NY State Senate Bill 2015-S7829

Senate Bill S7829

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Authorizes the seizure and impoundment of all terrain vehicles and off-highway motorcycles operated in violation of the vehicle and traffic law in a city having a population of one million or more

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation 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
May 12, 2016	referred to transportation

2015-S7829 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A9790
Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §424, add §§424-a & 2414, V & T L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: A6172
2019-2020: A2210
2021-2022: A6094

2015-S7829 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes the seizure and impoundment of all terrain vehicles and off-highway motorcycles operated in violation of the vehicle and traffic law in a city having a population of one million or more.

2015-S7829 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7829

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in
relation to authorizing the seizure and impoundment of all terrain
vehicles and off-highway motorcycles operated in violation of the
provisions of such law in a city having a population of one million or
more

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

To authorize the seizure and impoundment of all terrain vehicles and
off-highway motorcycles operated in violation of the vehicle and
traffic law in a city having a population of one million or more.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Section 424 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law is amended to include all
terrain vehicles within the definition of impoundment.

Section 424 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law is amended to authorize
police officers or peace officers acting pursuant to his or her
special duties the power to seize any all terrain vehicle or
off-highway motorcycle when such vehicle is in violation of title
seven or eleven of this chapter in a city having a population of one
million or more.

The Vehicle and Traffic law is amended by adding a new section 424-a:
Redemption and return of certain all terrain vehicles and off-highway
motorcycles.

The Vehicle and Traffic Law is amended by adding a new section 2414 to
define "seizure" of an all terrain vehicle in a city having a
population of one million or more. This new section shall also specify
the penalties for the owner of any all terrain vehicle or off-highway
motorcycle operated in violation of the provisions of this chapter.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Urban areas are characterized by the number of people within city
limits and the resulting population density which must be considered
when governing vehicle and traffic laws.

New York State is made great by our robust agricultural economy in
more rural areas which require alternative types of vehicles that can
handle all terrains and off-road travel. In an area like New York
City, with so many automobiles and people on our roadways, we must
restrict those vehicles intended for off-road use to the areas and
properties than can accommodate them.

All-terrain vehicles or off-highway motorcycles, such as dirt bikes,
are not typically equipped with the tire width, identifying plates,
light fixtures and other signal mechanics necessary to navigate-the
roadways of a highly populated and trafficked city and ultimately to
legally operate such vehicles for public road use. Additionally, the
very design of such vehicles allows- maneuvering that is especially
dangerous in high-traffic areas and these features (absence of a
license plate, limited or absent turn and break signals and small
tires that allow for weaving through high-traffic areas) assist in the
evasion of law enforcement.

Across the country, ATV deaths and injuries significantly affect
teenagers who are allowed to operate these off-road vehicles.
According to the 2012 Annual Report on ATV Death and Injuries
submitted by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, "In 2012,
there were an estimated 107,900 ATV-related, emergency
department-treated injuries in the United States. An estimated 26,500
(25 percent) of these were children younger than 16 years of age." In
New York State, over 60 deaths resulting from ATVs occurred between
2009 and 2012. New York State bans the use of these vehicles on public
roads with exceptions made for certain areas. New York City is an area
which requires more strict enforcement of the ban due to the deaths
and injuries occurring on our public roadways and the unavailability
of appropriate areas for these vehicles except for private property.

In order to reduce the dangers of and deaths resulting from operating
off-road vehicles on public roadways in high pedestrian and automobile
traffic areas, the seizure of such vehicles must discourage repeat
offenses or prevent the operation of such vehicles on the road. Law
enforcement must assume the costs to store and secure vehicles until
appropriate actions are taken with the owner to remedy the illegal use
of the vehicle, so fines are necessary not only as a penalty but for
the administration of the lawful seizure.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

None.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law.

2015-S7829 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  7829

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              May 12, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  KLEIN  -- 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  authorizing
  the  seizure  and  impoundment of all terrain vehicles and off-highway
  motorcycles operated in violation of the provisions of such law  in  a
  city having a population of one million or more

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

  Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 424 of the  vehi-
cle  and  traffic  law,  as added by chapter 114 of the laws of 1991, is
amended to read as follows:
  (b) For the purposes of this subdivision the term "impound"  shall  be
deemed  to  include the taking into possession by an agency of any motor
vehicle, ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE OR OFF-HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLE  which  has  been
abandoned,  repossessed,  seized  pending  forfeiture proceedings, taken
into custody or held as evidence in the  course  of  a  police  investi-
gation,  required to be impounded by law, or in any other way taken into
possession or held by an agency under circumstances in which  the  owner
may not reasonably have knowledge of the status of the vehicle.  Nothing
contained  herein  shall preclude a police department, which has taken a
vehicle into custody under these or other circumstances, from entering a
vehicle into the New York statewide police  information  network  as  an
impounded vehicle to facilitate location of the vehicle by its owner.
  S  2.  Subdivision 2 of section 424 of the vehicle and traffic law, as
amended by chapter 114 of the laws  of  1991,  is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  2.  (A) Any [policeman, state trooper] POLICE OFFICER or peace officer
acting pursuant to his OR HER special duties shall  have  the  power  to
seize  any  motor  vehicle  or  trailer  in the state when there is good
reason to believe that such motor vehicle or trailer  has  been  stolen.
Unless  the vehicle is subject to the provisions of section four hundred
twenty-three-a of this article, the appropriate agency shall contact the
owner of such motor vehicle or trailer, if known, and, after any  stolen
vehicle  alarm resulting from such theft has been cancelled, release the

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

                                                           LBD14911-01-6

S. 7829                             2

vehicle to such owner. If the owner thereof  cannot  be  ascertained  in
accordance with procedures established by regulations of the commission-
er,  a local police agency shall dispose of such vehicle as an abandoned
vehicle  pursuant to section twelve hundred twenty-four of this chapter,
and the DIVISION OF state police shall hold such vehicle for, or deliver
it to the office of general services.
  (B) ANY POLICE OFFICER OR PEACE OFFICER ACTING PURSUANT TO HIS OR  HER
SPECIAL  DUTIES SHALL HAVE THE POWER TO SEIZE ANY ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE OR
OFF-HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLE WHEN SUCH VEHICLE OR MOTORCYCLE WAS  OPERATED  IN
VIOLATION  OF  TITLE  SEVEN OR ELEVEN OF THIS CHAPTER IN A CITY HAVING A
POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE.
  S 3. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding  a  new  section
424-a to read as follows:
  S  424-A.  REDEMPTION  AND  RETURN OF CERTAIN ALL TERRAIN VEHICLES AND
OFF-HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLES.  1. UPON SEIZURE AND  IMPOUNDMENT  OF  ANY  ALL
TERRAIN  VEHICLE  OR OFF-HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLE PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (B) OF
SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR OF THIS ARTICLE, THE
POLICE DEPARTMENT SEIZING SUCH VEHICLE OR MOTORCYCLE  SHALL  NOTIFY  THE
OWNER  THEREOF, IF KNOWN, BY CERTIFIED MAIL, THAT HIS OR HER ALL TERRAIN
VEHICLE OR OFF-HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLE HAS BEEN SEIZED  BY  SUCH  DEPARTMENT.
SUCH  NOTIFICATION  SHALL INCLUDE A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SUCH VEHICLE OR
MOTORCYCLE, ITS VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER, THE OFFICE  AND  LOCATION
AT  WHICH  SUCH VEHICLE OR MOTORCYCLE MAY BE REDEEMED AND A STATEMENT OF
ALL CHARGES, FEES AND PENALTIES APPLICABLE TO THE  IMPOUNDMENT  THEREOF,
AND OF ALL FINES IMPOSED FOR THE ILLEGAL OPERATION THEREOF.
  2.  EXCEPT  AS  SPECIFICALLY OTHERWISE PROVIDED BY LAW, NO ALL TERRAIN
VEHICLE OR OFF-HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLE  SEIZED  AND  IMPOUNDED,  PURSUANT  TO
PARAGRAPH  (B) OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR OF
THIS ARTICLE, SHALL BE RELEASED BY THE ADMINISTRATIVE  TRIBUNAL  TO  THE
POSSESSION OF THE OWNER THEREOF UNTIL SUCH OWNER HAS:
  (A)  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL SATISFACTORY PROOF OF
IDENTITY AND OWNERSHIP INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED  TO,  THE  APPROPRIATE
REGISTRATION  FOR  THE  ALL  TERRAIN  VEHICLE ISSUED PURSUANT TO SECTION
TWENTY-TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY-FIVE  OR  THE  OFF-HIGHWAY  MOTORCYCLE  ISSUED
PURSUANT TO ARTICLE FIFTEEN OF THIS TITLE;
  (B)  PAID  THE  PREVAILING PENALTIES TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL OF
THE CITY THAT IMPOUNDED THE ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE OR OFF-HIGHWAY  MOTORCY-
CLE  PURSUANT  TO  SECTION TWENTY-FOUR HUNDRED FOURTEEN OF THIS CHAPTER;
AND
  (C) SUBMITTED PROOF TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL  THAT  THE  CHARGES
FOR VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS CHAPTER HAVE BEEN DISPOSED OF BY
THE  ADMINISTRATIVE  TRIBUNAL,  AND THAT ALL FINES AND PENALTIES ARISING
THEREFROM HAVE BEEN PAID IN FULL BY EITHER THE  OWNER  OR  OPERATOR,  OR
THAT  THE OWNER HAS POSTED A BOND OF SEVEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS
WITH SUCH BOARD AS SECURITY FOR PAYMENT OF ALL FINES AND PENALTIES ARIS-
ING OUT OF SUCH VIOLATIONS.
  3. THE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL,  IN  ITS  DISCRETION,  MAY  WAIVE  THE
REQUIREMENTS  OF  PARAGRAPH  (B) OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION WHEN
THE OWNER OF THE IMPOUNDED ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE OR OFF-HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLE
IS A BUSINESS ENGAGED IN THE RENTAL OR LEASE OF SUCH VEHICLES, AND  SUCH
OWNER  DID  NOT VIOLATE ANY PROVISION OF THIS CHAPTER WHICH WOULD NOT OR
DID NOT CAUSE THE SEIZURE OF THE  ALL  TERRAIN  VEHICLE  OR  OFF-HIGHWAY
MOTORCYCLE.
  4.  UPON  COMPLIANCE  WITH  THE  PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS
SECTION, THE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL SHALL ISSUE, TO THE OWNER OF AN ALL
TERRAIN VEHICLE OR OFF-HIGHWAY  MOTORCYCLE,  AN  ORDER  OF  RELEASE  AND

S. 7829                             3

REDEMPTION  WHICH  SHALL  BE  ACCEPTED BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND SUCH
DEPARTMENT SHALL SURRENDER SUCH VEHICLE OR MOTORCYCLE TO THE  POSSESSION
OF ITS OWNER.
  5.  IN  THE  EVENT THAT THE CHARGES FOR VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF
THIS CHAPTER WHICH RESULTED IN THE IMPOUNDMENT OF THE ALL TERRAIN  VEHI-
CLE  OR OFF-HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLE ARE DISMISSED, THE OWNER THEREOF SHALL BE
ENTITLED TO A REFUND OF ANY AND ALL FEES PAID TO THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT
AND  THE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL SHALL ISSUE AN ORDER PROVIDING FOR SUCH
REFUND.
  6. ANY ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE OR OFF-HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLE WHICH IS RELEASED
FOR REDEMPTION BY THE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL AND WHICH IS  NOT  REMOVED
BY  ITS  OWNER  WITHIN TEN DAYS OF SUCH RELEASE SHALL BE DEEMED TO BE AN
ABANDONED VEHICLE WHICH MAY BE DISPOSED OF IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH  SECTION
TWELVE HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR OF THIS CHAPTER.
  S  4.  The  vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section
2414 to read as follows:
  S 2414. SEIZURE AND PENALTIES; CITY HAVING A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION
OR MORE. 1. SEIZURE.  IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER PENALTY PROVIDED IN  THIS
CHAPTER,  ANY  ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE OR OFF-HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLE OPERATED IN
VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS CHAPTER WITHIN A CITY HAVING A POPU-
LATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE, SHALL BE SUBJECT TO SEIZURE AND  IMPOUND-
MENT  PURSUANT  TO  PARAGRAPH  (B)  OF  SUBDIVISION  TWO OF SECTION FOUR
HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR AND SECTION FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR-A OF THIS CHAP-
TER.
  2. PENALTIES. IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER PENALTY PROVIDED IN THIS  CHAP-
TER,  THE  OWNER  OF  ANY  ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE OR OFF-HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLE
OPERATED IN VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS CHAPTER, WITHIN  A  CITY
HAVING  A  POPULATION  OF  ONE  MILLION  OR  MORE, SHALL (A) FOR A FIRST
CONVICTION OF SUCH A VIOLATION, BE SUBJECT TO  A  FINE  OF  TWO  HUNDRED
FIFTY  DOLLARS AND IMPOUNDMENT OF THE ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE OR OFF-HIGHWAY
MOTORCYCLE FOR NOT MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED DAYS  AT  THE  EXPENSE  OF  THE
OWNER  THEREOF  AT  THE  TIME OF THE CONVICTION; AND (B) FOR A SECOND OR
SUBSEQUENT VIOLATION, WITHIN TWENTY-FOUR MONTHS OF A PREVIOUS CONVICTION
OF THE OPERATION OF AN ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE OR OFF-HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLE  IN
VIOLATION  OF  THIS CHAPTER OR ANY STATE OR LOCAL LAW, CODE OR ORDINANCE
RELATING TO ALL TERRAIN VEHICLES OR OFF-HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLES, BE  SUBJECT
TO  A  FINE  OF  FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS AND IMPOUNDMENT OF THE ALL TERRAIN
VEHICLE OR OFF-HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLE FOR A PERIOD OF  SIX  MONTHS,  AT  THE
EXPENSE OF THE OWNER THEREOF AT THE TIME OF THE CONVICTION.
  S  5. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become  a  law;  provided,  however,
that effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any
rule  or  regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its
effective date are authorized and directed to be made and  completed  on
or before such effective date.

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