STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3606--A
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 28, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MAISEL, LUPARDO, GABRYSZAK, LAVINE, BRINDISI,
ABINANTI -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BRENNAN, COOK, MAGEE,
PERRY, STEC -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transporta-
tion -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to airbag safe-
ty; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds that airbag
2 system fraud is a public safety concern for both consumers and the auto
3 insurance industry and that efforts to address this serious risk to
4 consumers have been piecemeal, rather than coordinate, and that compre-
5 hensive coordinated legislation is necessary to protect consumers and
6 insure the integrity of vehicle restraint systems.
7 § 2. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 6 of section 398-d of the vehicle
8 and traffic law is REPEALED.
9 § 3. Section 415-c of the vehicle and traffic law is REPEALED and a
10 new section 415-c is added to read as follows:
11 § 415-c. Sale and installation of recycled inflatable restraint
12 systems; restrictions. 1. For purposes of this section the following
13 terms shall have the following meanings:
14 (a) The term "airbag" shall mean any component of an inflatable occu-
15 pant restraint system that is designed in accordance with federal safety
16 regulations for the make, model and year of the vehicle to be installed,
17 operate and activate in a motor vehicle as specified by the vehicle
18 manufacturer, in the event of a crash. Airbag components include, but
19 are not limited to sensors, controllers, wiring and the airbag itself.
20 (b) The term "light manipulating system" means anything that would
21 mask or cause the inaccurate indication of the airbag system status,
22 condition, or operability.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07769-06-3
A. 3606--A 2
1 (c) "Person" shall mean any natural person, corporation, partnership,
2 limited liability company, unincorporated association or other entity.
3 (d) "Recycled airbag" shall mean an original equipment manufacturer's
4 non-deployed airbag that has been removed from a vehicle for use in
5 another vehicle.
6 2. (a) No person shall: (i) install or reinstall, as part of a vehicle
7 inflatable occupant restraint system, any object other than an airbag;
8 (ii) sell or offer for sale any device with the intent that such device
9 will replace an airbag in any motor vehicle if such person knows or
10 reasonably should know that such device does not meet federal safety
11 requirements; (iii) sell or offer for sale any device that when
12 installed in any motor vehicle gives the impression that a viable airbag
13 is installed in the vehicle, including any light manipulating system; or
14 (iv) intentionally misrepresent the presence of an airbag when one does
15 not exist.
16 (b) Any person found to have violated the provisions of this subdivi-
17 sion shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof,
18 shall be punished by a fine of up to two thousand five hundred dollars
19 per violation and/or by imprisonment for up to one hundred eighty days.
20 (c) Any person who violates the provisions of this subdivision whose
21 violation results in serious bodily injury or death shall be guilty of a
22 class D felony.
23 3. (a) Any person engaged in the business of purchasing, selling, or
24 installing recycled airbags shall maintain a manual or electronic record
25 of the purchase, sale or installation, which must include the identifi-
26 cation number of the airbag; the vehicle identification number of the
27 vehicle from which the recycled airbag was removed; and, in the event
28 that the recycled airbag is installed, the vehicle identification number
29 of the vehicle into which the airbag is installed.
30 (b) No new or recycled airbag shall be sold or installed which is or
31 has been subject to a specific manufacturer's or appropriate authority's
32 notice of recall.
33 (c) (i) In the case of a new replacement airbag, any person engaged in
34 installing any airbag shall maintain the name and tax identification
35 number of the supplier of the airbag and record the vehicle identifica-
36 tion number of the vehicle into which the airbag is installed, as well
37 as the identification number of the airbag being installed.
38 (ii) The airbag identification number of the previously deployed
39 airbag being replaced shall be recorded.
40 (iii) Upon any request of a law enforcement officer of this state or
41 other authorized representative of the agency charged with adminis-
42 tration of this section, the installer shall produce such records and
43 permit said agent or police officer to examine them.
44 (d) Any person who sells a recycled airbag shall be a registered vehi-
45 cle dismantler, pursuant to section four hundred fifteen-a of this arti-
46 cle, and must disclose to the purchaser or vehicle owner that the airbag
47 is recycled.
48 (e) The person who installs a new or recycled airbag must be a motor
49 vehicle repair shop registered pursuant to article twelve-A of this
50 chapter and shall submit an affidavit to the vehicle owner or their
51 representative stating that the replacement airbag has been properly
52 installed in accordance with recognized automotive recycling standards.
53 (f) All records required under this section must be maintained for a
54 minimum of five years following the transaction and may be inspected
55 during normal business hours by any police officer, peace officer or
56 representative of the commissioner.
A. 3606--A 3
1 (g) Upon request, information within a portion of such record pertain-
2 ing to a specific transaction must be provided to the insurer and the
3 vehicle owner.
4 (h) Persons engaged in the business of selling recycled airbags shall
5 comply with regulations developed by the commissioner which shall
6 include but not be limited to: (i) identification of the supplier of the
7 unit; (ii) identification of the recipient vehicle, including vehicle
8 identification number, year, make and model; (iii) identification of the
9 airbag module cover color and color code if available; (iv) identifica-
10 tion of the donor vehicle, including vehicle identification number,
11 year, make and model; (v) supplier's internal stock number or locator
12 number; (vi) indication of source of interchange information, inter-
13 change manual/part number or original equipment manufacturer informa-
14 tion; (vii) a supplier certificate indicating that all the requirements
15 of the inspection protocol have been successfully achieved and identify-
16 ing the person who completed the inspection; and (viii) a document
17 containing the vehicle description including the year, make and model
18 for which the airbag system component is required when being sold to the
19 end-user.
20 (i) Salvage airbags conforming to such standards shall be accompanied
21 by a certificate of conformance which shall be retained by the instal-
22 ler.
23 (j) Any person who fails to maintain complete and accurate records, to
24 prepare complete and accurate documents, to provide information from
25 such record upon request of the department or any other regulatory body,
26 or to properly disclose that an airbag is recycled, as required by this
27 subdivision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
28 4. (a) No person shall knowingly possess, sell, or install a stolen
29 airbag; an airbag from which the manufacturer's part number labeling
30 and/or vehicle identification number has been removed, altered or
31 defaced; or an airbag taken from a stolen motor vehicle.
32 (b) Any person who violates this subdivision shall be guilty of a
33 class D felony.
34 5. Any vehicle accident report that is filed by the appropriate law
35 enforcement agency shall clearly contain a notation as to whether the
36 automobile's airbag or inflatable restraint system had been deployed in
37 the accident.
38 6. (a) Any person selling or trading a motor vehicle who has actual
39 knowledge that the motor vehicle's airbag is inoperable shall notify the
40 buyer or the person acquiring the trade, in writing, that the airbag is
41 inoperable.
42 (b) A person who knowingly violates the provisions of this subdivision
43 shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
44 7. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the sale or trade
45 of a motor vehicle: (a) visibly containing a deployed airbag; (b) sold
46 by an insurance company that acquired the vehicle in connection with a
47 claim settlement; or (c) the sale of which is handled by a company, the
48 primary business of which is the sale of vehicles from insurance compa-
49 nies and which makes no sales to end users.
50 § 4. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this act
51 shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid
52 and after all further judicial review, the judgment shall not affect,
53 impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its
54 operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this
55 act directly involved in the controversy in which the judgment shall
56 have been rendered.
A. 3606--A 4
1 § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
2 it shall have become a law; provided, however, that any rule or regu-
3 lation necessary for its implementation may be immediately promulgated
4 by the commissioner of motor vehicles.
