Enacts the "End the Toll Trap: Real Relief for Drivers Act" to address excess administrative costs incurred by public authorities for the collection of toll payments and to ensure repeat toll evaders pay such costs; creates the New York and New Jersey toll and fees reduction task force to examine and evaluate the efficacy of current payment processing procedures and systems, and to provide recommendations to increase efficacy and reduce tolls and administrative fees.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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9503
IN SENATE
March 18, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. MARTINEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to toll
violations; and in relation to establishing the New York and New
Jersey toll and fees reduction task force
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "End the Toll Trap: Real Relief for Drivers Act".
3 § 2. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds cashless tolling
4 is essential for transportation operations, but the fees assessed by
5 public authorities for toll violations disproportionately burdens motor-
6 ists who incur violations without knowing or through circumstances
7 beyond their control; including but not limited to E-ZPass malfunction
8 and billing errors. The legislature further finds administrative costs
9 incurred by public authorities for the collection of toll payments
10 should be shifted solely to repeat toll evaders. It is therefore the
11 purpose of this act to require such fees to be based on the collecting
12 authority's actual cost of both processing and collecting fees from
13 repeat offenders, provide increased transparency, and to coordinate with
14 the state of New Jersey to identify efficiencies to reduce fees at
15 bi-state crossings.
16 § 3. Subdivision 12 of section 2985 of the public authorities law, as
17 added by chapter 379 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
18 12. (a) "Electronic toll collection system" shall mean a system of
19 collecting tolls or charges which is capable of charging an account
20 holder the appropriate toll or charge by transmission of information
21 from an electronic device on a motor vehicle to the toll lane, which
22 information is used to charge the account the appropriate toll or
23 charge. In adopting procedures for the preparation and mailing of a
24 notice of liability, the public authority having jurisdiction over the
25 toll facility shall adopt guidelines to ensure adequate and timely
26 notice to all electronic toll collection system account holders to
27 inform them when their accounts are delinquent. An owner who is an
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15255-01-6
S. 9503 2
1 account holder under the electronic toll collection system shall not be
2 found liable for a violation of this section unless such authority has
3 first sent a notice of delinquency to such account holder and the
4 account holder was in fact delinquent at the time of the violation.
5 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation, no
6 fee, charge, or assessment imposed by a public authority in connection
7 with a notice of violation issued pursuant to this article, other than
8 the underlying toll due, shall be assessed unless the owner has commit-
9 ted three or more toll violations within a ninety day period.
10 § 4. Subdivision 5 of section 2985-a of the public authorities law, as
11 added by section 2 of subpart B of part WW of chapter 56 of the laws of
12 2024, is amended to read as follows:
13 5. (a) Any fee or administrative violation fee that is assessed on a
14 notice of violation pursuant to subdivision four of this section shall
15 be dismissed if the notice of violation was not sent within ninety days
16 of the second toll bill, provided that any toll or tolls incurred remain
17 due and payable and provided further that such dismissal shall not apply
18 in the event that exceptional circumstances, including but not limited
19 to technological failures, have delayed the timely mailing of the notice
20 of violation and the public authority has posted notice of such circum-
21 stances prominently on its website within a reasonable time of becoming
22 aware of such circumstances, which shall be adequate record of such
23 circumstances.
24 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation,
25 no fee, charge, or assessment imposed by a public authority in
26 connection with a notice of violation issued pursuant to this article,
27 other than the underlying toll due, shall be assessed unless the owner
28 has committed three or more toll violations within a ninety-day period.
29 Any fee, charge or assessment authorized by this paragraph shall be
30 established by the public authority, and shall be based upon the actual
31 cost of processing and collecting all toll violations in the prior
32 calendar year divided by the number of motorists who committed three or
33 more toll violations within a ninety day period in the prior calendar
34 year.
35 § 5. Section 2800 of the public authorities law is amended by adding a
36 new subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
37 2-a. Authorities which collect tolls. (a) Every public authority which
38 collect tolls from motorists shall submit an annual report to the legis-
39 lature. Such report shall include, but not be limited to:
40 (i) the number of violations of the toll collection monitoring system
41 regulations that occurred in the past year;
42 (ii) the frequency of toll violations per individual;
43 (iii) total revenue collected in the past year from repeat violators
44 pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision twelve of section twenty-nine
45 hundred eighty-five of this article;
46 (iv) a year-to-year comparison of the number of toll violations and
47 frequency of toll violations per individual for the past five years; and
48 (v) an explanation of the administrative costs of processing a toll
49 and a toll violation.
50 (b) The first report shall be due one year after the effective date of
51 this subdivision.
52 § 6. New York and New Jersey toll and fees reduction task force.
53 1. There is established a task force to be known as the "New York and
54 New Jersey Toll and Fees Reduction Task Force" to examine and evaluate
55 the efficacy of current payment processing procedures and systems, and
S. 9503 3
1 to provide recommendations to increase efficacy and reduce tolls and
2 administrative fees.
3 2. (a) The task force shall be comprised of 12 members, six of whom
4 shall be appointed by the state of New York and six of whom shall be
5 appointed by the state of New Jersey. Of the members appointed by the
6 state of New York:
7 (i) Two shall be appointed by the governor;
8 (ii) One shall be appointed by the temporary president of the senate;
9 (iii) One shall be appointed by the senate minority leader;
10 (iv) One shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly; and
11 (v) One shall be appointed by the assembly minority leader.
12 (b) Individuals appointed to the task force shall possess expertise in
13 one or more of the following fields: transportation, tolling operation
14 and enforcement, traffic engineering, procurement processes, information
15 technology systems, public finance, and data analysis.
16 (c) The task force shall be co-chaired by one member appointed by each
17 state, elected by the members appointed by each respective state.
18 (d) The task force shall meet no more than six months after the
19 appointment of all members pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivi-
20 sion, at which meeting the co-chairs shall be elected, and shall meet
21 once each month thereafter. Three members appointed by each state shall
22 be sufficient to establish a quorum. A simple majority of those members
23 voting on a question shall be sufficient for the conducting of business,
24 except that the final report required by subdivision five of this
25 section shall be approved for release by no fewer than seven votes in
26 the affirmative.
27 (e) Members of the task force shall receive no compensation for their
28 services but shall be reimbursed for their actual expenses incurred in
29 the performance of their duties in the work of the task force by the
30 state of their appointment.
31 3. The task force shall:
32 (a) identify inefficiencies in the tolling process and methods for
33 reduction in costs;
34 (b) consider and provide recommendations for an amnesty program to be
35 implemented in New York or New Jersey;
36 (c) identify the impact of congestion pricing on motorists; and
37 (d) research and recommend methods for shifting the cost burden of
38 toll violations away from occasional or inadvertent violators and onto
39 intentional, repeat violators.
40 4. (a) The task force may establish advisory committees as it deems
41 appropriate on matters relating to the task force's functions, powers,
42 and duties. Such committees shall be chaired by a task force member, but
43 may be composed of task force members as well as other individuals
44 selected by the task force to provide expertise of interest specific to
45 the charge of such committees.
46 (b) The task force may request that studies, surveys, or analyses
47 relating to the task force's powers and duties be performed by any state
48 department, commission, agency, or public authority, or by any depart-
49 ment, commission, agency, or public authority within the state of New
50 Jersey, to the extent permitted by New Jersey state law. All state
51 departments, commissions, agencies, or public authorities shall provide
52 information and advice in a timely manner and otherwise assist the task
53 force with its work; provided, however, any information obtained pursu-
54 ant to this paragraph shall be kept confidential and shall only be used
55 by members of the task force in the course of their tasks and duties as
56 a task force member.
S. 9503 4
1 5. The task force shall, no later than two years after the date of its
2 first meeting, provide a final report to the governor, the legislature,
3 and the governor and legislature of the state of New Jersey, of its
4 findings, conclusions, and recommendations, including but not limited to
5 any legislative proposals deemed necessary by the task force to imple-
6 ment the recommendations.
7 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however,
8 sections four and six of this act shall take effect upon the enactment
9 into law by the state of New Jersey of legislation having an identical
10 effect with this act, but if the state of New Jersey shall have already
11 enacted such legislation, this act shall take effect immediately;
12 provided that the state of New Jersey shall notify the legislative bill
13 drafting commission upon the occurrence of the enactment of the legis-
14 lation provided for in section one of this act in order that the commis-
15 sion may maintain an accurate and timely effective data base of the
16 official text of the laws of the state of New York in furtherance of
17 effectuating the provisions of section 44 of the legislative law and
18 section 70-b of the public officers law. Any rights or remedies granted
19 to an individual pursuant to this act prior to the expiration and repeal
20 of this act shall not be affected by such expiration.
