| Date of Action |
Assembly Actions -
Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE |
|---|---|
| Feb 21, 2025 |
referred to transportation |
Senate Bill S5490
2025-2026 Legislative Session
Sponsored By
(R) 43rd Senate District
Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee
Actions
2025-S5490 (ACTIVE) - Details
- Current Committee:
- Senate Transportation
- Law Section:
- Vehicle and Traffic Law
- Laws Affected:
- Amd §504, V & T L
- Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:
-
S7613
2025-S5490 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo
BILL NUMBER: S5490
SPONSOR: ASHBY
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to allowing
persons in recovery to have a distinguishing mark printed on their driv-
er's license for cases of medical emergencies
PURPOSE:
To provide an optional mechanism for medical emergencies, whereby a
person could be identified as a person in some form of drug or alcohol
recovery on their licenses.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 would amend section 504 of the vehicle and traffic law by
adding paragraph(a-2), which would allow a person the option to add a
distinguishing mark on their licenses to identify as a person in recov-
ery. The distinguishing mark would be a simple "R" for Recovery, similar
to the "Veteran" that a Veteran may choose to put on their license.
2025-S5490 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
5490
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
February 21, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. ASHBY -- 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 allowing
persons in recovery to have a distinguishing mark printed on their
driver's license for cases of medical emergencies
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 504 of the vehicle and traffic law
is amended by adding a new paragraph (a-2) to read as follows:
(A-2) EVERY LICENSE OR RENEWAL THEREOF ISSUED TO AN APPLICANT WHO OPTS
TO DISTINGUISH AS A PERSON IN RECOVERY SHALL, UPON THE APPLICANT'S
REQUEST AND SUBMISSION OF AN APPLICATION FOR RENEWAL OR ISSUANCE OF SUCH
LICENSE, CONTAIN A DISTINGUISHING MARK OF "R" INDICATING THAT THE APPLI-
CANT IS A PERSON IN RECOVERY. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL NOT REQUIRE FEES
FOR THE ISSUANCE OF SUCH LICENSES OR RENEWALS THEREOF TO PERSONS
REQUESTING AN "R" DISTINGUISHING MARK WHICH ARE DIFFERENT FROM FEES
OTHERWISE REQUIRED. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, A "PERSON IN
RECOVERY" SHALL MEAN ANY PERSON WHO WOULD LIKE THEIR LICENSE TO SPECIFY
FOR CASES OF MEDICAL EMERGENCIES THAT SUCH PERSON IS IN SOME FORM OF
DRUG OR ALCOHOL RECOVERY.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02995-01-5
Comments
Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.
Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.
Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.