§ 415-a. Vehicle dismantlers and other persons engaged in the transfer
or disposal of junk and salvage vehicles. 1. Definition and registration
of vehicle dismantlers. A vehicle dismantler is any person who is
engaged in the business of acquiring motor vehicles or trailers for the
purpose of dismantling the same for parts or reselling such vehicles as
scrap. No person shall engage in the business of or operate as a vehicle
dismantler unless there shall have been issued to him a registration in
accordance with the provisions of this section. A violation of this
subdivision shall be a class E felony.

1-a. Definition and registration of salvage pools. A salvage pool is
any person, acting on behalf of the vehicle owner or an insurance
company, who sells, offers for sale or solicits bids for the sale of
junk or salvage vehicles or major component parts of such vehicles, or
displays or permits the display of such vehicles or parts upon premises
owned or controlled by him, but who does not dismantle vehicles. No
person shall engage in business as a salvage pool unless there shall
have been issued to him a registration in accordance with the provisions
of this section. A violation of this subdivision shall be a class A
misdemeanor.

1-b. Definition and registration of mobile car crushers. A mobile car
crusher is any person who engages in the business of operating a
transportable car crusher, but who does not acquire ownership of the
vehicles which he crushes. No person shall engage in the business of or
operate as a mobile car crusher unless there shall have been issued to
him a registration in accordance with the provisions of this section. A
violation of this subdivision shall be a class A misdemeanor.

1-c. Itinerant vehicle collectors. An itinerant vehicle collector is
any person who is engaged in the business of acquiring non-operable
vehicles and who sells such vehicles or major component parts thereof to
a vehicle dismantler or scrap processor. No person shall engage in
business as an itinerant vehicle collector unless there shall have been
issued to him a registration in accordance with the provisions of this
section. A violation of this subdivision shall be a class A misdemeanor.

2. Application for registration. An application for registration as a
vehicle dismantler, salvage pool, mobile car crusher or itinerant
vehicle collector shall be made to the commissioner on a form prescribed
by him which shall contain the name and address of the applicant and the
names and addresses of all persons having a financial interest in the
business. Such application shall contain a listing of all felony
convictions and all other convictions relating to the illegal sale or
possession of a motor vehicle or motor vehicle parts, and a listing of
all arrests for any such violations by the applicant and any other
person required to be named in such application. On and after January
first, nineteen hundred ninety-two, such application for or renewal of
registration as a vehicle dismantler shall, in addition to the
foregoing, contain a statement indicating that the applicant has
purchased approved motor vehicle refrigerant recycling equipment or
refrigerant recapturing equipment in accordance with section 38-0107 of
the environmental conservation law. Applicants who are vehicle
dismantlers must submit along with their application either a
manufacturer's certificate issued upon purchase or an invoice with proof
of payment. All such documents shall contain the name and address of the
repair shop and manufacturer, the date purchased, and the serial numbers
of the units acquired. The application shall also contain the business
address of the applicant and may contain any other information required
by the commissioner.

3. Fees. The annual fee for registration as a vehicle dismantler,
salvage pool, mobile car crusher or itinerant vehicle collector shall be
fifty dollars. Upon approval of an application, an appropriate
registration shall be issued for a period of time determined by the
commissioner and if issued for a period of more or less than one year,
the fee shall be prorated on a monthly basis. Fees assessed under this
section shall be paid to the commissioner for deposit to the general
fund.

4. Requirements for registration. (a) Except as otherwise provided
herein, no registration shall be issued or renewed unless the applicant
has a permanent place of business at which the activity requiring
registration is performed which conforms to section one hundred
thirty-six of the general municipal law as such section applies and to
all local laws or ordinances and the applicant and all persons having a
financial interest in the business have been determined by the
commissioner to be fit persons to engage in such business. However, the
commissioner may issue a temporary registration pending final
investigation of an application.

(b) The provisions of this subdivision requiring a place of business
at which the activity requiring registration is performed shall not
apply to a mobile car crusher nor to an itinerant vehicle collector.
However, the mobile car crusher or itinerant vehicle collector must
otherwise comply with all applicable local licensing laws or ordinances.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this
subdivision, the commissioner may issue a registration to an applicant
for registration as a vehicle dismantler or salvage pool to a person who
may not comply with local laws relating to zoning provided that the
applicant has engaged in business at that location as a vehicle
dismantler since September first, nineteen hundred seventy-three.
However, the issuance of such registration shall not be a defense with
respect to any action brought with respect to violation of any such
local law.

5. Records and identification. (a) Any records required by this
section shall apply only to vehicles or parts of vehicles for which a
certificate of title has been issued by the commissioner or which would
be eligible to have such a certificate of title issued. Every person
required to be registered pursuant to this section shall maintain a
record of all motor vehicles, trailers, and major component parts
thereof, coming into his or her possession together with a record of the
disposition of any such motor vehicle, trailer or part thereof and the
date such motor vehicle, trailer or part thereof is received and shall
maintain proof of ownership for any motor vehicle, trailer or major
component part thereof while in his or her possession. For the purposes
of this article an inflatable restraint system shall be a major
component part and a catalytic converter shall be a major component
part. Such records shall be maintained in a manner and form prescribed
by the commissioner. The commissioner may, by regulation, exempt
vehicles or major component parts of vehicles from all or a portion of
the record keeping requirements based upon the age of the vehicle if the
commissioner deems that such record keeping requirements would not
further the purposes of the motor vehicle theft prevention program
established by section two hundred twenty-three of this chapter. Upon
request of an agent of the commissioner or of any police officer and
during his or her regular and usual business hours, a vehicle dismantler
shall produce such records and permit said agent or police officer to
examine them and any vehicles or parts of vehicles which are subject to
the record keeping requirements of this section and which are on the
premises. In addition, the commissioner shall require every vehicle
dismantler to produce, every sixty days, all records regarding the
number of catalytic converters they took in within such sixty-day period
subject to the record keeping requirements of this section. Upon request
of any agent of the commissioner and during his or her regular and usual
business hours, a salvage pool, mobile car crusher or itinerant vehicle
collector shall produce such records and permit said agent or police
officer to examine them and any vehicles or parts of vehicles which are
subject to the record keeping requirements of this section and which are
on the premises. The failure to produce such records or to permit such
inspection on the part of any person required to be registered pursuant
to this section as required by this paragraph shall be a class A
misdemeanor. If a vehicle dismantler has gained money or property by
failing to produce records of the number of catalytic converters they
take in as required by the commissioner pursuant to this paragraph, the
court may order such defendant to pay an amount, fixed by the court, not
to exceed double the amount of such defendant's gain from the commission
of such offense.

(b) Every vehicle dismantler and salvage pool shall display at his
place of business at least one sign upon which his registration number
and any other information required by the commissioner is affixed in a
manner prescribed by the commissioner and further shall affix his
registration number on all advertising, business cards, and vehicles
used by him in connection with his business. The commissioner is hereby
empowered to require, by regulation, that vehicle dismantlers and
salvage pools mark, stamp or tag major component parts of vehicles in
their possession in a manner prescribed by the commissioner so as to
enable the part so marked to be identified as having come from a
particular vehicle and from a particular vehicle dismantler and salvage
pool. A violation of this paragraph shall be a class A misdemeanor.

(c) For the purposes of this article, the term "catalytic converter"
shall mean a device installed in the exhaust system of an internal
combustion engine that utilizes catalytic action to oxidize hydrocarbon
and carbon monoxide emissions to carbon dioxide and water.

5-a. Improper display of signs. (a) The holder of a vehicle dismantler
or salvage pool registration shall remove or cause to be removed any
sign which contains the license number of the facility which is visible
to the public and which is required to be displayed by this article or
regulations promulgated thereunder if the registration is revoked or
suspended or the vehicle dismantler or salvage pool is out of business.
If the registration is only suspended, the holder may cover up the sign
instead of removing it.

(b) No person shall permit the display of any sign required to be
displayed by this article or regulations promulgated thereunder
indicating to the public that an official vehicle dismantler or salvage
pool is operating unless a dismantler or salvage pool registration has
been issued to that person and is currently valid.

6. Suspension, revocation and refusal to renew a registration; civil
penalty. (a) A registration may be suspended or revoked, or renewal of a
registration refused upon a conviction of any provision of the penal law
relating to motor vehicle theft, illegal possession of a stolen vehicle
or illegal possession of stolen motor vehicle parts, or after the
registrant has had an opportunity to be heard upon any change of status
of the registrant which would have resulted in refusal to issue a
registration, any false statement in an application for a registration,
an egregious and willful violation of title twenty-three of article
twenty-seven of the environmental conservation law, any violation of
subdivision five of this section or regulations promulgated by the
commissioner with respect to this section, or any violation of title ten
of this chapter.

(b) Civil penalty. The commissioner, or any person deputized by him,
in addition to or in lieu of revoking or suspending the registration of
a registrant in accordance with the provisions of this article, may in
any one proceeding by order require the registrant to pay to the people
of this state a civil penalty in a sum not exceeding one thousand
dollars for each violation and upon the failure of such registrant to
pay such penalty within twenty days after the mailing of such order,
postage prepaid, registered or certified, and addressed to the last
known place of business of such registrant, unless such order is stayed
by an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, the commissioner may
revoke the registration of such registrant or may suspend the same for
such period as he may determine. Civil penalties assessed under this
subdivision shall be paid to the commissioner for deposit into the state
treasury, and unpaid civil penalties may be recovered by the
commissioner in a civil action in the name of the commissioner.

(c) In addition, as an alternative to such civil action and provided
that no proceeding for judicial review shall then be pending and the
time for initiation of such proceeding shall have expired, the
commissioner may file with the county clerk of the county in which the
registrant is located a final order of the commissioner containing the
amount of the penalty assessed. The filing of such final order shall
have the full force and effect of a judgment duly docketed in the office
of such clerk and may be enforced in the same manner and with the same
effect as that provided by law in respect to executions issued against
property upon judgments of a court of record.

7. Registration as a dealer and as a vehicle dismantler or salvage
pool. A person may be registered as a dealer under section four hundred
fifteen of this chapter as well as a vehicle dismantler or a salvage
pool under this section. However, any such person must obtain a separate
registration for each activity and must maintain separate records for
each activity.

8. Vehicle rebuilders. (a) A vehicle rebuilder is any person engaged
in the business of acquiring damaged vehicles for the purpose of
repairing and reselling such vehicles. In order to engage in such
business, a person must be registered as a vehicle dismantler pursuant
to this section or as a dealer pursuant to section four hundred fifteen
of this chapter.

(b) A vehicle rebuilder shall maintain a record of all vehicles or
major component parts thereof coming into his possession for the purpose
of rebuilding and all major component parts used in connection with such
rebuilding in a manner prescribed by the commissioner. Upon request of
an agent of the commissioner or any police officer during his regular
and usual business hours, a vehicle rebuilder shall produce such records
and permit said agent or police officer to examine them and any vehicles
or parts of vehicles which are subject to the record keeping
requirements of this section and which are on the premises. The failure
to produce such records or to permit such records or to permit such
inspection as required by this paragraph shall be a class A misdemeanor.

9. Scrap processor. (a) A scrap processor is any person required to be
licensed under article six-C of the general business law who purchases
material which is or may have been a vehicle or vehicle part for
processing into a form other than a vehicle or vehicle part, but who,
except as otherwise provided by regulation of the commissioner, does not
sell any such material as a motor vehicle, a trailer or a major
component part thereof. No person shall engage in business or operate as
a scrap processor as defined in this paragraph unless he has given
notice to the commissioner that he is a scrap processor and that he has
complied with article six-C of the general business law, and he has been
certified by the commissioner as a scrap processor. A violation of this
paragraph shall be a class A misdemeanor.

(b) A scrap processor shall maintain a record of vehicles and a record
of major component parts by weight coming into his possession thereof in
a manner prescribed by the commissioner. This paragraph shall not apply
to any major component part included in a mixed load. Upon request of an
agent of the commissioner or any police officer or during his regular
and usual business hours, a scrap processor shall produce such records
and permit such agent or police officer to inspect them and to inspect
any vehicles or major component parts of vehicles at the time of the
delivery of such vehicles or parts to him. The failure to produce such
records or to permit such inspection as required by this paragraph shall
be a class A misdemeanor.

10. Scrap collectors and repair shops. (a) A scrap collector is any
person, other than a governmental agency, whose primary business is the
collection of miscellaneous scrap for disposal, who may as an incident
of such business collect vehicular parts as scrap. No person shall
engage in the business or operate as a scrap collector as defined in
this paragraph unless he has given notice to the commissioner that he is
a scrap collector and has been certified as a scrap collector by the
commissioner. A violation of this provision shall be a class A
misdemeanor. No person shall be certified as a scrap collector eligible
to do business within a city having a population of one million or more,
or any county contiguous to such city, unless such person complies with
all local requirements applicable to such business.

(b) If required by regulation of the commissioner, a scrap collector
shall keep records of his acquisition and disposition of vehicular scrap
in a manner prescribed by the commissioner. Upon request of an agent of
the commissioner or any police officer, a scrap collector shall produce
such records as may be required to be kept and permit said agent or
police officer to inspect them during usual business hours or while
business is being conducted. The failure to produce such records as
required by this paragraph shall be a class A misdemeanor.

(c) A repair shop registered pursuant to article twelve-A of this
chapter which disposes of vehicular scrap to a certified scrap processor
shall apply to the commissioner for certification to carry out this
disposal. The repair shop shall include in the application for
certification the names and addresses of those scrap processors with
whom it arranges for the disposal of its scrap. Thereafter the repair
shop shall give notice to the commissioner within thirty days of any
change in the scrap processors with whom it deals. The failure to comply
with this paragraph or to make fraudulent statements regarding the scrap
processors with which a repair shop arranges for the disposal of
vehicular scrap shall be a class A misdemeanor.

11. Out-of-state businesses. A person doing business in this state who
does not have a place of business in this state, but has a place of
business or engages in such business in another state or province of
Canada and who would be required to be registered or certified pursuant
to this section if it were in this state, shall apply to the
commissioner for an identification number in a manner prescribed by the
commissioner. Such identification number shall be issued provided that
such person complies with all the laws and regulations of the
jurisdiction in which he has his principal place of business or engages
in such business applicable to such business.

12. Identification of certified persons. (a) Every person who is
certified or who has been issued an identification number by the
commissioner shall display such certification or identification number
upon any vehicle used by him for the business of transporting vehicles
or parts of vehicles, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the
commissioner.

(b) It shall be a class A misdemeanor for any person required to be
registered or certified pursuant to the provisions of this section to
transport a vehicle or major component parts out of New York state
without having and displaying his registration or certification number
as provided for in this section.

13. Suspension or revocation of identification number or
certification. An identification number and/or certification issued
pursuant to subdivision eight, nine, ten or eleven of this section may
be suspended or revoked upon conviction of any provision of the penal
law relating to motor vehicle theft, illegal possession of a stolen
vehicle or illegal possession of stolen motor vehicle parts. The
commissioner may also revoke or suspend registration or certification,
after an appropriate hearing where the holder of the registration or
certification has had an opportunity to be heard, upon a finding of: (a)
that there has been a change to the holder's status which would have
resulted in a refusal to issue in the first instance, or (b) that the
issuance was based upon a false statement by the holder, or (c) that
there was a violation of the record keeping requirements, or (d) that
there was a violation of the regulations promulgated by the commissioner
pursuant to this section, or (e) that there was a violation of title X
of this chapter.

14. Restrictions on scrap processors. A certified scrap processor
shall not purchase any material which may have been a vehicle or a major
component part of a vehicle, if recognizable as such, from any person
other than a dealer registered pursuant to section four hundred fifteen
of this chapter, an insurance company, a governmental agency, a person
in whose name a certificate of title or other ownership document has
been issued for such vehicle or a person registered or certified or
issued an identification number pursuant to this section. A violation of
this subdivision shall be a class A misdemeanor.

15. Regulations. The commissioner shall prescribe such rules and
regulations as he shall deem necessary to carry out the provisions of
this section.