Senate Bill S2392

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S2392

SPONSOR: RITCHIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to expanding
the requirements for dealer exemption from the vehicle electronic reas-
signment and integrated facility inventory system

 
PURPOSE:

This act will allow smaller car dealers who sell fewer than 100 cars per
annum to opt out of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicle's
system for electronically tracking automobile dealers' sales of motor
vehicles in New York State, the Vehicle Electronic Reassignment and
Integrated Facility Inventory (VERIFI).

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 Amends the vehicle and traffic law by adding section 200-a
providing that no dealer shall be required to use VERIFI if a dealer
              

sells fewer than one hundred vehicles per year and meets the additional
exemption requirements, with an additional stipulation that the commis-
sioner shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement
this amendment

Section 2 States that this act will take place immediately

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Beginning in Mid-September of 2018, the New York State Department of
Motor Vehicles implemented the VERIFI program to replace a paper-based
system for Certificates of Sale (MV-50) to transfer ownership, record
current vehicle mileage and produce a temporary registration. Previous
to the implementation of VERIFI, MV-50s were printed on secure and seri-
alized paper and bound in groups of 50 into one book costing $250. To
receive a new book of MV-50s once their current one was spent, dealers
had to return the old book so the DMV could process a replacement order.
The DMV estimated that about 35,000 replacements were ordered each year.

The VERIFI program enables dealers to complete vehicle sales via an
electronic Certificate of Sale and replace the current paper-based Book
of Registry with an electronic inventory system.

Small dealerships, however, are adversely affected by this new system.
These smaller businesses operate without the use of computers and the
internet, with some operating in areas where highspeed internet is not
even an option. VERIFI places an undue economic stress on these smaller
dealerships by requiring increased business costs on their internet
capabilities, and, in some cases, requires certain standards that cannot
physically be met. This bill would allow for smaller dealerships to
opt-out of the program, qualifying by the number of vehicles sold per
annum.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The act shall take effect immediately