S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
8051
I N S E N A T E
June 8, 2016
___________
Introduced by Sen. VENDITTO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to mandatory
testing in the event of a motor vehicle collision resulting in injury
or death
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Ruby's Law".
S 2. Subdivision 1 of section 603-a of the vehicle and traffic law, as
added by chapter 408 of the laws of 2001, is amended to read as follows:
1. In addition to the requirements of section six hundred three of
this article, whenever a motor vehicle accident results in serious phys-
ical injury or death to a person, and such accident either is discovered
by a police officer, or reported to a police officer within five days
after such accident occurred, the police shall conduct an investigation
of such accident.
(A) Such investigation shall be conducted for the purposes of making a
determination of the following: the facts and circumstances of the acci-
dent; the type or types of vehicles involved, including passenger motor
vehicles, commercial motor vehicles, motorcycles, limited use motorcy-
cles, off-highway motorcycles, and/or bicycles; whether pedestrians were
involved; the contributing factor or factors; whether it can be deter-
mined if a violation or violations of this chapter occurred, and if so,
the specific provisions of this chapter which were violated and by whom;
and, the cause of such accident, where such cause can be determined.
(B) WHEN PRESENT AT THE SCENE OF SUCH ACCIDENT, THE INVESTIGATING
OFFICER SHALL ALSO REQUEST THAT ALL OPERATORS OF MOTOR VEHICLES INVOLVED
IN SUCH ACCIDENT SUBMIT TO A FIELD SOBRIETY TEST AS DEFINED IN SECTION
ELEVEN HUNDRED NINETY-FOUR OF THIS CHAPTER PROVIDED THERE ARE REASONABLE
GROUNDS TO BELIEVE SUCH MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATOR COMMITTED A SERIOUS TRAF-
FIC VIOLATION IN THE SAME ACCIDENT. UPON REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO SUCH TEST-
ING, SUCH PERSON SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION ELEVEN
HUNDRED NINETY-FOUR OF THIS CHAPTER. THE RESULTS OF SUCH FIELD SOBRIETY
AND CHEMICAL TESTS OR REFUSALS OF SUCH TESTS SHALL BE INCLUDED IN THE
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11382-01-5
S. 8051 2
POLICE INVESTIGATION REPORT. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, "SERIOUS
TRAFFIC VIOLATION" SHALL MEAN OPERATING A MOTOR VEHICLE IN VIOLATION OF
ANY OF THE FOLLOWING PROVISIONS OF THIS CHAPTER: ARTICLES TWENTY-THREE,
TWENTY-FOUR, TWENTY-FIVE, TWENTY-SIX, TWENTY-EIGHT, TWENTY-NINE AND
THIRTY AND SECTIONS FIVE HUNDRED ELEVEN, SIX HUNDRED AND TWELVE HUNDRED
TWELVE.
(C) The police shall forward a copy of the investigation report to the
commissioner within five business days of the completion of such report.
S 3. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivision 2 of section 1194 of the
vehicle and traffic law, paragraph (b) as amended by chapter 196 of the
laws of 1996 and paragraph (c) as added by chapter 47 of the laws of
1988, are amended to read as follows:
(b) Report of refusal. (1) If: (A) such person having been placed
under arrest OR HAVING DRIVEN A VEHICLE INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT RESULT-
ING IN SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY TO, OR THE DEATH OF, ANOTHER PERSON AND,
PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (B) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION SIX HUNDRED
THREE-A OF THIS CHAPTER, THERE ARE REASONABLE GROUNDS TO BELIEVE SUCH
PERSON HAS COMMITTED A SERIOUS TRAFFIC VIOLATION AS DEFINED BY SUCH
PARAGRAPH; or (B) after a breath test indicates the presence of alcohol
in the person's system; or (C) with regard to a person under the age of
twenty-one, there are reasonable grounds to believe that such person has
been operating a motor vehicle after having consumed alcohol in
violation of section eleven hundred ninety-two-a of this article; and
having thereafter been requested to submit to such chemical test and
having been informed that the person's license or permit to drive and
any non-resident operating privilege shall be immediately suspended and
subsequently revoked, or, for operators under the age of twenty-one for
whom there are reasonable grounds to believe that such operator has been
operating a motor vehicle after having consumed alcohol in violation of
section eleven hundred ninety-two-a of this article, shall be revoked
for refusal to submit to such chemical test or any portion thereof,
whether or not the person is found guilty of the charge for which such
person is arrested or detained, refuses to submit to such chemical test
or any portion thereof, unless a court order has been granted pursuant
to subdivision three of this section, the test shall not be given and a
written report of such refusal shall be immediately made by the police
officer before whom such refusal was made. Such report may be verified
by having the report sworn to, or by affixing to such report a form
notice that false statements made therein are punishable as a class A
misdemeanor pursuant to section 210.45 of the penal law and such form
notice together with the subscription of the deponent shall constitute a
verification of the report.
(2) The report of the police officer shall set forth reasonable
grounds to believe such arrested person or such detained person under
the age of twenty-one had been driving in violation of any subdivision
of section eleven hundred ninety-two or eleven hundred ninety-two-a of
this article, that said person had refused to submit to such chemical
test, and that no chemical test was administered pursuant to the
requirements of subdivision three of this section. The report shall be
presented to the court upon arraignment of an arrested person OR A
PERSON ARRESTED OR ISSUED AN APPEARANCE TICKET FOR A SERIOUS TRAFFIC
VIOLATION COMMITTED IN THE SAME ACCIDENT BEING INVESTIGATED PURSUANT TO
PARAGRAPH (B) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION SIX HUNDRED THREE-A OF THIS
CHAPTER, provided, however, in the case of a person under the age of
twenty-one, for whom a test was authorized pursuant to the provisions of
subparagraph two or three of paragraph (a) of this subdivision, and who
S. 8051 3
has not been placed under arrest for a violation of any of the
provisions of section eleven hundred ninety-two of this article, such
report shall be forwarded to the commissioner within forty-eight hours
in a manner to be prescribed by the commissioner, and all subsequent
proceedings with regard to refusal to submit to such chemical test by
such person shall be as set forth in subdivision three of section eleven
hundred ninety-four-a of this article.
(3) For persons placed under arrest for a violation of any subdivision
of section eleven hundred ninety-two of this article OR PLACED UNDER
ARREST OR ISSUED AN APPEARANCE TICKET FOR A SERIOUS TRAFFIC VIOLATION
COMMITTED IN THE SAME ACCIDENT BEING INVESTIGATED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH
(B) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION SIX HUNDRED THREE-A OF THIS CHAPTER,
the license or permit to drive and any non-resident operating privilege
shall, upon the basis of such written report, be temporarily suspended
by the court without notice pending the determination of a hearing as
provided in paragraph (c) of this subdivision. Copies of such report
must be transmitted by the court to the commissioner and such transmit-
tal may not be waived even with the consent of all the parties. Such
report shall be forwarded to the commissioner within forty-eight hours
of such arraignment.
(4) The court or the police officer, in the case of a person under the
age of twenty-one alleged to be driving after having consumed alcohol,
shall provide such person with a scheduled hearing date, a waiver form,
and such other information as may be required by the commissioner. If a
hearing, as provided for in paragraph (c) of this subdivision, or subdi-
vision three of section eleven hundred ninety-four-a of this article, is
waived by such person, the commissioner shall immediately revoke the
license, permit, or non-resident operating privilege, as of the date of
receipt of such waiver in accordance with the provisions of paragraph
(d) of this subdivision.
(c) Hearings. Any person whose license or permit to drive or any non-
resident driving privilege has been suspended pursuant to paragraph (b)
of this subdivision is entitled to a hearing in accordance with a hear-
ing schedule to be promulgated by the commissioner. If the department
fails to provide for such hearing fifteen days after the date of the
arraignment of the arrested person, the license, permit to drive or
non-resident operating privilege of such person shall be reinstated
pending a hearing pursuant to this section. The hearing shall be limited
to the following issues: (1) did the police officer have reasonable
grounds to believe that such person had been driving in violation of any
subdivision of section eleven hundred ninety-two of this article OR WAS
DRIVING A VEHICLE INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT BEING INVESTIGATED PURSUANT TO
PARAGRAPH (B) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION SIX HUNDRED THREE-A OF THIS
CHAPTER; (2) did the police officer make a lawful arrest of such person
OR ISSUE A LAWFUL APPEARANCE TICKET TO, OR MAKE A LAWFUL ARREST OF, SUCH
PERSON FOR A SERIOUS TRAFFIC VIOLATION COMMITTED IN THE SAME ACCIDENT
BEING INVESTIGATED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (B) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF
SECTION SIX HUNDRED THREE-A OF THIS CHAPTER; (3) was such person given
sufficient warning, in clear or unequivocal language, prior to such
refusal that such refusal to submit to such chemical test or any portion
thereof, would result in the immediate suspension and subsequent revoca-
tion of such person's license or operating privilege whether or not such
person is found guilty of the charge for which the arrest was made OR
THE APPEARANCE TICKET WAS ISSUED; and (4) did such person refuse to
submit to such chemical test or any portion thereof. If, after such
hearing, the hearing officer, acting on behalf of the commissioner,
S. 8051 4
finds on any one of said issues in the negative, the hearing officer
shall immediately terminate any suspension arising from such refusal.
If, after such hearing, the hearing officer, acting on behalf of the
commissioner finds all of the issues in the affirmative, such officer
shall immediately revoke the license or permit to drive or any non-resi-
dent operating privilege in accordance with the provisions of paragraph
(d) of this subdivision. A person who has had a license or permit to
drive or non-resident operating privilege suspended or revoked pursuant
to this subdivision may appeal the findings of the hearing officer in
accordance with the provisions of article three-A of this chapter. Any
person may waive the right to a hearing under this section. Failure by
such person to appear for the scheduled hearing shall constitute a waiv-
er of such hearing, provided, however, that such person may petition the
commissioner for a new hearing which shall be held as soon as practica-
ble.
S 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
have become a law.
