BILL NUMBER: S492B
SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public authorities law, in relation to enacting the
"toll payer protection act"; and to repeal certain provisions of such
law relating thereto
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would establish in law a tolls by mail program to improve the
process for notifying drivers about tolls and fines incurred; to ensure
that fines are fair; and
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill establishes that this act shall be cited as "the
toll payer protection act."
Section 2 amends subdivisions 3, 4, and 5 of section 3985 of the public
authorities law and adds a new subdivisions 4-a and 5-a:
3. Definitions.
4. Owner liability. 4-a. Requires the PSC to establish and adopt guide-
lines for timely and accurate notice.
5. Toll bills and notices of violation, including timeframes, notice
requirements, and electronic notice options. 5-a. Amends previous subdi-
vision 5 involving penalties to subdivision 5-a.
Section 3 repeals subdivisions 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of section 2985 of
the public authorities law and adds four new subdivisions 7, 8, 9, and
10
7. Procedure to contest, including the establishment of a procedure to
contest alleged liability including a hearing and a right to appeal.
This information shall be included in every toll bill and notice of
violation.
8. Adjudication of liability.
9. Defenses.
10. Indemnification.
Section 4 repeals subdivision 12 of section 2985 of the public authori-
ties law and renumbers subdivisions 13 and 14 to subdivisions 11 and 12.
Section 5 amends newly renumbered subdivision 42 of section 2985 of the
public authorities law 12. Data protection.
Section 6 adds new subdivisions 13, 14, and 15 to section 2985 of the
public authorities law.
13. Debt collection, including a prohibition of tolling authorities'
ability to sell or transfer an owner's debt to a debt collection agency
unless one year has passed.from when the owner was found liable or the
owner has a total debt owed to the authority of one thousand dollars or
more.
14. Installment payment plan.
15. Annual report.
Section 7 provides for the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Over the last few years, New York State has been implementing a system
of cashless tolling (E-ZPass) on its bridges, tunnels and roadways.
While such a system has many benefits, including decreasing traffic
congestion and increasing efficiency, many serious problems have arisen.
The cashless toll system has caused confusion among many drivers.
Notice of toll fees mailed (Tolls by Mail) to drivers without E-ZPass
often take several weeks to arrive, and in many instances, are not
received at all. All too often owners who do not receive the Tolls by
Mail notice of fees end up incurring significant late fees and fines.
In addition, the instances of inconsistent or unexplained fees have also
occurred. Even more concerning, some owners have had their car registra-
tions suspended, been stopped on the road, had their cars seized and
have been left stranded due to alleged unpaid Tolls by Mail fees. This
Toll Payer Protection Act would help alleviate these problems and lessen
unnecessary and excessive late fees by establishing a clear and fair
process of notification of Tolls by Mail. Additionally, this bill would
establish appropriate penalties for nonpayment of toll fees.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2022: Similar bill 53587C passed both houses, Vetoed 109.
2019:.A7567A passed assembly, same as S6113A (Carlucci) passed senate,
vetoed 12/13/19 memo 201;
2018: A.9.805-A (Abinanti) - Vetoed 341
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Undetermined.

Statutes affected:
S492A: 402 vehicle and traffic law, 402(8) vehicle and traffic law, 510 vehicle and traffic law
S492B: 2985 public authorities law