Provides that any person, firm, corporation, or other entity charged with a toll violation fee may pay such tolls in full and to have any toll violation fees related to such paid tolls waived for a period of six months; limits toll violations and fees; authorizes owners, elected officials or attorneys on behalf of such owners may dispute any tolls or violation fees incurred in connection with such toll bills.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9511
IN SENATE
March 18, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities
and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to limiting
certain fees and fines for tolls charged by a public authority
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 2855 of the public authorities law, as added by
2 section 1 of part KK of chapter 59 of the laws of 2006, is amended to
3 read as follows:
4 § 2855. Electronic method of payment; periodic charges. Notwithstand-
5 ing the provisions of any law to the contrary, if any authority shall
6 offer any electronic method of payment for tolls, fares, fees, rentals,
7 or other charges, including but not limited to a system called E-ZPass,
8 such authority shall not impose any periodic administrative or other
9 charge for the privilege of using such electronic method of payment for
10 such charges. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any
11 authority from making any charge for extra services requested by a hold-
12 er of such electronic method of payment, any charge for lost or damaged
13 equipment, or for defaults, such as charges for dishonored checks. The
14 authority shall not enter any agreement with bondholders that would
15 require the imposition of administrative or other periodic charges
16 relating to electronic methods of payment prohibited by this section. No
17 fee or administrative charge for the timely or late payment of a toll
18 bill for an obligation to pay a toll or tolls valued at two hundred
19 dollars or less shall exceed the authority's actual cost to impose the
20 charge and process payment of such obligation. Provided, further, any
21 authority offering such electronic payment methods shall publish their
22 updated fee waiver policy in a prominent location on their website.
23 § 2. Subdivision 5 of section 2985 of the public authorities law, as
24 added by chapter 379 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14791-03-6
S. 9511 2
1 5. An owner found liable for a violation of toll collection regu-
2 lations pursuant to this section involving an obligation to pay a toll
3 or tolls valued at two hundred dollars or less shall be liable for a
4 monetary penalty not to exceed twenty-five dollars for a first violation
5 thereof; for a second violation thereof both within eighteen months be
6 liable for a monetary penalty not to exceed the greater of fifty dollars
7 or two times the toll evaded; for a third or subsequent violation there-
8 of all within eighteen months be liable for a monetary penalty not to
9 exceed the greater of seventy-five dollars or five times the toll
10 evaded. An owner found liable for [a] any other violation of toll
11 collection regulations pursuant to this section shall for a first
12 violation thereof be liable for a monetary penalty not to exceed fifty
13 dollars or two times the toll evaded whichever is greater; for a second
14 violation thereof both within eighteen months be liable for a monetary
15 penalty not to exceed one hundred dollars or five times the toll evaded
16 whichever is greater; for a third or subsequent violation thereof all
17 within eighteen months be liable for a monetary penalty not to exceed
18 one hundred fifty dollars or ten times the toll evaded whichever is
19 greater.
20 § 3. Subdivision 8 of section 2985 of the public authorities law, as
21 amended by section 6 of subpart A of part WW of chapter 56 of the laws
22 of 2024, is amended to read as follows:
23 8. (a) (i) Adjudication of the liability imposed upon owners by this
24 section shall be by the entity having jurisdiction over violations of
25 the rules and regulations of the public authority serving the notice of
26 liability or where authorized by an administrative tribunal and all
27 violations shall be heard and determined in the county in which the
28 violation is alleged to have occurred, or in New York city and upon the
29 consent of both parties, in any county within New York city in which the
30 public authority operates or maintains a facility, and in the same
31 manner as charges of other regulatory violations of such public authori-
32 ty or pursuant to the rules and regulations of such administrative
33 tribunal as the case may be.
34 (ii) The owner of the vehicle or other individual upon whom liability
35 is imposed may designate an agent in writing, including an attorney or
36 elected official, to dispute or resolve a toll incurred pursuant to this
37 section or section twenty-nine hundred eighty-five-a of this article
38 with the relevant tolling authority's customer service center and/or
39 toll payer advocate office identified in section twenty-nine hundred
40 eighty-five-a of this article.
41 (b) Upon exhaustion of remedies pursuant to this section or section
42 twenty-nine hundred eighty-five-a of this title, as applicable, the New
43 York state bridge authority, thruway authority, triborough bridge and
44 tunnel authority, metropolitan transportation authority, and port
45 authority of New York and New Jersey, a bi-state agency created by
46 compact set forth in chapter one hundred fifty-four of the laws of nine-
47 teen hundred twenty-one, shall have the power to enter judgments for
48 unpaid liabilities, provided that such unpaid liabilities include the
49 failure to pay tolls, fees, or other charges or the failure to have such
50 tolls, fees or other charges dismissed or transferred in response to
51 three or more notices of violation issued within a five year period
52 charging the registrant of a motor vehicle with a violation of toll
53 collection regulations, and to enforce such judgments, without court
54 proceedings, in the same manner as the enforcement of money judgments in
55 civil actions in any court of competent jurisdiction or any other place
56 provided for the entry of civil judgment within the state of New York,
S. 9511 3
1 after a period of notice pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subdivision.
2 The applicable tolling authority shall not enforce such judgments until
3 thirty days have elapsed from issuing a notice pursuant to paragraph (c)
4 of this subdivision. The applicable tolling authority shall not have the
5 power to enter or enforce judgments for unpaid liabilities for failure
6 to pay two hundred dollars or less in tolls incurred within a five-year
7 period.
8 (c) Prior to entering judgments for unpaid liabilities pursuant to
9 paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the applicable tolling authority
10 shall notify the person subject to such judgment, by first class mail,
11 that such person is at risk of entry of a judgment against them if they
12 fail to pay such unpaid liabilities. The form and content of such notice
13 shall be prescribed by the applicable tolling authority, and shall
14 contain a warning to advise the person that failure to pay the applica-
15 ble unpaid liabilities within a period of not less than thirty days of
16 such notice will result in the enforcement of a judgment against them,
17 and shall further contain information about the process to dispute such
18 liabilities, consistent with this section or section twenty-nine hundred
19 eighty-five-a of this title, as applicable. Any person, firm, corpo-
20 ration, or other entity charged with a toll violation may pay such tolls
21 in full and have any toll violation fees related to such paid tolls
22 waived for a period of six months from the effective date of this para-
23 graph.
24 (d) With respect to an obligation to pay a toll or tolls valued at one
25 hundred dollars or less, any toll violation fee charged to any person,
26 firm, corporation, or other entity for the use of a toll highway, bridge
27 or tunnel facility operated by a public authority shall not exceed twice
28 the amount of the toll charged for using such highway, bridge or tunnel
29 for a period of ninety days from the effective date of this paragraph
30 and shall not exceed three times the amount of the toll charged for
31 using such highway, bridge or tunnel for an additional ninety-day period
32 following the initial ninety-day period.
33 § 4. Subdivisions 3, 4, 11 and 13 of section 2985-a of the public
34 authorities law, as added by section 2 of subpart B of part WW of chap-
35 ter 56 of the laws of 2024, are amended to read as follows:
36 3. In the case of an owner who incurs an obligation to pay a toll for
37 the first time in six months under the tolls by mail program at a cash-
38 less tolling facility, a toll bill shall be sent within ten business
39 days after the end of the initial billing cycle and of each subsequent
40 billing cycle. In the case of all other owners incurring an obligation
41 to pay a toll at a cashless tolling facility, a toll bill shall be sent
42 at the end of the next billing cycle. Toll bills shall be sent to the
43 owner by first class mail, and may additionally be sent by electronic
44 means of communication upon the affirmative consent of the owner, by or
45 on behalf of the public authority which operates such cashless tolling
46 facility. The owner shall have thirty days from the date of the toll
47 bill to pay the incurred toll. The toll bill shall include: (i) the
48 total amount of the incurred tolls due, (ii) the date by which payment
49 of the incurred tolls is due, (iii) any administrative fees, (iv) the
50 address for receipt of payment and methods of payment for the toll, (v)
51 the procedure for contesting any toll and the contact information for
52 the relevant toll payer advocate office and customer service center and
53 procedure for designating an agent to contest any toll on the owner's
54 behalf, (vi) information related to the failure to timely pay or respond
55 to the notice of liability, in addition to the possibility that a judg-
56 ment can be entered for repeat unpaid liabilities that could lead to a
S. 9511 4
1 vehicle being towed or immobilized, (vii) a website address or hyperlink
2 for the owner to access time-stamped photographs or footage of each toll
3 incurred by electronic means, (viii) information related to the avail-
4 ability of the toll payer advocate to discuss payment options, and (ix)
5 other information required by law or by the public authority. Each toll
6 bill shall identify the date, time, location, license plate number, and
7 jurisdiction of the license plate for each toll that has been incurred.
8 Each toll bill shall include an image of the license plate of the vehi-
9 cle being used or operated on the toll facility. If the owner fails to
10 pay the initial toll bill, a second toll bill shall be sent in the next
11 billing cycle, which shall also indicate the overdue toll or tolls and
12 any administrative or late fees due.
13 4. In the case of an owner who does not pay a toll incurred under the
14 tolls by mail program on a cashless facility at the place and time and
15 in the manner established for collection of such toll in the second toll
16 bill, a notice of violation shall be sent notifying the owner that the
17 toll is unpaid and administrative violation fees are being imposed. The
18 notice of violation shall be sent to the owner by first class mail, and
19 may additionally be sent by electronic means of communication upon the
20 affirmative consent of the owner, by or on behalf of the public authori-
21 ty which operates such cashless tolling facility. The notice of
22 violation shall include: (i) the total amount of unpaid tolls and admin-
23 istrative violation fees due, (ii) the date by which payment of the
24 tolls and administrative violation fees is due, (iii) the address for
25 receipt of payment and methods of payment for the toll, (iv) the proce-
26 dure for contesting any toll and the contact information for the rele-
27 vant toll payer advocate office and customer service center and proce-
28 dure for designating an agent to contest any toll on the owner's behalf,
29 (v) information related to the failure to timely pay or respond to the
30 notice of liability, in addition to the possibility that a judgment can
31 be entered for repeat unpaid liabilities that could lead to a vehicle
32 being towed or immobilized, (vi) a website address or hyperlink for the
33 owner to access time-stamped photographs or footage of each toll
34 incurred by electronic means, (vii) information related to the avail-
35 ability of the toll payer advocate to discuss payment options, and
36 (viii) other information required by law or by the public authority.
37 Each notice of violation shall identify the date, time, location,
38 license plate number, and jurisdiction of the license plate for each
39 unpaid toll that has been incurred.
40 11. Any public authority that operates a cashless tolling facility
41 shall: (i) maintain a website and toll-free phone number for any person
42 to receive updated information on any tolls or fees which are outstand-
43 ing; and (ii) establish procedures for owners to dispute any tolls and
44 violation fees incurred in connection with toll bills, including a
45 requirement that written determinations in such disputes shall be issued
46 within forty-five days of receipt of the owner's declaration of dispute.
47 Such information shall be prominently displayed on such public authori-
48 ty's toll bills, notices of violation and website. The authority shall
49 publish its fee waiver policy in a prominent location on its website,
50 including any updates to such policy.
51 13. Every public authority that operates a cashless tolling facility
52 shall establish an office of such authority's toll payer advocate,
53 designed to further assist owners who remain unsatisfied after first
54 attempting resolution in writing of their concern with, and receiving
55 written determination from, such authority's customer service center.
56 The office of the toll payer advocate shall also endeavor to identify
S. 9511 5
1 any systemic issues and recommend reasonable improvements regarding the
2 use of and process involved with the payment of tolls under the tolls by
3 mail program at cashless tolling facilities to the public authority.
4 The owner of the vehicle or other individual upon whom liability is
5 imposed may designate an agent, in writing, including an attorney or
6 elected official, to dispute or resolve a toll incurred pursuant to this
7 section or section twenty-nine hundred eighty-five of this article with
8 the relevant tolling authority's customer service center and toll payer
9 advocate office.
10 § 5. No later than 270 days after the effective date of this act,
11 every public authority that operates a cashless tolling facility pursu-
12 ant to article 9 of the public authorities law or central business
13 district tolling program pursuant to article 44-C of the vehicle and
14 traffic law shall report to the governor, temporary president of the
15 senate, speaker of the assembly, and chairs of the corporations and
16 public authorities committees in the senate and assembly on the follow-
17 ing: (1) the total number of toll bills issued involving license plates
18 which were disputed by the owner as not having used such tolling asset
19 or been present at the time the toll was incurred or having lawfully
20 surrendered the license plates to which the toll bill was issued; (2)
21 the total number of toll bills issued to owners where a tolling system
22 incorrectly billed an owner for tolls incurred by a distinctive license
23 plate or government use motor vehicle; (3) a summary of how such toll
24 bill disputes were resolved; (4) an explanation of steps taken to
25 prevent similar future issues; and (5) any remedial steps or compen-
26 sation provided to owners.
27 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately. Effective immediately,
28 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
29 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
30 authorized to be made on or before such date. With respect to the Port
31 Authority of New York and New Jersey, this act shall take effect upon
32 the enactment into law by the state of New Jersey of legislation having
33 an identical effect with this act upon the Port Authority of New York
34 and New Jersey; but if the state of New Jersey shall have already
35 enacted such legislation, this act shall take effect immediately;
36 provided, that the chair of the port authority shall notify the legisla-
37 tive bill drafting commission upon the occurrence of the enactment of
38 the legislation provided for in section two of this act in order that
39 the commission may maintain an accurate and timely effective data base
40 of the official text of the laws of the state of New York in furtherance
41 of effectuating the provisions of section 44 of the legislative law and
42 section 70-b of the public officers law. Provided, however, that
43 section four of this act shall take effect on the same date and in the
44 same manner as subpart B of part WW of chapter 56 of the laws of 2024.
