Senate Bill S9737A

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  9737--A
     Cal. No. 1299
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               April 2, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. KAVANAGH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Consumer  Protection  --
   reported  favorably  from  said committee, ordered to first and second
   report, ordered to a third reading,  amended  and  ordered  reprinted,
   retaining its place in the order of third reading

 AN ACT to amend the public authorities law and the general business law,
   in  relation to prohibiting rental vehicle companies from imposing any
   fees, charges or penalties, other than the actual cost of a  toll,  on
   an authorized driver for such driver's use of a rental vehicle
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Article 9 of the  public  authorities  law  is  amended  by
 adding a new title 11-A to read as follows:
 
                                TITLE 11-A
                              TOLL COLLECTION
 
   §  2.  Sections 2985 and 2985-a of the public authorities are redesig-
 nated to title 11-A of article 9 of the public authorities law, as added
 by section one of this act.
   § 3. Subdivision 10 of section 2985 of the public authorities law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  666  of  the  laws  of 1993, is amended to read as
 follows:
   10. An owner who is a lessor of a vehicle to which a notice of liabil-
 ity was issued pursuant to subdivision seven of this section  shall  not
 be  liable  for the violation of the toll collection regulation provided
 that [he or she] SUCH OWNER sends to the public  authority  serving  the
 notice of liability and to the court or other entity having jurisdiction
 a  copy  of the [rental,] lease or other such contract document covering
 such vehicle on the date of the violation, with the name and address  of
 the  lessee  clearly  legible,  within  thirty  days after receiving the
 original notice of liability. Failure to send  such  information  within
 such  thirty  day  time  period  shall  render the lessor liable for the
 penalty prescribed by this section. Where the lessor complies  with  the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06144-03-6
 S. 9737--A                          2
 
 provisions  of  this subdivision, the lessee of such vehicle on the date
 of such violation shall be deemed to be the owner of  such  vehicle  for
 purposes  of  this  section  and  shall  be subject to liability for the
 violation  of  toll  collection  regulations,  provided  that the public
 authority mails a notice of liability to  the  lessee  within  ten  days
 after  the  court, or other entity having jurisdiction, deems the lessee
 to be the owner. For purposes of  this  subdivision  the  term  "lessor"
 shall  mean  any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency, associ-
 ation or organization engaged in the business of  [renting  or]  leasing
 vehicles  to  any  lessee under a [rental agreement,] lease or otherwise
 wherein the said lessee has the exclusive use of said  vehicle  for  any
 period  of  time, PROVIDED HOWEVER THAT "LESSOR" SHALL NOT MEAN A RENTAL
 VEHICLE COMPANY AS DEFINED  IN  PARAGRAPH  (C)  OF  SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF
 SECTION  THREE  HUNDRED  NINETY-SIX-Z  OF  THE GENERAL BUSINESS LAW. For
 purposes of this subdivision, the term "lessee" shall mean  any  person,
 corporation, firm, partnership, agency, association or organization that
 [rents,] leases or contracts for the use of one or more vehicles and has
 exclusive  use  thereof  for  any  period of time, PROVIDED HOWEVER THAT
 "LESSEE" SHALL NOT MEAN A RENTER AS DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH (E) OF SUBDIVI-
 SION ONE OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED NINETY-SIX-Z OF THE  GENERAL  BUSINESS
 LAW.
   §  4. Section 396-z of the general business law is amended by adding a
 new subdivision 13-b to read as follows:
   13-B. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF  LAW,  A  RENTAL  VEHICLE
 COMPANY  SHALL  COLLECT  ANY TOLL INCURRED BY A DRIVER'S USE OF A RENTAL
 VEHICLE THROUGH A TOLL COLLECTION FACILITY THAT UTILIZES  AN  ELECTRONIC
 TOLL COLLECTION SYSTEM, AS DEFINED IN SECTION TWENTY-NINE HUNDRED EIGHT-
 Y-FIVE  OF  THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES LAW, OR A PHOTO-MONITORING SYSTEM FOR
 THE PAYMENT OF TOLLS, AND SHALL REMIT ALL SUCH  TOLLS  TO  THE  RELEVANT
 PUBLIC  AUTHORITY. A RENTAL CAR COMPANY SHALL NOT IMPOSE ON A RENTER ANY
 FEES, CHARGES, OR PENALTIES IN CONNECTION WITH COLLECTING AND  REMITTING
 A TOLL, OTHER THAN THE ACTUAL COST OF A TOLL.
   §  5.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
 have become a law; provided that the amendments to section 396-z of  the
 general  business law made by section four of this act shall survive the
 expiration and reversion of such section as provided  in  section  4  of
 chapter 109 of the laws of 2018, as amended.