Permits the suspension of a license or driving privilege for failure to answer a summons for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs; prohibits the reduction or waiving of fines or mandatory surcharges imposed for a violation of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8923
SPONSOR: Hunter TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to suspension
of a license for failure to pay a fine for impaired driving violations
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Clarifies that a driver's license can be suspended for fail-
ure to pay a fine for any impaired driving offense, including VTL §
1192(1).
Section 2: Excludes the mandatory fines and surcharges imposed for
impaired driving offenses from the provision that permits the waiver of
fines imposed for traffic infractions.
Section 3: Establishes the effective date
JUSTIFICATION:
Chapters 382 of the Laws of 2020 and 76 of the Laws of 2021 made some
important fundamental policy changes by encouraging the use of payment
plans for the payment of fines imposed for traffic violations and elimi-
nating the use of license suspension as a tool to leverage payments.
Section 1197 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law established the NYS STOP-DWI
Program (Chapters 910 and 913 of the Laws 1981) which had two core
components: the establishment of a mandatory fine scheme, and the trans-
mission of any such fines to the county of conviction if such county
established a STOP-DWI Program charged with establishing a comprehen-
sive, locally-based plan designed specifically to reduce the incidence
of alcohol and other drug-related crashes. This became the nation's
first offender-funded program to attack the pervasive dangers presented
by impaired drivers. In the first 10 years of the Program, the likeli-
hood of being killed by an impaired driver was reduced by almost 70%.
The purpose of this legislation is to reconcile these two laws by making
clear that fines imposed from impaired drivers at any level should be
imposed and collected in accordance with the provisions of
Section 1197. The amendments do not, however, impair the provision of
the 2020 Chapter that encourages the use of payment plans for the
payment of all fines and surcharges, including those imposed for
impaired driving offenses.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it becomes a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8923
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
July 16, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HUNTER -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to suspension
of a license for failure to pay a fine for impaired driving violations
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The subdivision heading and paragraph (a) of subdivision
2 4-a of section 510 of the vehicle and traffic law, the subdivision head-
3 ing as amended by chapter 76 of the laws of 2021, and paragraph (a) as
4 amended by chapter 713 of the laws of 2021, are amended to read as
5 follows:
6 Suspension for failure to answer an appearance ticket or pay a certain
7 fine. (a) Upon receipt of a court notification of the failure of a
8 person to appear within sixty days of the return date or new subsequent
9 adjourned date, pursuant to an appearance ticket charging said person
10 with a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter (except one
11 for parking, stopping, or standing) or for failure to pay a fine imposed
12 pursuant to section eleven hundred ninety-three of this chapter for a
13 violation of section eleven hundred ninety-two of this chapter, of any
14 violation of the tax law or of the transportation law regulating traffic
15 or of any lawful ordinance or regulation made by a local or public
16 authority, relating to traffic (except one for parking, stopping, or
17 standing) the commissioner or [his or her] the agent of such commission-
18 er may suspend the driver's license or privileges of such person pending
19 receipt of notice from the court that such person has appeared in
20 response to such appearance ticket or has paid or has entered into an
21 installment payment plan to pay the fine associated with a conviction
22 entered as a result of the failure to appear in response to such appear-
23 ance ticket or imposed pursuant to section eleven hundred ninety-three
24 of this chapter for a violation of section eleven hundred ninety-two of
25 this chapter, or the defendant has been acquitted of the charge that led
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13350-02-5
A. 8923 2
1 to the suspension or such charge was otherwise dismissed. Such suspen-
2 sion shall take effect no less than thirty days from the day upon which
3 an initial notice thereof is sent by the commissioner to the person
4 whose driver's license or privileges are to be suspended, provided that
5 the commissioner shall send such person at least two notices thereof,
6 including such initial notice, at least fifteen days apart during such
7 period. Any suspension issued pursuant to this paragraph shall be
8 subject to the provisions of paragraph (j-l) of subdivision two of
9 section five hundred three of this [chapter] title.
10 § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 1802 of the vehicle and
11 traffic law, as added by chapter 382 of the laws of 2020, is amended to
12 read as follows:
13 (b) The court or hearing officer shall have the discretion in the
14 interests of justice to reduce or waive the amount of any fine, fee or
15 mandatory surcharge assessed for a violation of any of the provisions of
16 this chapter or any local law, ordinance, order, rule or regulation made
17 by local authorities in relation to traffic, provided, however, the
18 provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to fines and mandatory
19 surcharges imposed for violations of section eleven hundred ninety-two
20 of this chapter.
21 § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
22 have become a law.
