§ 423-a. Enforcement procedures for insuring the retention of vehicle
identification numbers on vehicles. 1. Seizure of vehicle. (a) Members
of the state police, any local police department or any peace officer
acting pursuant to his special duties shall seize and confiscate a motor
vehicle or trailer if any original identification number or special
identification number is destroyed, removed, altered, defaced or so
covered as to be effectually concealed.

(b) The commissioner shall establish standards for determining whether
an identification number on a motor vehicle, trailer or part thereof is
destroyed, removed, altered, defaced or so covered as to be effectually
concealed. Whenever a vehicle described in paragraph (a) of this
subdivision is seized or confiscated, members of the state police, local
police department or peace officers acting pursuant to their special
duties, if warranted, shall arrest the supposed owner or custodian
thereof, and cause prosecution to be brought in a court of competent
jurisdiction. It shall be the duty of the appropriate agency or the
department of motor vehicles to retain the custody of each motor
vehicle, trailer or part seized pending the prosecution of the person
arrested until the ownership of such motor vehicle, trailer or part
shall have been ascertained. If the ownership of such motor vehicle,
trailer or part cannot be ascertained, or if the owner or custodian is
convicted of the theft or unlawful possession of said motor vehicle,
trailer or part, such motor vehicle, trailer or part, if in the
possession of the state police or any other state agency shall, at the
direction of the office of general services, be held for, or delivered
into the possession of, such office, and title shall vest in such
office, or if in the possession of a local police department or other
local authority, such motor vehicle or trailer shall be treated as an
abandoned vehicle pursuant to section twelve hundred twenty-four of this
chapter, or such part may be sold by the local authority to a registered
dealer or to a registered vehicle dismantler or certified scrap
processor as defined in subdivision nine of section four hundred
fifteen-a of this chapter.

2. Assignment of a new identification number. If a person other than
the person arrested be the owner, the motor vehicle, trailer or part
shall be returned to him as soon as he has arranged to have the
department of motor vehicles affix a new number, or in the case of a
part, inspect such part, and the department has done so, as provided in
section four hundred twenty-two of this chapter. Prior to the return of
the motor vehicle, trailer or part, or the transfer of custody of said
motor vehicle, trailer or part, the arresting officer shall transmit
notice of the arrest to the commissioner.

3. Disposition of certain motor vehicles, trailers and parts. (a) If
the owner of a motor vehicle or trailer cannot be ascertained, or if the
owner or custodian is arrested and convicted of the theft or unlawful
possession of said motor vehicle or trailer, and such motor vehicle or
trailer is held for or is in the possession of the office of general
services, the office of general services shall sell the motor vehicle or
trailer at public auction or by bid, or, it may be registered for use by
the office or by a state agency in the performance of the duties of the
office or of such state agency, provided that the department of motor
vehicles first affixes a special identification number to the motor
vehicle or trailer, if required. The special identification number shall
thereafter be used for identification, registration and all purposes of
this chapter, and the purchaser thereof may sell and transfer the motor
vehicle or trailer bearing such a special identification number or
numbers.

(b) If the owner of a part or parts of a motor vehicle or trailer
cannot be ascertained, or if the owner or custodian is arrested and
convicted of the theft or unlawful possession thereof, and such part is
held for or is in the possession of the office of general services, the
office of general services shall sell such part or parts to a registered
dealer or to a registered vehicle dismantler or a certified scrap
processor as defined in subdivision nine of section four hundred
fifteen-a of this chapter.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, ownership of
an unidentifiable part in an otherwise identifiable vehicle, other than
a stolen vehicle, held by the department or by a police department may
be transferred to the owner of such vehicle provided that the department
or police department has made findings that such owner had no knowledge
that the part was unidentifiable and that such owner was neither
responsible for rendering such part unidentifiable nor acting in concert
with any person who rendered or had such part rendered unidentifiable.
Such a transfer may be made to a person who is presumed to have
determined and to know identification numbers on motor vehicles and
parts pursuant to subdivision one of section four hundred twenty-one of
this article only upon payment to the department or to the police
department of an amount equal to the reasonable wholesale value of the
part. Such a transfer may be made to any other person without any
payment being made to the department or police department provided that
the department or police department is satisfied that the person has
been the owner of the vehicle with the unidentifiable part contained
therein for a period of at least eighteen months. Such findings may only
be made after an investigation and, if appropriate, a hearing. Such
investigation shall be made promptly by the department or the police
department upon the request of such owner. Proceeds from the transfer of
any such part shall be paid into the general fund of the state if
transferred by the department or the division of state police, or into
the general fund of the appropriate local authority, if transferred by a
local police department. No such part shall be so transferred until a
special identification number has been affixed to such part and the
appropriate fee has been paid by the owner of the vehicle.

4. Whenever a vehicle or part which is in the possession of the state
police or any other state agency or a local police agency or other local
authority is returned to an owner, the cost of making delivery of the
vehicle or part shall be a charge upon such owner. With respect to motor
vehicles, trailers and parts held by the state police or any other state
agency, the commissioner of the office of general services, after
consultation with the commissioner of motor vehicles, shall promulgate
regulations to effectuate the provisions of this section. Such
regulations may include, but shall not be limited to, provisions for the
removal of parts from vehicles, the storage and sale of vehicles and
parts and the recovery of costs incurred in performing the duties
required herein.

5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the commissioner is
holding a vehicle or vehicle part, upon determination of the rightful
owner of the vehicle or vehicle part, the commissioner shall give
written notice to the owner to retrieve such vehicle or vehicle part.
Fifteen days after the receipt of such notice by certified mail, the
commissioner shall impose a storage charge of ten dollars a day for a
vehicle and five dollars a day for a vehicle part or parts. Unpaid
storage charges shall be a lien upon the vehicle or vehicle part and
such lien may be foreclosed in accordance with article nine of the lien
law. Any moneys collected as storage charges or as the result of
foreclosure of liens for storage shall be used to fund the motor vehicle
theft prevention program established by section two hundred twenty-three
of this chapter.