Provides for a greater amount of taxicabs serving the city of New York that are designed to foster increased access and mobility to persons with disabilities; and establishes a task force on areas of NYC underserved by medallion taxicabs.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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8496
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
June 18, 2011
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Introduced by M. of A. HEASTIE -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Cities
AN ACT in relation to livery permits in the city of New York
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature finds and declares
2 that the public health, safety and welfare of the residents of the state
3 of New York traveling to, from and within the city of New York is a
4 matter of substantial state concern, which includes access to safe and
5 reliable mass transportation such as taxicabs. The majority of residents
6 and nonresidents of the city of New York do not currently have access to
7 the necessary amount of legal, licensed taxicabs available for street
8 hails when traveling within the city. Improving access to such mass
9 transportation, including taxicabs, furthers this matter of substantial
10 state concern. Additionally, the legislature finds and declares that
11 there should be a greater amount of taxicabs serving the city of New
12 York that are designed to foster increased access, mobility and inde-
13 pendence of persons with disabilities. The health, safety and welfare of
14 these persons with disabilities is placed at risk without adequate and
15 reliable transportation.
16 § 2. The city of New York may, acting by the mayor alone, administra-
17 tively authorize the New York city taxi and limousine commission or its
18 successor agency to issue up to one thousand five hundred taxicab
19 licenses in addition to those already issued, provided, however, that
20 five hundred sixty-nine of such taxicab licenses shall be restricted to
21 vehicles that are accessible to individuals with disabilities, provided
22 further that such additional licenses shall be issued by public sale and
23 shall be fully transferable. The commission or successor thereto shall
24 prescribe by regulation the procedures for the issuance and public sale
25 of such additional licenses, by public auction, sealed bids or other
26 competitive process. Such additional licenses may be issued on or after
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13200-01-1
A. 8496 2
1 July 1, 2012. The authorization provided in this section is conditioned
2 upon the commission making available for issuance the permits authorized
3 pursuant to sections three and four of this act and the establishment of
4 the task force pursuant to section five of this act.
5 § 3. The New York city taxi and limousine commission or successor
6 agency is hereby authorized to issue non-transferable permits to owners
7 of for-hire vehicles, as defined in subdivision g of section 19-502 of
8 the administrative code of the city of New York, allowing such vehicles
9 to pick up passengers by street hail in parts of New York city outside
10 Manhattan, excluding airports, and in Manhattan north of east ninety-
11 sixth street and north of west one hundred tenth street ("hail privilege
12 vehicle permits"), provided that no more than thirty thousand permits
13 shall be held at one time. Such geographic limitations may be extended
14 by such taxi and limousine commission or successor agency, acting pursu-
15 ant to the recommendations of the task force established pursuant to
16 section five of this act. Such hail privilege vehicle permits shall be
17 issued beginning no later than the public sale of the additional taxicab
18 medallions issued pursuant to section two of this act, for a fee in the
19 amount of one thousand five hundred dollars, and shall be valid for
20 three years prior to renewal. Such right to renewal shall be automatic,
21 upon payment of a renewal fee, if the owner is in good standing. Such
22 fee amount may be increased by such taxi and limousine commission or
23 successor agency to account for changes in the United States consumer
24 price index, adjusted for inflation. The initial sale of such hail priv-
25 ilege vehicle permits shall be limited to current owners of for-hire
26 vehicles, as defined by subdivision g of section 19-502 of the adminis-
27 trative code of the city of New York, who have been licensed for at
28 least three years and are in good standing with the New York city taxi
29 and limousine commission. The city of New York, acting through such taxi
30 and limousine commission, is hereby authorized and empowered to take
31 such actions as are necessary and desirable to implement the provisions
32 of this section, subject only to the procedures and limitations set
33 forth in this section, and shall not be required to engage in any review
34 provided for by any provision of law or make or obtain any determination
35 not expressly required by this section. Nothing in this section shall
36 prohibit an owner of a for-hire vehicle as defined by subdivision g of
37 section 19-502 of the administrative code of the city of New York, who
38 possesses a hail privilege vehicle permit pursuant to this section, from
39 accepting prearranged calls from a for-hire vehicle base station estab-
40 lished pursuant to section 19-511 of the administrative code of the city
41 of New York, provided that such owner is separately licensed to do so.
42 Nothing in this section shall prohibit such owner from allowing another
43 driver who meets such taxi and limousine commission's or successor agen-
44 cy's designated standards to use the vehicle and exercise the privileges
45 of the hail privilege vehicle permit. Such taxi and limousine commission
46 or successor agency may by rule govern the equipment of such vehicles
47 with meters and the rates that may be charged for trips in such vehi-
48 cles.
49 § 4. The New York city taxi and limousine commission is hereby author-
50 ized to issue non-transferable permits to for-hire vehicle base stations
51 established pursuant to section 19-511 of the administrative code of the
52 city of New York, allowing such base stations to be affiliated with
53 holders of permits issued pursuant to section three of this act ("hail
54 privilege base permit"), provided that no more than four hundred fifty
55 permits shall be held at one time. Every holder of a hail privilege
56 vehicle permit issued pursuant to section three of this act shall be
A. 8496 3
1 affiliated with one such base station. Hail privilege base permits shall
2 be issued to base stations pursuant to this section for a fee in the
3 amount of three thousand dollars, and shall be valid for three years
4 prior to renewal. Such right to renewal shall be automatic, upon payment
5 of a renewal fee, if the base station is in good standing. Such fee
6 amount may be increased by such taxi and limousine commission or succes-
7 sor agency to account for changes in the United States consumer price
8 index, adjusted for inflation. The initial sale of such hail privilege
9 base permits will be limited to existing for-hire vehicle base stations
10 established pursuant to section 19-511 of the administrative code of the
11 city of New York, that have been in operation for at least three years.
12 Such hail privilege base permits shall be issued beginning no later than
13 the public sale of the additional taxicab medallions issued pursuant to
14 section two of this act. The city of New York, acting through such taxi
15 and limousine commission, is hereby authorized and empowered to take
16 such actions as are necessary and desirable to implement the provisions
17 of this section, subject only to the procedures and limitations set
18 forth in this section, and shall not be required to engage in any review
19 provided for by any provision of law or make or obtain any determination
20 not expressly required by this section.
21 § 5. There is established a task force on areas of New York city
22 underserved by medallion taxicabs, consisting of four members to be
23 appointed as follows: one by the mayor of the city of New York, one by
24 the temporary president of the senate, one by the speaker of the assem-
25 bly and one by the speaker of the New York city council. Such task force
26 shall hold public hearings in each of the five boroughs of the city of
27 New York. The task force shall prepare and, no later than two months
28 after the date this act shall take effect, submit to the appointing
29 authorities of such task force a report and recommendations identifying
30 areas of New York city that are underserved by medallion taxicabs, areas
31 that are intensely served by medallion taxicabs and areas that are
32 adequately served by medallion taxicabs. Such task force may also iden-
33 tify up to five locations, including airports, in each of the five
34 boroughs of the city of New York, where for-hire vehicles shall be
35 prohibited from accepting street hail passengers. Such report and recom-
36 mendations must be approved by all of the members of the task force and
37 shall be implemented by rule of such commission, provided, however, that
38 the failure by the task force to present such report and recommendations
39 shall in no way prevent the implementation of any provision of this act.
40 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.