Add §404-a-1, V & T L; add §19-162.6, NYC Ad Cd; add §553-l, Pub Auth L; add Art 7-F, §1 of Chap 154 of 1921
Directs the commissioner of motor vehicles adopt rules and regulations for the registration of, and issuance of special license plates and stickers for, electric motor vehicles; establishes a period of free parking for electric motor vehicles in a city with a population of one million or more persons; provides for decreased bridge and tunnel tolls for electronic motor vehicles utilizing certain bridges and tunnels in a city with a population of one million or more persons; establishes a period of free parking for electric motor vehicles at certain facilities and provides for decreased bridge and tunnel tolls for electronic motor vehicles utilizing certain bridges and tunnels operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; directs certain entities to coordinate regarding the provision of certain information.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1895
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. COLTON -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to directing
the commissioner of motor vehicles to adopt rules and regulations for
the registration of, and issuance of special license plates and stick-
ers for, electric motor vehicles; to amend the administrative code of
the city of New York, in relation to establishing a period of free
parking for electric motor vehicles in a city with a population of one
million or more persons; to amend the public authorities law, in
relation to providing for decreased bridge and tunnel tolls for elec-
tric motor vehicles utilizing certain bridges and tunnels; to amend
chapter 154 of the laws of 1921, relating to the port authority of New
York and New Jersey, in relation to establishing a period of free
parking for electric motor vehicles and providing for decreased bridge
and tunnel tolls for electric motor vehicles utilizing certain bridges
and tunnels; and directing certain entities to coordinate regarding
the provision of certain information
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 404-a-1 to read as follows:
3 § 404-a-1. Registration of electric motor vehicles. 1. The commission-
4 er shall adopt rules and regulations for the registration of, and issu-
5 ance of special identifying license plates for, electric motor vehicles.
6 Said license plates shall conform to the requirements of section four
7 hundred one of this article but shall bear distinctive marks to distin-
8 guish them from number plates to be issued for non-electric motor vehi-
9 cles qualifying under this chapter.
10 2. An application for registration under this section shall be filed
11 with the department in such form and detail as the commissioner shall
12 prescribe, setting forth such information as the commissioner may
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03916-01-5
A. 1895 2
1 reasonably prescribe beyond such information required under section four
2 hundred one of this article.
3 3. Registration and application for registration under this section
4 shall only apply to a motor vehicle subject to registration pursuant to
5 subdivision six of section four hundred one of this article.
6 4. The registration and electric motor vehicle plates shall be accom-
7 panied only by the required fee otherwise required to be paid for vehi-
8 cle registration.
9 5. Electric motor vehicle plates issued pursuant to this section shall
10 be issued for all electric motor vehicles registered or re-registered on
11 or after January first, two thousand twenty-six.
12 6. (a) For electric motor vehicles registered or re-registered prior
13 to January first, two thousand twenty-six, at the time of registration
14 or re-registration, the department shall issue to the owner of such
15 vehicle a sticker identifying the vehicle as being an electric motor
16 vehicle. Such sticker may also be requested by the owner of an electric
17 motor vehicle at other times upon the submission of such information as
18 required by the commissioner.
19 (b) Stickers shall be produced in a size and form suitable for appli-
20 cation to the inside of a vehicle's windshield and may be applied by the
21 owner of the vehicle to the windshield of the vehicle adjacent to the
22 vehicle's registration sticker in a manner so as to not obstruct or
23 interfere with the view of the vehicle operator through the windshield,
24 or to prevent the operator from having a clear and full view of the road
25 and conditions.
26 (c) A one-time fee may be charged for a sticker in an amount deter-
27 mined by the commissioner. An additional fee may be charged for a
28 replacement sticker in an amount determined by the commissioner.
29 7. The commissioner shall maintain a separate database of all electric
30 motor vehicles registered or re-registered as electric motor vehicles
31 and all electric motor vehicles for which a sticker has been issued as
32 provided in subdivision six of this section, or otherwise provide for
33 license plate information for such vehicles to be readily identified
34 separately from such information for non-electric motor vehicles.
35 8. For the purposes of this section:
36 (a) "Electric motor vehicle":
37 (i) means a vehicle, with four or more wheels, that draws propulsion
38 energy from a battery with at least four kilowatt hours of energy stor-
39 age capacity that can be recharged from an external source of electric-
40 ity; and
41 (ii) includes hybrid vehicles.
42 (b) "Sticker" means a sticker identifying a vehicle as being an elec-
43 tric motor vehicle as provided in this subdivision.
44 § 2. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended by
45 adding a new section 19-162.6 to read as follows:
46 § 19-162.6 Electric motor vehicle parking. 1. An electric motor vehi-
47 cle to which an electric motor vehicle license plate or a sticker issued
48 pursuant to section four hundred four-a-1 of the vehicle and traffic law
49 is affixed shall be exempt from payment of parking fees, including those
50 collected through parking meters, charged by any authority in a city
51 having a population of one million or more persons provided that:
52 a. for metered parking spaces, this exemption shall be limited to two
53 hours or, in the case of parking spaces for which parking is limited to
54 a period of less than two hours, the maximum amount of time the meter
55 allows;
A. 1895 3
1 b. this exemption shall not apply to parking fees assessed in incre-
2 ments longer than one twenty-four hour day, including weekly, monthly,
3 or annual parking permits;
4 c. for parking at airport or heliport lots, this exemption shall be
5 limited to vehicles operated by drivers who are parking at the airport
6 or heliport as an airline passenger or a driver at the facility to pick
7 up an airline passenger, as evidenced by a valid ticket or boarding pass
8 bearing the name of the driver or passenger, which shall be presented to
9 the applicable parking attendant; provided further that this exemption
10 shall not apply to drivers who are parking at the airport or heliport
11 while carrying out the driver's duties and responsibilities as an
12 employee of the airport or heliport or any company operating at the
13 airport or heliport; and
14 d. for parking at ferry terminal lots, this exemption shall be limited
15 to drivers who are parking at the terminal as a ferry passenger, as
16 evidenced by a valid ferry ticket or boarding, which shall be presented
17 to the applicable parking attendant; provided further that this
18 exemption shall not apply to drivers who are parking at the terminal
19 while carrying out the driver's duties and responsibilities as an
20 employee of the terminal or ferry operator or of any company operating
21 at the terminal.
22 2. The owner of the electric motor vehicle shall enter the license
23 plate number of the vehicle into the parking meter or provide such
24 information to the parking lot attendant to obtain the exemption.
25 3. As used in this section, "electric motor vehicle" means an electric
26 motor vehicle as defined in section four hundred four-a-1 of the vehicle
27 and traffic law.
28 § 3. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new section
29 553-l to read as follows:
30 § 553-l. Electric motor vehicle tolls. 1. An electric motor vehicle to
31 which an electric motor vehicle license plate or a sticker issued pursu-
32 ant to section four hundred four-a-1 of the vehicle and traffic law is
33 affixed and which contains an E-ZPASS transponder or tag shall be eligi-
34 ble for payment of reduced tolls for the use of bridges and tunnels
35 operated by the authority. The authority shall determine the amount of
36 such reduction in the toll amount. The authority may establish different
37 reductions for electric motor vehicles equipped with E-ZPASS transpon-
38 ders or tags registered in New York state and for electric motor vehi-
39 cles equipped with E-ZPASS transponders or tags registered in other
40 states.
41 2. The authority shall promulgate rules and regulations providing for
42 the implementation of the provisions of this section including the
43 recognition and use of an E-ZPASS transponder or tag registered to an
44 electric motor vehicle, and for the assessment and billing of the
45 reduced toll amounts.
46 3. An electric motor vehicle shall not be eligible for the reduction
47 in tolls provided by this section if:
48 (a) the vehicle is not equipped with an E-ZPASS transponder or tag;
49 (b) the E-ZPASS account for the E-ZPASS transponder or tag registered
50 to the vehicle is not in good standing; or
51 (c) the E-ZPASS account for the E-ZPASS transponder or tag registered
52 to the electric motor vehicle is utilized in connection with travel by a
53 non-electric motor vehicle.
54 4. As used in this section, "electric motor vehicle" means an electric
55 motor vehicle as defined in section four hundred four-a-1 of the vehicle
56 and traffic law.
A. 1895 4
1 § 4. Section 1 of chapter 154 of the laws of 1921, relating to the
2 port authority of New York and New Jersey, is amended by adding a new
3 article VII-F to read as follows:
4 ARTICLE VII-F
5 1. Electric motor vehicle parking. An electric motor vehicle to which
6 an electric motor vehicle license plate or a sticker issued pursuant to
7 section four hundred four-a-1 of the New York state vehicle and traffic
8 law is affixed and which contains an E-ZPASS transponder or tag shall be
9 exempt from payment of parking fees, including those collected through
10 parking meters, charged by the port authority provided that:
11 (a) for metered parking spaces, this exemption shall be limited to two
12 hours or, in the case of parking spaces for which parking is limited to
13 a period of less than two hours, the maximum amount of time the meter
14 allows;
15 (b) this exemption shall not apply to parking fees assessed in incre-
16 ments longer than one twenty-four hour day, including weekly, monthly,
17 or annual parking permits;
18 (c) for parking at airports, this exemption shall be limited to vehi-
19 cles operated by drivers who are parking at the airport as an airline
20 passenger or a driver at the facility to pick up an airline passenger,
21 as evidenced by a valid ticket or boarding pass bearing the name of the
22 driver or passenger, which shall be presented to the applicable parking
23 attendant; provided further that this exemption shall not apply to driv-
24 ers who are parking at the airport while carrying out the driver's
25 duties and responsibilities as an employee of the airport or of any
26 company operating at the airport; and
27 (d) for parking at bus terminals or stations, this exemption shall be
28 limited to vehicles operated by drivers who are parking at the terminal
29 or station as a bus passenger or a driver at the facility to pick up a
30 bus passenger, as evidenced by a valid bus ticket or boarding, which
31 shall be presented to the applicable parking attendant; provided further
32 that this exemption shall not apply to drivers who are parking at the
33 terminal or station while carrying out the driver's duties and responsi-
34 bilities as an employee of the terminal or station or of any company
35 operating at the terminal or station.
36 2. Electric motor vehicle tolls. (a) An electric motor vehicle to
37 which an electric motor vehicle license plate or an environmentally
38 friendly sticker issued pursuant to section four hundred four-a-1 of the
39 New York state vehicle and traffic law is affixed shall be eligible for
40 payment of reduced tolls for the use of bridges and tunnels operated by
41 the port authority. The port authority shall determine the amount of
42 such reduction in the toll amount. The port authority may establish
43 different reductions for electric motor vehicles equipped with E-ZPASS
44 transponders or tags registered in New York state and for electric motor
45 vehicles equipped with E-ZPASS transponders or tags registered in other
46 states.
47 (b) The port authority shall promulgate rules and regulations provid-
48 ing for the recognition and use of an E-ZPASS transponder or tag regis-
49 tered to an electric motor vehicle, including rules and regulations for
50 the assessment and billing of the reduced toll amounts.
51 (c) An electric motor vehicle shall not be eligible for the reduction
52 in tolls provided by this section if:
53 (1) the vehicle is not equipped with an E-ZPASS transponder or tag;
54 (2) the E-ZPASS account for the E-ZPASS transponder or tag registered
55 to the vehicle is not in good standing; or
A. 1895 5
1 (3) the E-ZPASS account for the E-ZPASS transponder or tag registered
2 to the electric motor vehicle is utilized in connection with travel by a
3 non-electric motor vehicle.
4 3. As used in this article, "electric motor vehicle":
5 (a) means a vehicle, with four or more wheels, that draws propulsion
6 energy from a battery with at least four kilowatt hours of energy stor-
7 age capacity that can be recharged from an external source of electric-
8 ity; and
9 (b) includes hybrid vehicles.
10 § 5. The commissioner of motor vehicles, or the commissioner's desig-
11 nee, shall consult and coordinate with the chief executive officer of
12 the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, the chairperson of the Port
13 Authority of New York and New Jersey and the head of all agencies
14 responsible for implementing the provisions of section two of this act,
15 or the designees of such persons, to provide such entities with access
16 to a list of electric motor vehicle license plate numbers and the
17 license plate numbers of electric motor vehicles for which stickers have
18 been issued pursuant to section one of this act for the sole purpose of
19 effectuating the provisions of this act. The information access provided
20 under this section shall be limited solely to access to the license
21 plate numbers of such vehicles; such access shall not provide any infor-
22 mation identifying the owners or operators of such vehicles or the
23 addresses to which the vehicles are registered.
24 § 6. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part
25 of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to
26 be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the
27 remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause,
28 sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof directly involved in the
29 controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
30 § 7. This act shall take effect on the first day of January next
31 succeeding the date upon which this act shall have become a law;
32 provided that section four of this act shall take effect upon the enact-
33 ment into law by the state of New Jersey of legislation having an iden-
34 tical effect with this act, but if the state of New Jersey shall have
35 already enacted such legislation, section four of this act shall take
36 effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a
37 law; provided, further, that the chair of the Port Authority of New
38 Jersey shall notify the legislative bill drafting commission upon the
39 occurrence of the enactment of the legislation provided for in section
40 four of this act in order that the commission may maintain an accurate
41 and timely effective database of the official text of the laws of the
42 state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions of
43 section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public offi-
44 cers law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal
45 of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act
46 on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or
47 before such date.
