NY State Senate Bill 2025-S6157

Senate Bill S6157

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to establishing a statewide multi-agency integrated data system for certain violations relating to motor vehicle registration and use

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
Mar 05, 2025	referred to transportation

2025-S6157 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §402, add §224-b, V & T L

2025-S6157 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes a statewide multi-agency integrated data system for certain violations relating to motor vehicle registration and use which may be accessed by local law enforcement agencies for the issuance of fines, tickets, or notices of liability related to traffic offenses.

2025-S6157 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6157

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to establishing
a statewide multi-agency integrated data system for certain violations
relating to motor vehicle registration and use

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To implement a graduated fine schedule for obstructed license plates and
to create a database of moving and non-moving traffic offenses for the
purpose of real time enforcement.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill amends Section 402 of Vehicle and Traffic Law to
raise the minimum fine for fraudulent and obstructed plates from $100 to
$150. A graduated schedule of fines is implemented starting at $150 for
a first offense, $300 for a second offense, $500 for a third offense,
$800 for a fourth offense, and $1,000 for a fifth and subsequent offense

all occurring within a period of 18 months.

Section two of the bill amends Article 2 of Vehicle and Transportation
Law by adding a new section 225 which creates a statewide multi-agency
integrated data system for the purpose of viewing and enforcing
outstanding toll liabilities, suspended vehicle registrations, unpaid
parking tickets, and prior license plate-related infractions in real
time.

Section three of the bill sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The readability of a vehicle's license plate is crucial for toll
collection, the issuance of fines, and the enforcement of various traf-
fic laws. Unfortunately, the minimum penalty for the offense of an
obscured, or "ghost," plate is just $100- a fee too low to deter uniden-
tifiable vehicles escaping hundreds of dollars in tolls and traffic
fines. This bill implements a graduated system of fines starting at $150
for a first offense to $1,000 for five or more offenses within 18
months. Increased penalties disincentivize repeat offenders and send a
clear message that this type of unsafe driving will not go unpunished.

Increasing fines is a necessary first step toward tackling fine evasion,
but the difficulty also lies in the lack of a central source of informa-
tion for street-level enforcers to access during traffic interactions.
It's difficult for officers to determine if a vehicle has committed its
first offense or its tenth when issuing fines for visually identifiable
infractions rarely requires a search of license or vehicle history. For
example, an outdated registration sticker or late inspection is evident
to a traffic enforcer by their view of what is or isn't displayed on a
car's windshield. For ghost plate enforcement, an officer would just
write a ticket based on the missing or improper plate, but they wouldn't
necessarily need to look up the Vehicle Identification Number or other
identifier of the car.  Without this, there's no way to know if a vehi-
cle or license is associated with past obstructed plate offenses or

license suspensions and thus a graduated fee schedule would see little
enforcement.

A centralized database solves this by providing real-time information on
a vehicle's traffic offense history and outstanding fines for enforce-
ment agents to access immediately. Additionally, agencies like the DMV
and tolling authorities would be able to share data related to prior
ghost plate violations, ghost plate-related license suspensions, unpaid
tolling and parking liabilities, and more with municipalities. When
ticketing agents are equipped with the information and context they need
to find prior violations, they can properly implement a graduated fine
schedule and keep our streets safe.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law

2025-S6157 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6157
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 5, 2025
                                ___________
 
 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 establishing
   a statewide multi-agency integrated data system for certain violations
   relating to motor vehicle registration and use

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 8 of section 402 of the  vehi-
 cle  and traffic law, as amended by section 3 of subpart A of part WW of
 chapter 56 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   (a) A violation of subparagraph (ii), subparagraph (ii-a) or  subpara-
 graph (iii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this section shall be
 punishable  by  a  [fine of not less than one hundred nor more than five
 hundred dollars] SCHEDULE OF FINES AS FOLLOWS:  (I)  ONE  HUNDRED  FIFTY
 DOLLARS FOR THE FIRST VIOLATION, (II) THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A SECOND
 VIOLATION,  (III) FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A THIRD VIOLATION, (IV) EIGHT
 HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A FOURTH VIOLATION, AND (V) ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR
 A FIFTH AND ANY SUBSEQUENT VIOLATIONS COMMITTED WITHIN A PERIOD OF EIGH-
 TEEN MONTHS.
   § 2. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding  a  new  section
 224-b to read as follows:
   § 224-B. STATEWIDE MULTI-AGENCY INTEGRATED DATA SYSTEM ON NUMBER PLATE
 VIOLATIONS, MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION STATUS, AND TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS BY
 INDIVIDUALS.
   1.  FOR  THE  PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE
 THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A) "NUMBER PLATE VIOLATION" SHALL MEAN THE OBSCURING, CONCEALING,  OR
 OTHERWISE  OBSTRUCTING  OF  A  LICENSE  PLATE AS DEFINED IN SECTION FOUR
 HUNDRED TWO OF THIS CHAPTER.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10739-01-5
 S. 6157                             2

   (B) "MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION" SHALL MEAN THE APPLICATION FOR, ISSU-
 ANCE OF, AND VALIDITY OF A CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION FOR MOTOR VEHICLE
 OPERATION AS SET FORTH IN SECTION FOUR HUNDRED ONE OF THIS CHAPTER.
   (C)  "TRAFFIC  VIOLATION" SHALL MEAN ANY MOVING AND NON-MOVING TRAFFIC
 OFFENSE PROHIBITED IN STATE LAW OR LOCAL ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE OPER-
 ATION OF A MOTOR VEHICLE.
   (D) "LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY" SHALL  MEAN  ANY  COUNTY,  CITY,
 TOWN,  OR  VILLAGE ENTITY EMPOWERED TO ISSUE FINES OR TICKETS RELATED TO
 MOVING AND NON-MOVING TRAFFIC OFFENSES.
   2. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN A SEARCHABLE DATABASE
 CONTAINING INFORMATION REGARDING THE MOTOR VEHICLE  REGISTRATION,  PRIOR
 NUMBER PLATE VIOLATIONS, AND PRIOR TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS OF PERSONS OPERAT-
 ING  MOTOR VEHICLES THROUGHOUT THE STATE. THIS DATABASE SHALL BE SOURCED
 WITH DATA FROM THE DEPARTMENT, LOCAL LAW  ENFORCEMENT  AUTHORITIES,  THE
 PARK, PARKWAY AND HIGHWAY AUTHORITIES AS DESCRIBED IN ARTICLE TWO OF THE
 PUBLIC  AUTHORITIES  LAW; THE BRIDGE AND TUNNEL AUTHORITIES AS DESCRIBED
 IN ARTICLE THREE OF THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES LAW; THE PORT AUTHORITIES  AS
 DESCRIBED  IN ARTICLE SIX OF THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES LAW; AND THE PARKING
 AUTHORITIES AS DESCRIBED IN ARTICLE SEVEN OF THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES LAW.
 SUCH SEARCHABLE DATABASE SHALL INCLUDE, THOUGH NOT BE  LIMITED  TO,  THE
 FOLLOWING DATA, FEATURES, AND FUNCTIONALITY TO THE EXTENT PRACTICABLE:
   (A)  VIOLATIONS  OF  SUBDIVISION  EIGHT OF SECTION FOUR HUNDRED TWO OF
 THIS CHAPTER;
   (B) LICENSE SUSPENSIONS RELATED TO VIOLATIONS OF SUBDIVISION FOUR-H OF
 SECTION FIVE HUNDRED TEN OF THIS CHAPTER;
   (C) VIOLATIONS OF SECTION TWELVE HUNDRED OF THIS CHAPTER;
   (D) VIOLATIONS OF TOLL  COLLECTION  REGULATIONS  OUTLINED  IN  SECTION
 TWENTY-NINE HUNDRED EIGHTY-FIVE OF THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES LAW;
   (E)  ACCESSIBILITY OF THE DATABASE BY STATE AND LOCAL ENTITIES DEFINED
 IN THIS SECTION, INCLUDING THEIR AUTHORIZED OFFICERS AND PERSONNEL;
   (F) CAPABILITY FOR IMMEDIATE DATA RETRIEVAL IN RESPONSE TO QUERIES;
   (G) A DEFINITION OR DESCRIPTION OF TERMS FOR FIELDS IN THE DATABASE;
   (H) THE ABILITY TO DIGITALLY SELECT DEFINED INDIVIDUAL  FIELDS  CORRE-
 SPONDING  TO  ANY OF THE REPORTED INFORMATION FROM QUALIFIED AGENCIES OR
 LOCAL ENTITIES TO CREATE UNIQUE DATABASE VIEWS; AND
   (I) A GUIDE OUTLINING THE FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY OF  THE  DATABASE
 FOR USERS.
   3.  THE  DATABASE  REQUIRED  BY  THIS SECTION SHALL BE UTILIZED IN THE
 ISSUANCE OF FINES, TICKETS, OR NOTICES OF LIABILITY  RELATED  TO  MOVING
 AND NON-MOVING TRAFFIC OFFENSES BY THE DEPARTMENT, LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
 AUTHORITIES,  THE  PARK, PARKWAY AND HIGHWAY AUTHORITIES AS DESCRIBED IN
 ARTICLE TWO OF THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES LAW; THE BRIDGE AND TUNNEL AUTHOR-
 ITIES AS DESCRIBED IN ARTICLE THREE OF THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES  LAW;  THE
 PORT  AUTHORITIES  AS DESCRIBED IN ARTICLE SIX OF THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES
 LAW; AND THE PARKING AUTHORITIES AS DESCRIBED IN ARTICLE  SEVEN  OF  THE
 PUBLIC AUTHORITIES LAW.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it  shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be  made  and
 completed on or before such effective date.

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