Senate Bill S2873

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S2873

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to providing
a limited search for the status of an issued driver's license


 PURPOSE :
The purpose of this legislation is to make driver status checks by car
and truck rental companies free. This legislation does not change the
cost of the full record search should it be used.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Section 1: Provides that no fee shall be charged to car and truck
rental companies or their designated agents for searches to determine
the status of a driver's license.

Section 2: Enacting language.

The current law requires that a $7 fee be charged for all searches
whether made manually by the DMV, as well as, those searches made by
direct entry by an approved requester. The current law is general in
its assessment of fees and does not differentiate between a driver
status search and a full record search.

 JUSTIFICATION :
              

This legislation is creating a new mechanism to establish whether or
not driving privileges are valid or invalid and use it as a baseline
standard. This legislation allows New York State to make available a
free product and take progressive steps to ensure that a renter is
indeed licensed and authorized to operate the vehicle that he/she
rents. This legislation will help car and truck rental agencies and
their designated agents to eliminate the potential fraud issues of
falsified licenses to those agencies which currently do not check.

New York should do everything in its effort to ensure the safety of
both the drivers and the passengers who use New York State roadways.
This legislation will provide those car and truck rental agencies with
a mechanism that sure those individuals who have been determined to be
ineligible to drive be kept from renting cars. This legislation is
extremely beneficial in that it allows all car and truck rental
agencies and their designated agents the ability to check driver
status without having to sacrifice this basic search in the name of
cost effectiveness.

It must be noted that only the driver status search will have no fee.
Car and truck rental agencies and their designated agents can still
pay the $7 fee do a full record search for legitimate business risk
assessment reasons if they desire. The free search will be strictly
limited to driver status only. It should also be noted that there will
be no negative affect on revenue. This driver status search should be
considered a new mechanism to ensure that drivers are eligible to
operate the vehicle they are renting.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :


 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately.