STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1193
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 5, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GANTT -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to a driver
safety course; to amend the state finance law, in relation to a driver
safety course fund; and to repeal certain provisions of such laws
relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Articles 12-B and 12-C of the vehicle and traffic law are
2 REPEALED and a new article 12-B is added to read as follows:
3 ARTICLE 12-B
4 DRIVER SAFETY COURSE
5 Section 399-a. Statement of purpose.
6 399-b. Establishment and implementation of driver safety course.
7 399-c. Course content.
8 399-d. Fees.
9 399-e. Advertising.
10 399-f. Report by commissioner.
11 399-g. Regulations.
12 § 399-a. Statement of purpose. The purpose of this article is to
13 foster and maintain driver competency through the creation of a driver
14 safety course.
15 § 399-b. Establishment and implementation of driver safety course. The
16 commissioner shall establish and implement an internet based driver
17 safety course for the purposes of training new drivers, and granting
18 point and insurance reduction benefits. The commissioner shall not
19 contract with or otherwise utilize any non-governmental entities in the
20 establishment or implementation of this course, except that the commis-
21 sioner shall contract with a software solution and network infrastruc-
22 ture provider. Such software solution and network infrastructure provid-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03365-01-1
A. 1193 2
1 er shall be incorporated and located within the state, have conducted
2 business with the state for a period of not less than ten years, offer
3 course content as part of their services, and use biometric technologies
4 to guarantee security. The commissioner shall implement a system that
5 allows an on-line participant to verify his or her identity and ensures
6 that such student's identity and on-line transaction is secure. The
7 commissioner shall endeavor to contract software solution and network
8 infrastructure providers certified under article fifteen-A of the execu-
9 tive law.
10 § 399-c. Course content. The commissioner shall contract with a tech-
11 nology contractor who is well-known in the community and specializes in
12 traffic safety curriculum development to develop a curriculum for the
13 driver safety course in conjunction with the governor's traffic safety
14 committee. This curriculum shall contain instruction on driver attitude,
15 collision awareness, the proper use of automobile safety devices, defen-
16 sive driving, drug and alcohol impairment, safe use of automobile tech-
17 nology, school and work zone safety, toll plaza safety, driving while
18 drowsy, driver distractions, road rage, school bus safety, and such
19 other subjects as the commissioner may prescribe. This curriculum shall
20 be reviewed and updated annually.
21 § 399-d. Fees. The commissioner is authorized to impose a fee upon
22 each student who enrolls in the driver safety course which shall not
23 exceed one hundred dollars. The proceeds from such fee shall be deposit-
24 ed in the driver safety course fund as established by section eighty-
25 nine-g of the state finance law.
26 § 399-e. Advertising. The governor's traffic safety committee shall
27 develop and implement a program to actively market and promote the driv-
28 er safety course to the general public.
29 § 399-f. Report by commissioner. The commissioner shall report annual-
30 ly to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speak-
31 er of the assembly the number of students taking the course, amount of
32 revenue received, the location of students by county, and whether the
33 course is taken for pre-licensing, insurance, or point reduction
34 purposes.
35 § 399-g. Regulations. The commissioner shall promulgate such rules and
36 regulations as are necessary to effectuate the provisions of this arti-
37 cle.
38 § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 502 of the vehicle and traffic law is
39 REPEALED and a new subdivision 4 is added to read as follows:
40 4. Examinations. (a) Upon submission of an application for a driver's
41 license, the applicant shall be required (i) to take and pass a test
42 relating to traffic laws, and such other traffic related matters that
43 the commissioner may prescribe, (ii) to take and pass a behind the wheel
44 examination, and (iii) to satisfactorily complete the driver safety
45 course under article twelve-B of this chapter.
46 (b) The commissioner shall cause the applicant to take a vision test
47 and a test for color blindness. Upon passage of the vision test, the
48 application may be accepted and the application fee shall be payable.
49 (c) The commissioner shall make available to each applicant for a
50 commercial driver's license instructional handbooks outlining the
51 requirements necessary to qualify for such a license, and containing a
52 discussion of the offenses which will result in disqualification from
53 operating a commercial motor vehicle as defined in section five hundred
54 one-a of this article. Such handbooks shall be available in languages as
55 the commissioner may prescribe.
A. 1193 3
1 (d) The commissioner may waive the requirement for passage of a test
2 under subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision, for those
3 applicants who hold a valid or renewable driver's license issued by
4 another jurisdiction or the United States government.
5 (e) The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations establish-
6 ing eligibility standards for the taking and passing of knowledge tests
7 in other than written form.
8 § 3. Section 89-g of the state finance law is REPEALED and a new
9 section 89-g is added to read as follows:
10 § 89-g. Driver safety course fund. 1. There is hereby established in
11 the joint custody of the state comptroller and the commissioner of taxa-
12 tion and finance a special fund to be known as the "driver safety course
13 fund".
14 2. Such fund shall consist of all fees received by the department of
15 motor vehicles pursuant to the provisions of article twelve-B of the
16 vehicle and traffic law, and all other moneys appropriated, credited or
17 transferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to law.
18 3. The moneys in the driver safety course fund shall be kept separate
19 and shall not be commingled with any other moneys in the custody of the
20 commissioner of taxation and finance and the state comptroller.
21 4. The moneys in the driver safety course fund shall be annually
22 distributed as follows: not more than thirty percent of the moneys in
23 such fund shall be expended by the department of motor vehicles for the
24 purposes of administering and implementing the provisions of article
25 twelve-B of the vehicle and traffic law; not more than thirty percent of
26 the moneys in such fund shall be transferred to the dedicated highway
27 and bridge trust fund; not more than fifteen percent of the moneys in
28 such fund shall be expended for the administration of department of
29 motor vehicle regional offices located in the city of Albany, city of
30 Rochester, town of Oyster Bay, town of Bethpage, city of Syracuse,
31 village of North Syracuse, village of West Haverstraw, village of Amity-
32 ville, town of Islip, town of Huntington, town of Brookhaven, town of
33 Riverhead, city of Peekskill, city of White Plains, and city of Yonkers,
34 provided however, in the event that any of the aforementioned offices
35 has closed, relocated, or experienced a significant reduction of activ-
36 ities, no moneys shall be expended for the purpose of administration of
37 any regional office under this section; not more than five percent or
38 five million dollars, whichever is less, of the moneys in such fund
39 shall be expended by the governor's traffic safety committee for adver-
40 tising and curriculum development of the driver safety program; not more
41 than five percent or five million dollars, whichever is less, of the
42 moneys in such fund shall be expended by the department of transporta-
43 tion for culvert maintenance; not more than five percent or five million
44 dollars, whichever is less, of the moneys in such fund shall be expended
45 by the department of transportation and the division of state police for
46 work and school zone safety programs; not more than five percent or five
47 million dollars, whichever is less, of the moneys in such fund shall be
48 expended by non metropolitan transportation authority public transporta-
49 tion authorities for the para transit operations; and not more than five
50 percent or five million dollars, whichever is less, of the moneys in
51 such fund shall be expended by the metropolitan transportation authority
52 for handicapped accessible equipment.
53 § 4. This act shall take effect September 1, 2011.
