STATE OF NEW YORK
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262
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
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Introduced by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to distinctive
license plates for society for the prevention of cruelty to animals
officers
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-ff to read as follows:
3 § 404-ff. Distinctive plates for society for the prevention of cruelty
4 to animals officers. 1. Society for the prevention of cruelty to animals
5 officers in this state or the spouse of any such member shall, upon
6 request, be issued a license plate bearing the letters "S.P.C.A". If a
7 distinctive plate is issued to any such member pursuant to this section,
8 such a distinctive plate shall not be issued to the spouse of such
9 member. Application for such license plate shall be filed with the
10 commissioner in such form and detail as the commissioner shall
11 prescribe, and shall be verified annually by the applicant.
12 2. The distinctive plate authorized in subdivision one of this section
13 shall be issued upon proof, satisfactory to the commissioner, that the
14 applicant or the spouse of the applicant is presently a society for the
15 prevention of cruelty to animals officers.
16 3. A distinctive plate issued pursuant to this section shall be issued
17 in the same manner as other number plates upon payment of the regular
18 registration fee prescribed by section four hundred one of this article
19 and an initial one time service charge of fifteen dollars.
20 § 2. 1. A distinctive plate established pursuant to section 404-ff of
21 the vehicle and traffic law shall only be designed, produced and issued
22 upon the delivery to the department of motor vehicles of a surety bond
23 in the amount of $6,000, which shall be executed by a surety company
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00291-01-5
S. 262 2
1 authorized by the department of financial services to transact business
2 in this state. Provided, however, that if the commissioner of motor
3 vehicles shall have received prior to plate design, production and issu-
4 ance at least 200 orders for such distinctive plate together with the
5 additional annual service charge applicable to each such order, which
6 shall be non-refundable, no such surety bond shall be required. All
7 service charges collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited
8 pursuant to the provisions of section 404-oo of the vehicle and traffic
9 law to the credit of the department of motor vehicles distinctive plate
10 development fund established by section 95-g of the state finance law
11 and shall be used for the design, production, advertising and distrib-
12 ution of distinctive license plates in accordance with such section
13 95-g.
14 2. If, upon the expiration of two years following the date upon which
15 distinctive plates in the series are first available for sale, 200 or
16 more sets of such plates are sold, a bond delivered pursuant to this
17 section shall be discontinued. If fewer than 200 sets of such plates are
18 sold by such time, the department of motor vehicles shall be entitled to
19 recover against the bond in an amount proportionate to such shortfall.
20 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
21 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
22 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
23 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
24 completed on or before such effective date.
