Provides that no suspension of a registration shall occur for a violation regarding cashless tolls absent clear evidence of an owner's intent to repeatedly evade paying such tolls.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9490
SPONSOR: Hyndman TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to suspending
the registration of a vehicle for evading cashless tolls
PURPOSE:
To ensure that only drivers who criminally intend to evade cashless
tolling systems have their vehicle registration suspended, as opposed to
otherwise law-following individuals who may fail to pay tolls by mail
bills for other reasons that are not criminal in nature.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This bill seeks to accomplish two things: One, set a clear, rational and
narrowly focused standard for the suspension of an individual's motor
vehicle registration in the case of cashless toll violations--No suspen-
sions of registrations shall occur absent clear evidence of criminal
intent to repeatedly evade paying tolls. Two, as a matter of fundamental
fairness, all current suspensions of registrations that lack clear
evidence of criminal intent to repeatedly evade paying tolls shall be
reversed, without penalty, to the driver/registrant.
JUSTIFICATION:
The transition to cashless tolling has now reached every avenue and
corner of our vast State, yet universal employment of E2 Pass has yet to
be achieved, with a least 10-15% of our population reportedly not using
this optional technology, which is often . Toll By Mail rates are
already higher, carry stiffer monetary penalties and are otherwise not
consumer friendly to those individuals who eschew EZ Pass, or simply do
not pay close attention to the systematic change of outside systems.
Well-meaning, law-abiding citizens who have not paid close attention to
the forced social change from Toll Booths to Technology have had their
registrations suspended and yet these folks do not have a criminal or
scofflaw-like bone in their body. Clear, active criminal intent should
be a prerequisite for turning someone's life upside down.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2022:S4354
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9490
IN ASSEMBLY
March 14, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HYNDMAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to suspending
the registration of a vehicle for evading cashless tolls
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new
2 section 510-e to read as follows:
3 § 510-e. Suspension of registration; cashless toll violations. 1. For
4 the purpose of this section:
5 (a) "Owner" shall mean any person, corporation, partnership, firm,
6 agency, association, lessor or organization who, at the time of incur-
7 ring an obligation to pay a toll at a cashless tolling facility, and
8 with respect to the vehicle identified in the notice of toll due: (i) is
9 the beneficial or equitable owner of such vehicle; or (ii) has title to
10 such vehicle; or (iii) is the registrant or co-registrant of such vehi-
11 cle which is registered with the department of motor vehicles of this
12 state or any other state, territory, district, province, nation or other
13 jurisdiction; or (iv) is a person entitled to the use and possession of
14 a vehicle subject to a security interest in another person.
15 (b) "Cashless tolling facility" shall mean a toll highway, bridge or
16 tunnel facility operated by a public authority that does not provide for
17 the immediate on-site payment in cash of a toll owed for the use of such
18 facility.
19 (c) "Violation" shall mean the failure of the owner to timely respond
20 to a toll bill.
21 (d) "Toll bill" shall mean a notice sent to an owner by a public
22 authority notifying such owner that the owner's vehicle has been used or
23 operated at a cashless tolling facility, crossed a cashless tolling
24 monitoring system without an operable electronic device and has incurred
25 an obligation to pay a toll.
26 2. No suspension of registration of a motor vehicle shall occur pursu-
27 ant to this article for any cashless toll violation unless there is
28 clear evidence the owner of such motor vehicle's intent to repeatedly
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03876-01-3
A. 9490 2
1 evade paying such cashless tolls. Beginning October thirteenth, two
2 thousand twenty, any current suspension of registration of a motor vehi-
3 cle for any cashless toll violation which lack clear evidence of an
4 owner's intent to repeatedly evade paying such cashless tolls shall be
5 reversed without penalty to such owner of such vehicle.
6 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
