§ 2985. Owner liability for failure of operator to comply with toll
collection regulations. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
every public authority which operates a toll highway bridge and/or
tunnel facility is hereby authorized and empowered to impose monetary
liability on the owner of a vehicle for failure of an operator thereof
to comply with the toll collection regulations of such public authority
in accordance with the provisions of this section.

2. The owner of a vehicle shall be liable for a civil penalty imposed
pursuant to this section if such vehicle was used or operated with the
permission of the owner, express or implied, in violation of toll
collection regulations, and such violation is evidenced by information
obtained from a photo-monitoring system, provided, however, that no
owner of a vehicle shall be liable for a penalty imposed pursuant to
this section where the operator of such vehicle has been convicted of a
violation of toll collection regulations for the same incident.

3. For purposes of this section, the term "owner" shall mean any
person, corporation, partnership, firm, agency, association, lessor or
organization who, at the time of the violation and with respect to the
vehicle identified in the notice of liability: (a) is the beneficial or
equitable owner of such vehicle; or (b) has title to such vehicle; or
(c) is the registrant or co-registrant of such vehicle which is
registered with the department of motor vehicles of this state or any
other state, territory, district, province, nation or other
jurisdiction; or (d) subject to the limitations set forth in subdivision
ten of this section, uses such vehicle in its vehicle renting and/or
leasing business; and includes (e) a person entitled to the use and
possession of a vehicle subject to a security interest in another
person. For purposes of this section, the term "photo-monitoring system"
shall mean a vehicle sensor installed to work in conjunction with a toll
collection facility which automatically produces one or more
photographs, one or more microphotographs, a videotape or other recorded
images of each vehicle at the time it is used or operated in violation
of toll collection regulations. For purposes of this section, the term
"toll collection regulations" shall mean: those rules and regulations of
a public authority providing for and requiring the payment of tolls
and/or charges prescribed by such public authority for the use of
bridges, tunnels or highways under its jurisdiction or those rules and
regulations of a public authority making it unlawful to refuse to pay or
to evade or to attempt to evade the payment of all or part of any toll
and/or charge for the use of bridges, tunnels or highways under the
jurisdiction of such public authority. For purposes of this section, the
term "vehicle" shall mean every device in, upon or by which a person or
property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except
devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.

4. A certificate, sworn to or affirmed by an agent of the public
authority which charged that the violation occurred, or a facsimile
thereof, based upon inspection of photographs, microphotographs,
videotape or other recorded images produced by a photo-monitoring system
shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein and shall
be admissible in any proceeding charging a violation of toll collection
regulations, provided that any photographs, microphotographs, videotape
or other recorded images evidencing such a violation shall be available
for inspection and admission into evidence in any proceeding to
adjudicate the liability for such violation.

5. An owner found liable for a violation of toll collection
regulations pursuant to this section shall for a first violation thereof
be liable for a monetary penalty not to exceed fifty dollars or two
times the toll evaded whichever is greater; for a second violation
thereof both within eighteen months be liable for a monetary penalty not
to exceed one hundred dollars or five times the toll evaded whichever is
greater; for a third or subsequent violation thereof all within eighteen
months be liable for a monetary penalty not to exceed one hundred fifty
dollars or ten times the toll evaded whichever is greater.

6. An imposition of liability pursuant to this section shall be based
upon a preponderance of evidence as submitted. An imposition of
liability pursuant to this section shall not be deemed a conviction as
an operator and shall not be made part of the motor vehicle operating
record, furnished pursuant to section three hundred fifty-four of the
vehicle and traffic law, of the person upon whom such liability is
imposed nor shall it be used for insurance purposes in the provision of
motor vehicle insurance coverage.

7. (a) A notice of liability shall be sent by first class mail to each
person alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of toll
collection regulations. Such notice shall be mailed no later than thirty
days after the alleged violation. Personal delivery on the owner shall
not be required. A manual or automatic record of mailing prepared in the
ordinary course of business shall be prima facie evidence of the mailing
of the notice.

(b) A notice of liability shall contain the name and address of the
person alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of toll
collection regulations pursuant to this section, the registration number
of the vehicle involved in such violation, the location where such
violation took place, the date and time of such violation and the
identification number of the photo-monitoring system which recorded the
violation or other document locator number.

(c) The notice of liability shall contain information advising the
person charged of the manner and the time in which he may contest the
liability alleged in the notice. Such notice of liability shall also
contain a warning to advise the persons charged that failure to contest
in the manner and time provided shall be deemed an admission of
liability and that a default judgment may be entered thereon.

(d) The notice of liability shall be prepared and mailed by the public
authority having jurisdiction over the toll facility where the violation
of toll collection regulations occurred.

8. (a) Adjudication of the liability imposed upon owners by this
section shall be by the entity having jurisdiction over violations of
the rules and regulations of the public authority serving the notice of
liability or where authorized by an administrative tribunal and all
violations shall be heard and determined in the county in which the
violation is alleged to have occurred, or in New York city and upon the
consent of both parties, in any county within New York city in which the
public authority operates or maintains a facility, and in the same
manner as charges of other regulatory violations of such public
authority or pursuant to the rules and regulations of such
administrative tribunal as the case may be.

(b) Upon exhaustion of remedies pursuant to this section or section
twenty-nine hundred eighty-five-a of this title, as applicable, the New
York state bridge authority, thruway authority, triborough bridge and
tunnel authority, metropolitan transportation authority, and port
authority of New York and New Jersey, a bi-state agency created by
compact set forth in chapter one hundred fifty-four of the laws of
nineteen hundred twenty-one, shall have the power to enter judgments for
unpaid liabilities, provided that such unpaid liabilities include the
failure to pay tolls, fees, or other charges or the failure to have such
tolls, fees or other charges dismissed or transferred in response to
three or more notices of violation issued within a five year period
charging the registrant of a motor vehicle with a violation of toll
collection regulations, and to enforce such judgments, without court
proceedings, in the same manner as the enforcement of money judgments in
civil actions in any court of competent jurisdiction or any other place
provided for the entry of civil judgment within the state of New York,
after a period of notice pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subdivision.
The applicable tolling authority shall not enforce such judgments until
thirty days have elapsed from issuing a notice pursuant to paragraph (c)
of this subdivision.

(c) Prior to entering judgments for unpaid liabilities pursuant to
paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the applicable tolling authority
shall notify the person subject to such judgment, by first class mail,
that such person is at risk of entry of a judgment against them if they
fail to pay such unpaid liabilities. The form and content of such notice
shall be prescribed by the applicable tolling authority, and shall
contain a warning to advise the person that failure to pay the
applicable unpaid liabilities within a period of not less than thirty
days of such notice will result in the enforcement of a judgment against
them, and shall further contain information about the process to dispute
such liabilities, consistent with this section or section twenty-nine
hundred eighty-five-a of this title, as applicable.

9. If an owner receives a notice of liability pursuant to this section
for any time period during which the vehicle was reported to the police
department as having been stolen, it shall be a valid defense to an
allegation of liability for a violation of toll collection regulations
that the vehicle had been reported to the police as stolen prior to the
time the violation occurred and had not been recovered by such time. If
an owner receives a notice of liability pursuant to this section for any
time period during which the vehicle was stolen, but not as yet reported
to the police as having been stolen, it shall be a valid defense to an
allegation of liability for a violation of toll collection regulations
pursuant to this section that the vehicle was reported as stolen within
two hours after the discovery of the theft by the owner. For purposes of
asserting the defense provided by this subdivision it shall be
sufficient that a certified copy of the police report on the stolen
vehicle be sent by first class mail to the court or other entity having
jurisdiction.

10. An owner who is a lessor of a vehicle to which a notice of
liability was issued pursuant to subdivision seven of this section shall
not be liable for the violation of the toll collection regulation
provided that he or she sends to the public authority serving the notice
of liability and to the court or other entity having jurisdiction a copy
of the rental, lease or other such contract document covering such
vehicle on the date of the violation, with the name and address of the
lessee clearly legible, within thirty days after receiving the original
notice of liability. Failure to send such information within such thirty
day time period shall render the lessor liable for the penalty
prescribed by this section. Where the lessor complies with the
provisions of this subdivision, the lessee of such vehicle on the date
of such violation shall be deemed to be the owner of such vehicle for
purposes of this section and shall be subject to liability for the
violation of toll collection regulations, provided that the public
authority mails a notice of liability to the lessee within ten days
after the court, or other entity having jurisdiction, deems the lessee
to be the owner. For purposes of this subdivision the term "lessor"
shall mean any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency,
association or organization engaged in the business of renting or
leasing vehicles to any lessee under a rental agreement, lease or
otherwise wherein the said lessee has the exclusive use of said vehicle
for any period of time. For purposes of this subdivision, the term
"lessee" shall mean any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency,
association or organization that rents, leases or contracts for the use
of one or more vehicles and has exclusive use thereof for any period of
time.

11. Except as provided in subdivision ten of this section, if a person
receives a notice of liability pursuant to this section it shall be a
valid defense to an allegation of liability for a violation of toll
collection regulations that the individual who received the notice of
liability pursuant to this section was not the owner of the vehicle at
the time the violation occurred. If the owner liable for a violation of
toll collection regulations pursuant to this section was not the
operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation, the owner may
maintain an action for indemnification against the operator.

12. "Electronic toll collection system" shall mean a system of
collecting tolls or charges which is capable of charging an account
holder the appropriate toll or charge by transmission of information
from an electronic device on a motor vehicle to the toll lane, which
information is used to charge the account the appropriate toll or
charge. In adopting procedures for the preparation and mailing of a
notice of liability, the public authority having jurisdiction over the
toll facility shall adopt guidelines to ensure adequate and timely
notice to all electronic toll collection system account holders to
inform them when their accounts are delinquent. An owner who is an
account holder under the electronic toll collection system shall not be
found liable for a violation of this section unless such authority has
first sent a notice of delinquency to such account holder and the
account holder was in fact delinquent at the time of the violation.

13. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the liability
of an operator of a vehicle for any violation of toll collection
regulations.

14. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all photographs,
microphotographs, videotape or other recorded images prepared pursuant
to this section shall be for the exclusive use of a public authority in
the discharge of its duties under this section and shall not be open to
the public nor be used in any court in any action or proceeding pending
therein unless such action or proceeding relates to the imposition of or
indemnification for liability pursuant to this section. The public
authority shall not sell, distribute or make available in any way, the
names and addresses of electronic toll collection system account
holders, without such account holders' consent to any entity that will
use such information for any commercial purpose provided that the
foregoing restriction shall not be deemed to preclude the exchange of
such information between any entities with jurisdiction over and or
operating a toll highway bridge and/or tunnel facility.