BILL NUMBER: S7905A
SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public authorities law and the vehicle and traffic
law, in relation to enforcement of toll collection regulations and
license plate violations
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL::
To allow for improved enforcement of toll violation laws and provide
public authorities more effective tools to crack down on ghost plate
toll evasion
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS::
Section 1 of this bill amends Section 2985 of the Public Authorities Law
(PAL) to establish that a conviction for obscuring a license plate three
or more times within a five-year period shall be deemed a conviction of
an operator and shall be made a part of the motor vehicle operating
record, so that points can accrue on a driver's license record and
information about convictions can be shared with insurance companies.
Section 2 amends Section 510 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) which
currently allows the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to suspend vehicle
registrations for three or more convictions within a five-year period
for obscuring a license plate. The bill would amend the 90-day expira-
tion date for these ghost plate vehicle suspensions, so that registra-
tion suspension would be lifted only when the recidivist offender
responds to the notices of liability and pays the outstanding tolls,
fees, or other charges.
Section 3 amends Section 401 of VTL to establish that no one except a
bona fide purchaser in an arms length transaction is allowed to register
or re-register vehicles with a ghost plate vehicle registration suspen-
sion, closing a loophole by which ghost plate offenders will immediately
re-register their vehicles in their spouses names to circumvent the
DMV's block.
Section 4 amends Section 402-b of VTL to allow for the seizure and
in-person confiscation of plate coverings. This will replace the current
system by which peace officers can issue a summons for an illegal plate
covering but cannot actually remove the illegal material covering the
plate.
Section 5 amends Section 2855 of PAL to provide that a tolling authority
may impose no fee or administrative charge for the late payment of a
toll valued at $200 or less beyond the actual cost to impose the charge
and process the payment. Tolling authorities must update their fee waiv-
er policies on their websites.
Section 6 amends Section 2985 of the Public Authorities Law to explicit-
ly establish that vehicle immobilization is included in tolling authori-
ties' judgment enforcement. Currently only the New York City or a local
county sheriff can enforce against vehicle judgments by seizing a vehi-
cle, not the public authorities themselves to whom the tolls are owed.
This section would allow the tolling authorities' police departments,
such as MTA PD, to boot vehicles upon which they have already issued a
judgment. Tolling authorities would not be able to enforce judgments
against vehicles for unpaid liabilities totaling $200 or less over the
past five years however.
This section also allows tollpayers to designate an agent, such as an
attorney or elected official, in writing to dispute or resolve a toll on
their behalf with a tolling authority's customer service center or the
Office of the Toll Payer Advocate. This section would also waive all
violation fees for unpaid tolls for vehicles about to enter into judg-
ment for a period of six months from the effective date of the bill.
For other drivers, for tolls valued at $100 or less, fees cannot exceed
twice the amount of the toll charged for a 90 day period. Fees cannot
exceed three times the amount of the toll charged for an additional 90
day period.
Section 7 amends Section 2985-a of the PAL to require tolling authori-
ties to include the process for designating an agent to resolve a toll
on a vehicle owner's behalf in all toll bills.
Section 8 of this bill requires all public authorities operating cash-
less tolling facilities to promulgate a report to be delivered to the
Governor and legislature on billing disputes, how they were resolved,
and an explanation of steps taken to prevent similar future issues with-
in 270 days of the effective date of the bill.
Section 9 of this bill sets an immediate effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION::
The FY25 Enacted Budget included new tools to fight toll evasion on MTA
bridge and tunnel facilities. These included prohibitions against cover-
ing license plates, the sale of so-called "ghost plates," fines for
using plate covering devices, potential registration suspensions, and
the ability for MTA to enter judgments for unpaid toll violations.
However, persistent toll violators continue to seek and find loopholes
in these laws, and it is now clear that further changes to the law are
needed. Without the ability to confiscate license plate coverings, for
example, toll violators are empowered to drive off and continue avoiding
tolls. Violators have realized that re-registering their vehicles under
a family member's name allows them to continue driving even after a DMV
suspension should have stopped them. And existing authorized authorities
can't keep up with enforcing the quantity of judgments that are entered
for persistent toll violators - rendering an otherwise meaningful
enforcement tool essentially toothless.
Improved enforcement methods are crucial to maintain efficient oper-
ations, ensure safety, and protect public revenues. Tolls that are not
collected represent fewer resources available for the MTA's subway, bus,
and commuter railroad services. These resources could help pay for crit-
ical capital investments like accessibility improvements, station reno-
vations, and modern signal systems.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::
2025: Referred to Transportation
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS::
TBD
 
EFFECTIVE DATE::
Immediate

Statutes affected:
S7905: 2985 public authorities law, 2985(6) public authorities law, 510 vehicle and traffic law, 510(4-h) vehicle and traffic law, 401 vehicle and traffic law, 401(5-a) vehicle and traffic law, 402-b vehicle and traffic law, 402-b(2) vehicle and traffic law, 2985(8) public authorities law, 165.15 penal law, 165.15(3) penal law, 5230 civil practice law, 184 lien law, 184(1) lien law
S7905A: 2985 public authorities law, 2985(6) public authorities law, 510 vehicle and traffic law, 510(4-h) vehicle and traffic law, 401 vehicle and traffic law, 401(5-a) vehicle and traffic law, 402-b vehicle and traffic law, 402-b(2) vehicle and traffic law, 2855 public authorities law, 2985(8) public authorities law