Senate Bill S956

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S956

SPONSOR: YOUNG
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the transfer
of junk and salvage vehicles

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Establishes a 15-day waiting period for the transfer, destruction or
dismantling of junk and salvage vehicles for which the holder does not
possess a certificate of title

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends subdivision 2 of section 429 of the vehicle and traf-
fic law by adding new paragraph (d).

 
JUSTIFICATION:
              

When junk and salvage business entities are presented with vehicles
valued at less than $1,250 to be used for junk or scrap, a seller with-
out the vehicle's title may present an MV-35 Department of Motor Vehi-
cles form. If the vehicle is stolen, this form can be forged and used to
sell the vehicle without title. When the junk or scrap business entity
purchases the vehicle, they are required to submit the MV-35 form and
all related documents, including the seller's government issued iden-
tification, to the Department of Motor Vehicles within 15 days of the
transaction.

Because of this 15-day delay, criminals have a window to sell stolen
vehicles before the paperwork is on file and red flags can be raised by
the DMV.

Simply because a vehicle is valued at less than $1,250 does not mean it
is not of great value to its owner. Delaying the actual scrapping of the
vehicle until after the forms have been submitted to the DMV allows for
the potential recovery of a stolen vehicle that can be returned to its
owner.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017,2018: S.3946 Referred to Transportation
2015,2016: S.2770 Referred to Transportation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Undetermined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.