set  forth  in  this paragraph, the court shall also sentence such
 person convicted of, or adjudicated a youthful offender for, a violation
 of subdivision two, two-a or three of section eleven hundred  ninety-two
 of  this article to a period of probation or conditional discharge, as a
 condition of which it shall order such person to install [and], maintain
 AND REGULARLY USE, in accordance with the provisions of  section  eleven
 hundred  ninety-eight  of  this article, an ignition interlock device in
 any motor vehicle owned or operated by such person during  the  term  of
 such  probation  or  conditional discharge imposed for such violation of
 section eleven hundred ninety-two of this article and in no event for  a
 period  of  less than twelve months; provided, however, that such period
 of interlock restriction shall terminate upon submission of  proof  that
 such  person  installed [and], maintained AND REGULARLY USED an ignition
 interlock device for at least six months, unless the court ordered  such
 person  to  install  [and],  maintain  [a] AND REGULARLY USE AN ignition
 interlock device for a longer period as authorized by this  subparagraph
 and  specified  in such order. The period of interlock restriction shall
 commence from the earlier of the date of sentencing, or the date that an
 ignition interlock  device  was  installed  in  advance  of  sentencing.
 Provided,  however, the court may not authorize the operation of a motor
 vehicle by any person whose license or  privilege  to  operate  a  motor
 vehicle has been revoked pursuant to the provisions of this section.
   § 3. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 2 of section 1193 of the vehicle and
 traffic  law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new  subparagraph 8 to read as
 follows:
   (8) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, ONCE A
 COURT-ORDERED IGNITION INTERLOCK DEVICE IS INSTALLED, A PERSON MAY START
 THEIR CAR WHILE IT IS PARKED DURING A PERIOD OF  LICENSE  SUSPENSION  OR
 REVOCATION  IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THE BATTERY LIFE OF THE VEHICLE WITHOUT
 INCURRING ANY PENALTY OR FINE OR OTHERWISE VIOLATING THE TERMS OF  THEIR
 SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION.
   §  4.  Subdivision 2 of section 1193 of the vehicle and traffic law is
 amended by adding a new paragraph (g) to read as follows:
   (G) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION,  EXCEPT
 WHERE  A  PERSON'S  LICENSE  HAS  BEEN  PERMANENTLY  REVOKED PURSUANT TO
 SUBPARAGRAPH TWELVE OF PARAGRAPH (B)  OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION,  THE  COURT
 SHALL  HAVE THE DISCRETION TO GRANT A LIMITED CONDITIONAL LICENSE DURING
 THE PERIOD OF LICENSE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION TO A PERSON WHO HAS  BEEN
 CONVICTED  OF  A  VIOLATION  OR CRIME UNDER THIS ARTICLE IF HOLDING OF A
 VALID LICENSE IS A NECESSARY INCIDENT TO SUCH PERSON'S EMPLOYMENT, BUSI-
 NESS, TRADE, OCCUPATION OR PROFESSION, OR TO THEIR TRAVEL TO AND FROM  A
 CLASS  OR  COURSE AT AN ACCREDITED SCHOOL, COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY OR AT A
 STATE APPROVED  INSTITUTION  OF  VOCATIONAL  OR  TECHNICAL  TRAINING  OR
 ENROUTE  TO  AND  FROM  A  MEDICAL EXAMINATION OR TREATMENT AS PART OF A
 NECESSARY MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR SUCH  PARTICIPANT  OR  MEMBER  OF  THEIR
 HOUSEHOLD,  OR TO OR FROM A DEPENDENT CHILD'S SCHOOL OR DAYCARE PROGRAM,
 OR FOR SUCH OTHER ESSENTIAL TRAVEL AS THE COURT MAY DETERMINE BY WRITTEN
 ORDER. SUCH LICENSE SHALL ONLY BE  VALID  FOR  OPERATION  OF  A  VEHICLE
 EQUIPPED WITH A COURT-ORDERED IGNITION INTERLOCK DEVICE INSTALLED, MAIN-
 TAINED AND REGULARLY USED PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE. IF
 S. 2517                             3
 
 THE  CONDITIONS  OF  THIS  PARAGRAPH  ARE  VIOLATED BY THE LICENSEE, THE
 LIMITED CONDITIONAL LICENSE  SHALL  BE  RESCINDED,  AND  THE  PERIOD  OF
 LICENSE  SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION SHALL BE REINSTATED AND MUST BE SERVED
 IN  FULL WITH NO CREDIT FOR THE TIME IN WHICH THE PERSON WAS ISSUED SUCH
 LIMITED CONDITIONAL LICENSE.
   § 5. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 2 of section  1198  of  the
 vehicle  and traffic law, as amended by chapter 496 of the laws of 2009,
 are amended to read as follows:
   (a) In addition to any other penalties prescribed by  law,  the  court
 shall  require  that any person who has been convicted of a violation of
 subdivision two, two-a or three of section eleven hundred ninety-two  of
 this  article,  or any crime defined by this chapter or the penal law of
 which an alcohol-related violation of any provision  of  section  eleven
 hundred  ninety-two  of this article is an essential element, to install
 [and], maintain AND REGULARLY USE, as a condition of probation or condi-
 tional discharge, a functioning ignition interlock device in  accordance
 with  the  provisions  of this section and, as applicable, in accordance
 with the provisions of subdivisions one  and  one-a  of  section  eleven
 hundred  ninety-three  of this article; provided, however, the court may
 not authorize the operation of a  motor  vehicle  by  any  person  whose
 license  or privilege to operate a motor vehicle has been revoked except
 as provided herein. For any such individual subject  to  a  sentence  of
 probation,  installation  and  maintenance  of  such  ignition interlock
 device shall be a condition of probation.
   (b) Nothing contained in this section shall  prohibit  a  court,  upon
 application  by a probation department, from modifying the conditions of
 probation of any person convicted of any violation set  forth  in  para-
 graph  (a)  of  this  subdivision  prior  to  the effective date of this
 section, to require the installation [and], maintenance AND REGULAR  USE
 of a functioning ignition interlock device, and such person shall there-
 after be subject to the provisions of this section.
   § 6. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 of section 1198 of the vehicle and
 traffic  law,  as amended by chapter 169 of the laws of 2013, is amended
 to read as follows:
   (a) Following imposition by the court of the INSTALLATION, MAINTENANCE
 AND REGULAR use of an  ignition  interlock  device  as  a  condition  of
 probation  or  conditional  discharge  it  shall  require  the person to
 provide proof of compliance with this  section  to  the  court  and  the
 probation  department  or  other  monitor  where  such  person  is under
 probation or conditional discharge supervision. If the person  fails  to
 provide  for  such  proof  of installation, MAINTENANCE AND REGULAR USE,
 absent a finding by the court of good cause for that  failure  which  is
 entered  in  the  record, the court may revoke, modify, or terminate the
 person's sentence of probation  or  conditional  discharge  as  provided
 under  law  AND SHALL EXTEND ANY PERIOD OF LICENSE SUSPENSION OR REVOCA-
 TION UNTIL SUCH PROOF OF COMPLIANCE IS PROVIDED  TO  THE  COURT.    Good
 cause  may include a finding that the person is not the owner of a motor
 vehicle if such person asserts under oath that such person  is  not  the
 owner  of  any motor vehicle, DID NOT OWN A MOTOR VEHICLE AT THE TIME OF
 ARREST FOR THE SUBJECT VIOLATION, DOES NOT RESIDE WITH A SPOUSE WHO OWNS
 A VEHICLE SUCH PERSON DRIVES AT LEAST OCCASIONALLY, and that [he or she]
 THEY will not operate any motor vehicle during the period  of  interlock
 restriction  except  as  may  be  otherwise  authorized pursuant to law.
 "Owner" shall have the same meaning as provided in section  one  hundred
 twenty-eight of this chapter.
 S. 2517                             4
 
   §  7.  This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that
 the amendments to section 1198 of the vehicle and traffic  law  made  by
 sections  five  and  six of this act shall not affect the expiration and
 repeal of such section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.

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Senate Bill S2517

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

co-Sponsors

2025-S2517 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S2517 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S2517 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S2517 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S2517

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Jeremy Cooney

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

co-Sponsors

Nathalia Fernandez

Monica R. Martinez

Shelley B. Mayer

2025-S2517 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S2517 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S2517 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S2517 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments