NY State Senate Bill 2013-S6215

Senate Bill S6215

2013-2014 Legislative Session

Relates to the imposition of penalties and administrative fees for toll evaders and establishes the crime of unlawful purchase, sale or possession of a license plate hiding device

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes 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
Jan 08, 2014	referred to codes

2013-S6215 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §165.15, add §165.75, Pen L; desig Art 9 Title 11 to be Title 11-A, add Title Head, amd §2985, Pub Auth L; amd §510, V & T L

2013-S6215 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the imposition of penalties and administrative fees for toll evaders and establishes the crime of unlawful purchase, sale or possession of a license plate hiding device.

2013-S6215 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S6215

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the penal law, in relation to theft of
services and establishing the crime of unlawful purchase, sale or
possession of a license plate hiding device; to amend the public
authorities law, in relation to the imposition of penalties and
administrative fees for toll evaders; and to amend the vehicle and
traffic law, in relation to the suspension of a registration of a toll
evader

PURPOSE:

To comprehensively address the problem of toll evasion by clarifying
that avoidance of tolls on a toll road constitutes theft of services,
by making it illegal to purchase, sell or possess a license plate
hiding device when a person knowingly purchases, sells, or possesses
the device with the intent to use such device or apparatus to hide the
appearance of a license plate from E-ZPass or any other toll booth
camera, and toughening the penalties against toll evaders by
increasing the allowable fines that public authorities can assess on
violators and also providing for the suspension of a toll evader's
vehicle registration.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends subdivision 3 and the closing paragraph

of section 165.15 of the penal law to make clear that theft of public
transportation services shall include avoidance of tolls on a toll
road. Additionally, this bill makes the theft of any services of a
value in excess of $1000 a class E felony consistent with the grand
larceny statute.

Section 2 adds a new section 165.75 to the penal law to make it
illegal to purchase, sell or possess a license plate hiding device
when a person knowingly purchases, sells, or possesses the device with
the intent to use such device or apparatus to hide the appearance of a
license plate from E-ZPass or any other toll booth camera. The
unlawful purchase, possession, or sale of such a device shall be a
class A misdemeanor.

Section 3 of the bill designates section 2985 of the public
authorities law as Title 11-a under the heading "toll collections."

Section 4 amends subdivision 5 of section 2985 of the public
authorities law to increase the fines that a vehicle owner who is
found liable for a violation of a toll collection regulation is
subject to as follows: from $50 to $100 for a first violation; from
$100 to $200 for a second violation within 18 months; and from $150 to
$300 for a third and subsequent violation within an 18-month period.
This section also provides that one-half of such monetary penalties
shall be paid to the public authority whose toll collection
regulations were violated., Lastly; this section provides that, in
addition to these penalties, the vehicle owner shall also be liable to
the public authority for full restitution of lost toll revenues as a
result of the violation.


Section 5 amends paragraph (b) of subdivision 7 of section 2985 of the
public authorities law to provide that a notice of liability to a
vehicle owner for a violation of toll collection regulations also
contain the amount of toll evaded.

Section 6 amends section 2985 of the public authorities law by adding
a new subdivision 15 to provide that, in addition to any monetary
liability that may be imposed pursuant to this section, every public
authority which operates a toll highway, bridge and/or tunnel facility
is authorized and empowered to impose an administrative fee or fees,
subject to the applicable provisions of the state administrative
procedure act, on the owner of a vehicle that has violated toll
collection regulations.

Section 7 amends subdivision 4-d of section 510 of the vehicle and
traffic law to permit public authorities or any other public entity
imposing toll collection violations to refer those who have failed to
appear or who failed to pay penalties imposed by a court or tribunal
in relation to a violation of toll collection regulations to the
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles for suspension of the vehicle owner's
registration.

Section 8 provides the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:

Several public authorities in New York have implemented the electronic
toll collection system commonly referred to as E-ZPass. The E-ZPass
system has increased customer convenience while reducing travel time,
fuel consumption and potential back-ups at toll plazas for the Thruway
Authority and other public authorities.

While the benefits of E-ZPass are numerous, it does provide
opportunities for abuse. Those who are not E-ZPass subscribers can
evade tolls by driving through lanes designated for that purpose.
This legislation takes a comprehensive approach to addressing the
problem of toll evasion by clarifying the existing theft of services
offense to make clear that it also includes avoidance of paying tolls
on any road, bridge or tunnel that requires them.

The bill would also address the increasing problem of motorists using
special devices designed specifically to hide or shield a person's
license plate from the view of the cameras that are used for toll
collection enforcement by creating a new offense, as a class A
misdemeanor, of unlawfully purchasing, selling or possessing a license
plate hiding device with the intent to use such device to hide the
appearance of a license plate from an E-ZPass or any other toll booth
camera.

In addition, current law provides for a progressive series of fines
for those accumulating toll collection offenses. However, none of the
fine money, not even the amount of the toll evaded, goes back to the
affected public authority. Providing one half of the monetary
penalties to the affected public authority will help to make the
public authority whole and offset the costs incurred in addressing
these types of violations. By doubling the existing fines, there will
be no impact on the entities that currently receive the fine money.


In addition, there is currently no mechanism in law for a public
authority to recover the actual toil lost due to toll evasion. This
bill would allow public authorities to recover these funds by making
restitution in these cases mandatory.

Current law provides that upon notification from a court or
administrative tribunal that a vehicle owner has accumulated 5 or more
toll collection violations within an eighteen month period, the DMV
shall suspend that person's vehicle registration. Because only courts
and administrative tribunals are authorized to transmit this
information to DMV, and these entities only track violations within
their own geographic jurisdictions, the only time a multiple violator
is reported to DMV is when a violator has accumulated five or more
violations within one jurisdiction. This process leaves a gap in
tracking violators who often travel between multiple jurisdictions and
does not effectively serve as a deterrent to those who would abuse the
system at the expense of others. This bill would enhance E-ZPass
enforcement by subjecting individuals with five toll collection
violations within an eighteen month period to a mandatory vehicle
registration suspension.

This legislation is also consistent with recommendations included in
two audit reports issued by the New York State Office of the
Comptroller (2008-S-6 and 2006-S-101).

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to state; increase in revenue for toll assessing public
authorities through enhanced collection of evaded toll revenues.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law.

2013-S6215 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  6215

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 8, 2014
                               ___________

Introduced  by Sen. CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes

AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation  to  theft  of  services  and
  establishing  the  crime of unlawful purchase, sale or possession of a
  license plate hiding device; to amend the public authorities  law,  in
  relation  to  the  imposition of penalties and administrative fees for
  toll evaders; and to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to
  the suspension of a registration of a toll evader

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Subdivision 3 and the closing paragraph of section 165.15
of the penal law, the closing paragraph as amended by chapter 491 of the
laws of 1992, are amended to read as follows:
  3. With intent to obtain railroad, subway, bus, air, taxi or any other
public transportation service OR TO  USE  ANY  HIGHWAY,  PARKWAY,  ROAD,
BRIDGE  OR TUNNEL without payment of the lawful charge OR TOLL therefor,
or to avoid payment of the lawful charge OR TOLL for such transportation
service which has been rendered to him OR HER OR FOR  SUCH  USE  OF  ANY
HIGHWAY,  PARKWAY, ROAD, BRIDGE OR TUNNEL, he OR SHE obtains or attempts
to obtain such service OR USE or avoids or  attempts  to  avoid  payment
therefor  by  force,  intimidation,  stealth,  deception  or  mechanical
tampering, or by unjustifiable failure or refusal to pay; or
  Theft of services is a class A misdemeanor,  provided,  however,  that
theft  of cable television service as defined by the provisions of para-
graphs (a), (c) and (d) of subdivision four of this section, and  having
a  value  not  in  excess of one hundred dollars by a person who has not
been previously convicted of theft of services under subdivision four of
this section is a violation, that theft of  services  under  subdivision
nine  of  this section by a person who has not been previously convicted
of theft of services  under  subdivision  nine  of  this  section  is  a
violation and provided further, however, that theft of [services of] any
[telephone]  service  [under paragraph (a) or (b) of subdivision five of
this section] having a value in excess of one thousand dollars or  by  a

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD11711-03-4

S. 6215                             2

person  who  has been previously convicted within five years of theft of
services under paragraph (a) of subdivision five of this  section  is  a
class E felony.
  S  2.  The penal law is amended by adding a new section 165.75 to read
as follows:
S 165.75 UNLAWFUL PURCHASE, SALE OR POSSESSION OF A LICENSE PLATE HIDING
           DEVICE.
  A PERSON IS GUILTY OF UNLAWFUL  PURCHASE,  SALE  OR  POSSESSION  OF  A
LICENSE PLATE HIDING DEVICE WHEN HE OR SHE KNOWINGLY PURCHASES, SELLS OR
POSSESSES  ANY DEVICE OR APPARATUS WITH THE INTENT TO USE SUCH DEVICE OR
APPARATUS TO HIDE THE APPEARANCE OF A LICENSE PLATE FROM AN  E-ZPASS  OR
ANY OTHER TOLL BOOTH CAMERA.
  UNLAWFUL PURCHASE, SALE OR POSSESSION OF A LICENSE PLATE HIDING DEVICE
IS A CLASS A MISDEMEANOR.
  S  3.  Section 2985 of title 11 of article 9 of the public authorities
law is designated title 11-A and such title is amended by adding  a  new
title heading to read as follows:
                            TOLL COLLECTIONS
  S  4.  Subdivision 5 of section 2985 of the public authorities law, as
added by chapter 379 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
  5. An owner found liable for a  violation  of  toll  collection  regu-
lations  pursuant to this section shall for a first violation thereof be
liable for a monetary penalty not to exceed [fifty] ONE HUNDRED  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] TWO 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] THREE hundred [fifty] dollars or ten times the toll evaded
whichever is greater.   ONE-HALF OF SUCH  MONETARY  PENALTIES  COLLECTED
SHALL  BE PAID TO THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY WHOSE TOLL COLLECTION REGULATIONS
WERE VIOLATED. IN ADDITION TO SUCH PENALTIES, THE OWNER  SHALL  ALSO  BE
LIABLE  TO  THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY, WHOSE TOLL COLLECTION REGULATIONS WERE
VIOLATED, FOR FULL RESTITUTION OF TOLL REVENUES LOST AS A RESULT OF SUCH
VIOLATION.
  S 5. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 7 of  section  2985  of  the  public
authorities law, as added by chapter 379 of the laws of 1992, is amended
to read as follows:
  (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,  THE  TOLL
AMOUNT  EVADED  and  the  identification  number of the photo-monitoring
system which recorded the violation or other document locator number.
  S 6. Section 2985 of the public authorities law is amended by adding a
new subdivision 15 to read as follows:
  15. IN ADDITION TO ANY MONETARY LIABILITY THAT MAY BE IMPOSED PURSUANT
TO THIS SECTION, EVERY PUBLIC AUTHORITY WHICH OPERATES A  TOLL  HIGHWAY,
BRIDGE  AND/OR  TUNNEL  FACILITY  IS  HEREBY AUTHORIZED AND EMPOWERED TO
IMPOSE AN ADMINISTRATIVE FEE OR FEES, SUBJECT TO THE APPLICABLE REQUIRE-
MENTS OF THE STATE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT, ON THE OWNER OF A VEHI-
CLE THAT HAS VIOLATED TOLL COLLECTION REGULATIONS.
  S 7. Subdivision 4-d of section 510 of the vehicle and traffic law, as
added by chapter 379 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:

S. 6215                             3

  4-d. Suspension of registration for failure to answer or pay penalties
with respect to certain violations. Upon the receipt of  a  notification
from  a court or an administrative tribunal, OR FROM A PUBLIC AUTHORITY,
OR ANY OTHER PUBLIC ENTITY IMPOSING SUCH VIOLATIONS, IN THE  MANNER  AND
FORM  PRESCRIBED  BY  THE COMMISSIONER, that an owner of a motor vehicle
failed to appear on the  return  date  or  dates  or  a  new  subsequent
adjourned  date or dates or failed to pay any penalty imposed by a court
or failed to comply with the rules and regulations of an  administrative
tribunal  following  entry of a final decision or decisions, in response
to five or more notices of liability or other process, issued within  an
eighteen  month  period  charging  such  owner  with a violation of toll
collection regulations in accordance with the provisions of section  two
thousand  nine  hundred  eighty-five  of  the  public authorities law or
sections sixteen-a, sixteen-b and sixteen-c  of  chapter  seven  hundred
seventy-four  of the laws of nineteen hundred fifty, OR OTHER COMPARABLE
LAW, the commissioner or his OR HER agent shall suspend the registration
of the vehicle or vehicles involved in the violation or the privilege of
operation of any motor vehicle owned by the registrant. Such  suspension
shall take effect no less than thirty days from the date on which notice
thereof  is sent by the commissioner to the person whose registration or
privilege is suspended and shall remain in effect until such  registrant
has  appeared  in response to such notices of liability or has paid such
penalty or in the case of an administrative tribunal, the registrant has
complied with the rules and regulations following the entry of  a  final
decision or decisions.
  S 8. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law.

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