STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6654
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 30, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PERRY, ROBINSON -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
ABINANTI, HIKIND, McDONOUGH, ORTIZ, TITUS -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the general business
law, in relation to mobility dealers
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraphs a, f and i of subdivision 1 of section 415 of
2 the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter 7 of the laws of
3 2000, are amended and three new paragraphs k, l and m are added to read
4 as follows:
5 a. "Dealer" means a person engaged in the business of buying, selling
6 or dealing in motor vehicles, motorcycles or trailers, other than mobile
7 homes or manufactured homes, at retail or wholesale; except, however,
8 trailers with an unladen weight of less than one thousand pounds. For
9 the purposes of this section, a "mobile home" or "manufactured home"
10 means a mobile home or manufactured home as defined in section one
11 hundred twenty-two-c of this chapter. Any person who sells, or offers
12 for sale more than five motor vehicles, motorcycles or trailers in any
13 calendar year or who displays or permits the display of three or more
14 motor vehicles, motorcycles or trailers for sale at any one time or
15 within any one calendar month upon premises owned or controlled by him
16 or her, if such vehicles were purchased, acquired or otherwise obtained
17 by such person for the purpose of resale, will be regarded as a dealer.
18 Except as otherwise provided in subdivisions three, five, six-b, and
19 seven of this section, the term "dealer" shall include a "new motor
20 vehicle dealer" as defined by paragraph f of this subdivision and a
21 "qualified dealer" as defined in paragraph g of this subdivision.
22 f. "New motor vehicle dealer" means a dealer who engages in the activ-
23 ities described in paragraph a of this subdivision if such activities
24 relate to new motor vehicles and if such dealer is party to a franchise,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03565-01-5
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1 as the terms "new motor vehicle" and "franchise" are defined in section
2 four hundred sixty-two of this title; provided, however, for purposes of
3 this definition, a new motor vehicle shall include only those motor
4 vehicles commonly classified as a passenger automobile, sport utility
5 vehicle, light truck, pickup truck, van, minivan, or suburban, with a
6 gross vehicle weight rating of ten thousand pounds or less, and shall
7 not include (i) any such vehicle which has been converted for use as a
8 tow truck[,] or (ii) a motor vehicle for which the current ownership
9 document is a statement of acquisition issued pursuant to section four
10 hundred twenty-nine of this title, a salvage certificate, salvage
11 certificate of title, nonrepairable certificate, or similar document
12 issued by any state or jurisdiction; or (iii) any motor vehicle commonly
13 classified as a bus, school bus, garbage truck, marine trailer, tow
14 truck, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, snowmobile, trailer, mobile
15 home or construction equipment; and provided further that a dealer is a
16 new motor vehicle dealer only with respect to those vehicles which are
17 of the same make as those which that dealer is authorized to sell at
18 that location pursuant to a valid franchise agreement.
19 i. "Used motor vehicle" means any vehicle not included in the defi-
20 nition of a new motor vehicle. Provided, however, that such term as used
21 in paragraph g of this subdivision shall include only those motor vehi-
22 cles commonly classified as a passenger automobile, sport utility vehi-
23 cle, light truck, pick up truck, van, minivan or suburban, with a gross
24 vehicle weight rating of ten thousand pounds or less, which (i) is not
25 deemed to be a "new motor vehicle" pursuant to paragraph h of this
26 subdivision, or (ii) has not been converted for use as a tow truck or
27 mobility vehicle, or (iii) is not commonly classified as a bus, school
28 bus, garbage truck, marine trailer, tow truck, motorcycle, recreational
29 vehicle, snowmobile, trailer, mobile home, or construction equipment.
30 k. (i) "Mobility dealer" means a person who displays for sale or
31 advertises for sale more than five mobility vehicles in any calendar
32 year or who displays or permits the display of three or more mobility
33 vehicles at any one time or within any one calendar month upon premises
34 owned or controlled by him or her, regardless of the ownership of such
35 mobility vehicles.
36 (ii) Mobility dealer does not include any of the following:
37 (A) receivers, trustees, administrators, executors, guardians or other
38 persons appointed by or acting under the judgment or order of any court;
39 (B) public officers while performing their official duties;
40 (C) persons disposing of motor vehicles acquired for their own use or
41 for the use of a family member, and actually so used, when the vehicles
42 have been acquired and used in good faith and not for the purposes of
43 avoiding the provisions of this section;
44 (D) financial institutions who sell repossessed mobility vehicles;
45 (E) insurance companies who resell mobility vehicles that they
46 acquired in the course of business.
47 l. "Mobility equipment" means mechanical or electronic devices, parts
48 or accessories specifically designed to facilitate the use of a motor
49 vehicle by an aging or disabled person as interpreted by the National
50 Highway Traffic Safety Administration and which are permanently attached
51 to or incorporated in the vehicle.
52 m. "Mobility vehicle" means a motor vehicle that is specially designed
53 and equipped to transport a person with a disability (as interpreted by
54 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and that:
55 (i) is designed and built or modified to allow vehicle ingress and
56 egress for a person in a wheelchair or scooter; and
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1 (ii) contains at least one of the following:
2 (A) an electronic or mechanical wheelchair, scooter, or platform lift
3 that enables a person to enter or exit the vehicle while occupying a
4 wheelchair or scooter;
5 (B) an electronic or mechanical wheelchair ramp; or
6 (C) a system to secure a wheelchair or scooter to allow for a person
7 to be safely transported while occupying the wheelchair or scooter, that
8 is installed as an integral part or permanent attachment to the motor
9 vehicle's chassis.
10 § 2. The opening paragraph and paragraph c of subdivision 3 of section
11 415 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter 7 of the laws
12 of 2000, are amended and a new paragraph b-1 is added to read as
13 follows:
14 Registration of new motor vehicle dealers, mobility dealers, qualified
15 dealers, and other motor vehicle dealers.
16 b-1. No person shall engage in business as a mobility dealer, or
17 represent, advertise, or otherwise hold himself or herself out as
18 engaged or intending to engage in the business of displaying, advertis-
19 ing or inventorying new mobility vehicles in this state, unless there
20 shall have been issued to him or her a certificate of registration as a
21 mobility dealer as provided in this subdivision and subdivision seven of
22 this section. Provided, however, that a registered new motor vehicle
23 dealer or qualified dealer may engage in business as a mobility dealer,
24 or represent, advertise, or otherwise hold himself or herself out as
25 engaged or intending to engage in the business of selling, displaying,
26 offering, advertising or inventorying mobility vehicles in this state,
27 without having been issued to him or her a certificate of registration
28 as a mobility dealer.
29 c. The issuance of such certificate of registration to a new motor
30 vehicle dealer, a qualified dealer, mobility dealer or other motor vehi-
31 cle dealer shall be deemed to include the right to operate motor vehi-
32 cles, motorcycles and trailers to the extent permitted by subdivision
33 eight of this section, instead of obtaining vehicle registration as
34 provided by sections four hundred one and four hundred ten of this
35 title. The provisions of this section shall not apply to persons engaged
36 in the business of buying, selling or dealing in snowmobiles and/or snow
37 travellers.
38 § 3. The opening paragraph and paragraph a of subdivision 6-b of
39 section 415 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter 7 of
40 the laws of 2000, and paragraph a as further amended by section 104 of
41 part A of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, are amended to read as
42 follows:
43 Dealer, qualified dealer, mobility dealer, and new motor vehicle deal-
44 er surety bond. a. As a condition to obtaining a registration certif-
45 icate pursuant to this section, every new motor vehicle dealer applicant
46 [and], every qualified dealer applicant and every mobility dealer appli-
47 cant shall obtain and continue in effect a surety bond in an amount of
48 fifty thousand dollars executed by a surety company authorized to trans-
49 act business in the state by the department of financial services of the
50 state. As a condition to obtaining a registration certificate pursuant
51 to this section, every mobility dealer applicant and every dealer appli-
52 cant who is applying for a registration certificate in the first
53 instance or who sold two hundred motor vehicles or fewer in the previous
54 calendar year shall obtain and continue in effect a surety bond in an
55 amount of ten thousand dollars executed by a surety company authorized
56 to transact business in the state by the department of financial
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1 services of the state. As a condition of obtaining a registration
2 certificate pursuant to this section, every dealer applicant who sold
3 more than two hundred motor vehicles in the previous calendar year shall
4 obtain and continue in effect a surety bond in an amount of twenty-five
5 thousand dollars executed by a surety company authorized to transact
6 business in the state by the department of financial services of the
7 state. The bonds shall be approved as to form by the commissioner and
8 shall be conditioned on the new motor vehicle dealer's, qualified deal-
9 er's, and dealer's: payment of all valid bank drafts, including checks,
10 drawn by such dealer for the purchase of motor vehicles; transfer of
11 good title to each motor vehicle such dealer sells; safekeeping of all
12 customer deposits related to the sale of a motor vehicle between the
13 time of receipt of such customer deposit and the transfer of good title
14 to the vehicle to the customer; payment for all fines imposed upon the
15 new motor vehicle dealer, qualified dealer, or dealer by the commission-
16 er pursuant to the provisions of this chapter; and such dealer's repay-
17 ment of any overcharges of a customer by such dealer for the vehicle
18 registration and titling charges payable to the commissioner for regis-
19 tering and titling the sold vehicle.
20 § 4. Paragraph c of subdivision 7 of section 415 of the vehicle and
21 traffic law, as amended by chapter 7 of the laws of 2000, is amended and
22 a new paragraph b-1 is added to read as follows:
23 b-1. Registration certificates for mobility dealers. (i) Application.
24 If a person makes application, under penalty of perjury, for a registra-
25 tion certificate as a mobility dealer, the commissioner shall issue a
26 registration as a mobility dealer to such dealer upon payment of the
27 prescribed fee and any requirements the commissioner may prescribe by
28 regulation.
29 (ii) Rights of mobility dealers. Notwithstanding any other law or
30 rule, a person holding a mobility dealer certificate shall have the
31 right to:
32 (A) display, inventory, advertise, solicit, or demonstrate any mobili-
33 ty vehicle, regardless of the chassis make of the mobility vehicle, and
34 regardless of whether ownership of such mobility vehicle is held by a
35 new motor vehicle dealer inside or outside this state;
36 (B) arrange, negotiate, and/or assist consumers as regards the
37 purchase of any mobility vehicle;
38 (C) sell and install mobility equipment and accessories and other
39 goods and services to meet the needs particular to disabled drivers and
40 passengers;
41 (D) provide mobility vehicle maintenance and repair services.
42 (iii) Prohibitions. Notwithstanding any other law or rule, a person
43 holding a mobility dealer certificate shall not have the right to
44 perform repairs on mobility vehicles or other motor vehicles, without
45 obtaining a license as a repair shop pursuant to article twelve-A of
46 this chapter, however, a mobility dealer may, without obtaining such
47 license, perform repairs on parts which are unique to mobility vehicles
48 and were not part of the original manufactured motor vehicle.
49 (iv) Regulations by the commissioner. The commissioner shall have the
50 power to promulgate such regulations as are necessary to implement
51 mobility dealer registration and establish reasonable and appropriate
52 qualifications for such dealers.
53 c. Registration certificate for other than new motor vehicle dealer,
54 mobility dealer or qualified dealer. If the commissioner approves the
55 application of an applicant for a registration certificate other than a
56 new motor vehicle dealer certificate or a qualified dealer certificate,
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1 upon payment of the prescribed fee, he or she shall issue a registration
2 certificate in such form as he or she may prescribe.
3 § 5. Section 198-a of the general business law is amended by adding a
4 new subdivision (p) to read as follows:
5 (p) This section shall not apply to mobility equipment as defined in
6 subdivision one of section four hundred fifteen of the vehicle and traf-
7 fic law.
8 § 6. Section 198-b of the general business law is amended by adding a
9 new subdivision h to read as follows:
10 h. This section shall not apply to mobility equipment as defined in
11 subdivision one of section four hundred fifteen of the vehicle and traf-
12 fic law.
13 § 7. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
14 it shall have become a law.
