Senate Bill S7405

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

                                  7405

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             April 27, 2016
                               ___________

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

AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to  prohibiting
  the  issuance of late fees prior to a finding of liability for a park-
  ing violation; and repealing certain provisions of such  law  relating
  thereto

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

  Section 1. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 235 of the  vehicle
and traffic law, as amended by section 18 of part J of chapter 62 of the
laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
  a.  Notice.  (1)  Whenever  a  city issues a notice of violation for a
parking violation, it shall be served in the manner prescribed by subdi-
vision two of section two hundred thirty-eight of this article.
  (2) Whenever a person has been issued a  notice  of  violation  for  a
parking  violation  and has not responded in the manner described in the
notice, a city shall give the owner a second notice of the violation  by
regular first class mail: (i) within forty days of issuance of the first
notice of violation for a parking violation where the vehicle is a vehi-
cle  registered  in this state; or (ii) within forty days of the receipt
by such city of the name and address of the owner of the  vehicle  where
the  vehicle  is  a  vehicle  registered in any other state. Such second
notice shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:
  (A) that the owner has a period of twenty days from  issuance  of  the
second notice in which to respond to the notice of violation for a park-
ing violation;
  (B)  that  failure to respond to the notice of violation for a parking
violation may result in the suspension and non-renewal  of  the  owner's
registration;
  (C)  [that failure to respond to the notice of violation for a parking
violation may subject the owner to additional penalties as  provided  in
paragraph b of this subdivision;
  (D)]  that failure to respond to the notice of violation for a parking
violation shall subject the owner to a default judgment as  provided  in

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD13773-02-6

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paragraph  [c]  B  of  this  subdivision  [and  the additional penalties
imposed upon parking violations pursuant to paragraph b of this subdivi-
sion]; and
  [(E)] (D) that submission of a plea of guilty to the parking violation
makes  the  owner  liable for payment of the stated fine [and additional
penalties imposed pursuant to paragraph b of this subdivision]  and  the
mandatory  surcharge  of fifteen dollars imposed upon parking violations
pursuant to section eighteen hundred nine-a of this chapter.
  (1) Upon written application of the chief  executive  officer  of  any
such  city,  the  commissioner may authorize for a specified time period
the use of a notice mailer form that does not contain all  the  informa-
tion set forth in this subdivision but which was used by such city on or
before the effective date of this section.
  (2)  In  addition,  the  commissioner  may suspend for a period not to
exceed one year from the effective date of this section  the  provisions
of  this  subdivision  requiring  that  a  second notice of violation be
served within forty days of issuance of the first notice  of  a  parking
violation,  upon  written  application of the chief executive officer of
any such city demonstrating that immediate  imposition  of  such  notice
requirement  will cause substantial financial hardship to such city, and
setting forth the steps to be taken by such city to  achieve  compliance
with  the notice requirements of this subdivision at the end of such one
hundred eighty day period. Upon granting such application,  the  commis-
sioner  shall  specify a period, not to exceed seventy-five days, within
which such second notice must be served, and  shall  adjust  accordingly
the time periods set forth in paragraph b of this subdivision to provide
that  the additional penalties set forth in such subdivision will not be
imposed prior to the stated number of days  from  the  service  of  such
notice.
  S 2. Paragraphs b, b-1, b-2 and b-3 of subdivision 2 of section 235 of
the  vehicle and traffic law are REPEALED and paragraph c of subdivision
2 is relettered paragraph b.
  S 3. Subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (c) of subdivision 2-a of section
238 of the vehicle and traffic law, as added by chapter 409 of the  laws
of 2001, is amended to read as follows:
  (iii)  Upon  a  finding  by a hearing examiner that the dismissal of a
charged parking violation has been procured due to  the  knowing  fraud,
false  testimony, misrepresentation, or other misconduct, or the knowing
alteration of a notice of parking violation, by the person so charged or
his or her agent, employee, or representative, the  dismissal  shall  be
set  aside  and a determination may be rendered against the owner on the
charged parking violation. The  hearing  examiner  may  impose  monetary
penalties  for  the  charged  parking violation of up to three times the
scheduled fine for the violation [and three times the additional  penal-
ties that may be imposed for failure to respond to a notice of violation
pursuant  to  section  two  hundred  thirty-five  of this article.   For
purposes of determining the amount of  such  additional  penalties,  the
hearing  examiner  shall  disregard the plea that procured the dismissal
that has been set aside and shall calculate such penalties as  if  there
had  been  no  plea  or appearance in the proceeding]. In any proceeding
under this paragraph to set aside a determination and to  impose  penal-
ties  for the violation, it shall not be necessary for the hearing exam-
iner to find that the owner personally committed the unlawful acts  that
procured the dismissal of the violation.
  S  4.  The  vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section
238-a to read as follows:

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  S 238-A. PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN LATE FEES. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY  INCON-
SISTENT PROVISION OF THIS ARTICLE, OR ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, OR LOCAL LAW
OR ADMINISTRATIVE CODE TO THE CONTRARY, AN OWNER SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO
ADDITIONAL PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO RESPOND TO A NOTICE OF VIOLATION BUT
ONLY,  IN THE EVENT SUCH OWNER IS FOUND LIABLE FOR SUCH VIOLATION, FAIL-
URE TO PAY THE IMPOSED FINE IN A TIMELY FASHION.
  S 5. This act shall take effect immediately,  provided,  however  that
the  amendments to subdivision 2 of section 235 of the vehicle and traf-
fic law made by sections one and two of this act, shall not  affect  the
expiration of such subdivision and shall be deemed to expire therewith.