§ 14-f. Transportation of hazardous materials. 1. The commissioner of
transportation is hereby authorized to promote safety in the
transportation of hazardous materials by all modes of transportation,
and in connection therewith shall:

(a) Have the power to make rules and regulations governing
transportation of hazardous materials, which shall mean a substance or
material in a quantity and form which may pose an unreasonable risk to
health and safety or property when transported in commerce, by all modes
as defined by the rules and regulations of the department.

Such rules and regulations shall be no less protective of public
safety than the rules and regulations promulgated by the federal
government with respect to the transportation of hazardous materials.
The regulations shall set forth the criteria for identifying and
listing, and a list of hazardous materials subject to this section as
may be amended by the commissioner of transportation from time to time
in a manner consistent with the state administrative procedure act and
consistent with those substances and materials designated by the United
States secretary of transportation as hazardous under section 5103 of
title 49 of the United States code as amended from time to time,
including those designated as hazardous in the hazardous materials table
set forth in section 172.101 and materials that meet the defining
criteria for hazard classes and divisions in part 173 of subchapter C of
title 49 of the code of federal regulations as amended from time to
time. Such regulations shall include specifications for marking and
placarding of vehicles transporting hazardous materials as will be
applied pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision three of this section.
The regulations promulgated hereunder shall include notice that a
violation of the rules and regulations is subject to a fine or a period
of imprisonment, and the rules and regulations shall set forth the
penalty provisions contained in subdivision four of this section.
Provided, however, that all local laws or ordinances, except those of
cities having a population of one million or more, regulating the
transportation of flammable liquids in trucks, trailers or
semi-trailers, are hereby superseded and without force and hereafter no
such local law or ordinance shall be adopted to regulate or control the
equipment or means of transporting flammable liquids in trucks, trailers
or semi-trailers.

For the purposes of this section, a "vehicle" shall mean every device
in which property may be transported upon a highway, stationary rails or
tracks, or on the navigable waterways of the state.

(b) Have power to enforce said rules and regulations through the use
of department staff or others pursuant to cooperative agreement.

(c) Have power and is hereby authorized to enter into cooperative
agreements with agencies of this and other states and of the federal
government in relation to enforcement of said rules and regulations.

(d) Consult with and receive the full cooperation from the
commissioner of environmental conservation and other agencies in order
to aid the commissioner of transportation in establishing an information
system capable of identifying the amount and type of hazardous materials
transported in New York, and the methods used for transporting such
materials. This system shall be established and maintained in order to
assess the volume and potential danger of hazardous materials
transported in commerce, by all modes.

(e) Establish and publicize, after consultation with the commissioner
of environmental conservation, a public education program to provide
publications and technical assistance regarding the regulations
governing the transportation of hazardous materials.

(f) Develop a training program for the state police and environmental
conservation officers in order to aid such officers in the enforcement
of the rules and regulations made pursuant to this section.

2. It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation, company,
association, partnership or any officer or agent thereof to transport or
cause to be transported hazardous materials in violation of the rules
and regulations promulgated by the commissioner pursuant to this
section.

3. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation, company,
association, partnership or any officer or agent thereof to operate or
cause to be operated in this state a vehicle transporting hazardous
materials unless the vehicle is conspicuously marked or placarded to
identify the material transported or its principal hazard in a manner
specified in rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner that
are consistent with related federal requirements; provided that the
commissioner may, by rules and regulations prescribe with respect to any
specific hazardous materials the minimum quantities below which no
placard shall be required.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation, company,
association, partnership or any officer or agent thereof to operate or
cause to be operated in this state a vehicle transporting those
hazardous wastes identified and listed pursuant to section 27-0903 of
the environmental conservation law or those regulated wastes listed and
defined pursuant to section 27-0303 of the environmental conservation
law unless such person complies with the requirements applicable to the
transport of such wastes as set forth in article twenty-seven of the
environmental conservation law and any rules and regulations promulgated
thereunder.

4. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, any
person, corporation, company, association or partnership found guilty of
violating any such rule or regulation shall be guilty of a traffic
infraction, and all of the provisions of the vehicle and traffic law,
except as otherwise specifically provided herein, shall be applicable
thereto, and shall be subject to a fine of not less than three hundred
fifty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars for the first offense,
and upon being found guilty of a second or subsequent offense committed
within eighteen months by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars
nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for
not more than ninety days or by both such fine and imprisonment. Except
as otherwise provided by law, such a violation shall not be a crime and
the penalty or punishment imposed therefor shall not be deemed for any
purpose a criminal penalty or punishment and shall not impose any
disability upon or affect or impair the credibility as a witness, or
otherwise, of a person found guilty thereof; provided, however, that any
person transporting hazardous waste in violation of article twenty-seven
of the environmental conservation law shall be subject to the penalties
provided in article seventy-one of such law.

(b) Any person, corporation, company, association or partnership found
guilty of violating any such rules or regulations involving an
out-of-service defect relating to brake systems, steering components
and/or coupling devices shall be subject to a fine of not less than five
hundred dollars nor more than one thousand five hundred dollars, or by
imprisonment for not more than sixty days or by both such fine and
imprisonment, and upon being found guilty of a second or subsequent
offense committed within eighteen months by a fine of not less than one
thousand five hundred dollars nor more than two thousand five hundred
dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than ninety days or by both
such fine and imprisonment.

(c) Operation of an out-of-service vehicle shall constitute a
misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than two
thousand five hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars, or by
imprisonment for not more than one year or by both such fine and
imprisonment. A conviction for a second or subsequent offense committed
within eighteen months shall constitute a class E felony and shall be
punished by a fine of not less than three thousand five hundred dollars
or by a period of imprisonment as provided in the penal law, or by both
such fine and imprisonment.

(d) If any person does not appear in response to an appearance ticket
or the court's direction, or pay any fine imposed, the commissioner of
motor vehicles shall have the power to suspend the registration or
privilege of operation of any such vehicle operated or alleged to have
been operated in violation of such rules and regulations.

(e) (i) Any complaint issued for an equipment violation, except for a
violation involving an out-of-service defect or except for a violation
involving the operation of any motor vehicle after it has been placed
out of service, shall be dismissed by the court before such summons is
returnable if the violation as set forth in the summons is corrected not
later than one-half hour after sunset on the first full business day
after the issuance of the summons and proof of such correction as set
forth in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph is submitted to the court.
For the purposes of this subparagraph, "business day" shall mean any
calendar day except Sunday, or the following business holidays: New
Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor
Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

(ii) Acceptable proof of repair or adjustment shall consist of
submission to the court on or before the return date of the summons of
(A) a statement of correction from an officially designated state
inspection station duly executed by the person performing or making such
inspection and bearing the official stamp of the state inspection
station, (B) a statement of correction from an automobile repair shop on
the letterhead of such repair shop duly executed by the person who made
the correction or (C) a signed statement of any police officer or a
department inspector that the necessary corrections have been made. The
statement required by this subparagraph shall be directed to the court
having jurisdiction of the alleged violation, shall be affirmed as true
under penalty of perjury, and shall include the name, occupation and
position of the person making the statement, the time and date that the
repairs or inspection were made and a statement that the defective
equipment, cited in the violation, on the vehicle in question, is in
proper working order.

5. With respect to the transportation of radioactive materials,
nothing in this section shall be construed to abrogate or effect the
provisions of any federal or state statute or local ordinance,
regulation or resolution which are more restrictive than or which
supersede the provisions of this section.

6. Any police officer having lawfully stopped any vehicle which he has
reason to believe is transporting hazardous materials or hazardous waste
may require that such vehicle shall be driven to a place designated by
such police officer to be inspected pursuant to the provisions of this
section and the rules and regulations of the commissioner concerning
transportation of hazardous materials or pursuant to title nine of
article twenty-seven of the environmental conservation law. Provided,
however, that such place designated by such police officer shall not
exceed a distance of five miles from the place at which such vehicle was
stopped. Furthermore, that when such place designated by such officer or
any other place utilized for inspection of vehicles pursuant to this
section is a roadside rest area, such rest area shall be kept open for
the use of the public to the extent practicable.