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S05765 Summary:

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S05765 Committee Votes:

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S05765 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          5765
 
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                      June 2, 2015
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen.  ROBACH -- 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  mobility
          vehicles and new mobility vehicles
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 415 of  the  vehicle  and  traffic
     2  law,  as amended by chapter 7 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as
     3  follows:
     4    1. Definitions. The following terms when used in this  article,  shall
     5  be deemed to mean and include:
     6    a.  "Dealer" means a person engaged in the business of buying, selling
     7  or dealing in motor vehicles, motorcycles or trailers, other than mobile
     8  homes or manufactured homes, at retail or  wholesale;  except,  however,
     9  trailers  with  an  unladen weight of less than one thousand pounds. For
    10  the purposes of this section, a "mobile  home"  or  "manufactured  home"
    11  means  a  mobile  home  or  manufactured  home as defined in section one
    12  hundred twenty-two-c of this chapter. Any person who  sells,  or  offers
    13  for  sale  more than five motor vehicles, motorcycles or trailers in any
    14  calendar year or who displays or permits the display of  three  or  more
    15  motor  vehicles,  motorcycles  or  trailers  for sale at any one time or
    16  within any one calendar month upon premises owned or controlled  by  him
    17  or  her, if such vehicles were purchased, acquired or otherwise obtained
    18  by such person for the purpose of resale, will be regarded as a  dealer.
    19  Except  as  otherwise  provided  in subdivisions three, five, six-b, and
    20  seven of this section, the term "dealer"  shall  include  a  "new  motor
    21  vehicle  dealer"  as  defined  by  paragraph f of this subdivision and a
    22  "qualified dealer" as defined in paragraph g of this subdivision.
    23    b. "Person" means any natural person, firm, corporation,  partnership,
    24  limited  liability company, entity, joint venture, association or organ-
    25  ization.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11468-01-5
        S. 5765                             2
 
     1    c. "Place of business" means a designated location at which the  busi-
     2  ness  of  the  dealer is conducted, and, in relation to a retail dealer,
     3  facilities for displaying new or used motor vehicles.
     4    d.  "Retail dealer" means a dealer whose business consists in whole or
     5  in part of buying, selling or dealing in motor vehicles, motorcycles  or
     6  trailers at retail.
     7    e.  "Wholesale  dealer"  means a dealer whose business consists exclu-
     8  sively of buying, selling or dealing in motor vehicles,  motorcycles  or
     9  trailers at wholesale.
    10    f. "New motor vehicle dealer" means a dealer who engages in the activ-
    11  ities  described  in  paragraph a of this subdivision if such activities
    12  relate to new motor vehicles and if such dealer is party to a franchise,
    13  as the terms "new motor vehicle" and "franchise" are defined in  section
    14  four hundred sixty-two of this title; provided, however, for purposes of
    15  this  definition,  a  new  motor  vehicle shall include only those motor
    16  vehicles commonly classified as a passenger  automobile,  sport  utility
    17  vehicle,  light  truck,  pickup truck, van, minivan, or suburban, with a
    18  gross vehicle weight rating of ten thousand pounds or  less,  and  shall
    19  not  include  (i) any such vehicle which has been converted for use as a
    20  tow truck, or (ii) a motor vehicle for which the current ownership docu-
    21  ment is a statement of  acquisition  issued  pursuant  to  section  four
    22  hundred  twenty-nine  of  this  title,  a  salvage  certificate, salvage
    23  certificate of title, nonrepairable  certificate,  or  similar  document
    24  issued by any state or jurisdiction; or (iii) any motor vehicle commonly
    25  classified  as  a  bus,  school  bus, garbage truck, marine trailer, tow
    26  truck, motorcycle, recreational  vehicle,  snowmobile,  trailer,  mobile
    27  home  or construction equipment; and provided further that: (i) a dealer
    28  is a new motor vehicle dealer only with respect to those vehicles  which
    29  are of the same make as those which that dealer is authorized to sell at
    30  that location pursuant to a valid franchise agreement; and (ii) a dealer
    31  is  not  acting as a new motor vehicle dealer when displaying, advertis-
    32  ing, storing and/or demonstrating a new mobility vehicle.
    33    g. "Qualified dealer" means a dealer, other than a new  motor  vehicle
    34  dealer or a dealer owned in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, by
    35  a manufacturer, who:
    36    (i)  acting  through  a  single  person,  but operating at one or more
    37  locations of such single person, has displayed new  motor  vehicles  for
    38  sale and/or lease, and has sold and/or leased (excluding sales or leases
    39  of  any  affiliates)  a  minimum  of four thousand new and/or used motor
    40  vehicles annually (of which at least forty  percent  annually  were  new
    41  motor  vehicles)  at  retail regardless of make or model from any one or
    42  more locations of such single person within the state, in each year from
    43  nineteen hundred ninety-five  through  and  including  nineteen  hundred
    44  ninety-eight, exclusively; or
    45    (ii)  has  displayed new motor vehicles for sale and/or lease, and has
    46  sold and/or leased (excluding sales or leases of any affiliates) a mini-
    47  mum of two hundred twenty-five new and/or used motor vehicles (of  which
    48  at  least thirty-three and one-third percent were new motor vehicles) at
    49  retail, regardless of make or model, from  any  one  or  more  locations
    50  within  the  state,  in the twelve-month period preceding August thirty-
    51  first, nineteen hundred ninety-nine; or
    52    (iii) was issued an original certificate of registration as  a  dealer
    53  with  a  validation  date  of  May,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-nine, has
    54  displayed new motor vehicles for sale and/or lease, and has sold  and/or
    55  leased  (excluding  sales  or leases of any affiliates) a minimum of one
    56  hundred fifty new and/or used motor vehicles (of which  at  least  fifty
        S. 5765                             3
 
     1  were  new  motor vehicles), regardless of make or model, from any one or
     2  more locations within the state, in the period between July first, nine-
     3  teen hundred ninety-nine and the effective date of [the]  chapter  seven
     4  of  the  laws  of two thousand [which added this subparagraph]. Notwith-
     5  standing the provisions of subdivision eighteen  of  this  section,  the
     6  total  number of locations from which a qualified dealer eligible pursu-
     7  ant to this subparagraph may operate shall not  exceed  that  number  of
     8  locations  operated  by  such  qualified  dealer on August thirty-first,
     9  nineteen hundred ninety-nine; or
    10    (iv) was issued a certificate of registration as a dealer new and used
    11  with a validation date of February, nineteen  hundred  ninety-eight  and
    12  has  continuously held a certificate of registration as a dealer for the
    13  ten years preceding the effective date of [the]  chapter  seven  of  the
    14  laws  of  two  thousand  [which  added  this subparagraph], and has sold
    15  and/or leased (excluding sales or leases of any affiliates) a minimum of
    16  two hundred new and/or used motor vehicles (of  which  at  least  twenty
    17  percent  were  new motor vehicles) regardless of make or model, from one
    18  or more locations within the  state  in  the  period  between  September
    19  first,  nineteen hundred ninety-eight through and including August thir-
    20  ty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-nine.
    21    h. For the purposes of this section, "new motor vehicle" means a motor
    22  vehicle commonly classified as a  passenger  automobile,  sport  utility
    23  vehicle,  light  truck,  pick  up  truck, van, minivan or suburban which
    24  meets any one or more of the following criteria:
    25    (i) a motor vehicle which has not been placed in consumer use; or
    26    (ii) a motor vehicle which has not been transferred to  someone  other
    27  than a distributor, new motor vehicle dealer, or qualified dealer; or
    28    (iii)  a  motor  vehicle which has less than one thousand miles on the
    29  odometer.
    30    Provided, however, that such term shall not include any  such  vehicle
    31  which  has  been  converted  for use as a tow truck or any motor vehicle
    32  commonly classified as a bus, school bus, garbage truck, marine trailer,
    33  tow truck, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, snowmobile, trailer, mobile
    34  home or construction equipment.
    35    i. "Used motor vehicle" means any vehicle not included  in  the  defi-
    36  nition of a new motor vehicle. Provided, however, that such term as used
    37  in  paragraph g of this subdivision shall include only those motor vehi-
    38  cles commonly classified as a passenger automobile, sport utility  vehi-
    39  cle,  light truck, pick up truck, van, minivan or suburban, with a gross
    40  vehicle weight rating of ten thousand pounds or less, which (i)  is  not
    41  deemed  to  be  a  "new  motor  vehicle" pursuant to paragraph h of this
    42  subdivision, or (ii) has not been converted for use as a tow  truck,  or
    43  (iii)  is  not  commonly classified as a bus, school bus, garbage truck,
    44  marine trailer, tow truck, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, snowmobile,
    45  trailer, mobile home, or construction equipment.
    46    j. "Lease" means to arrange for a person to enter  into  an  agreement
    47  subject  to  the  provisions  of article nine-A of the personal property
    48  law, or to act as a lessor as defined in such article.
    49    k.  "Mobility  vehicle"  means  a  motor  vehicle  that  is  specially
    50  converted  and  equipped  to transport a person with a disability and is
    51  altered or modified for such use by an alterer or final  stage  manufac-
    52  turer  pursuant  to parts 567 and 568 of title 49 of the code of federal
    53  regulations or a modifier pursuant to part 595 of title 49 of  the  code
    54  of federal regulations and that:
        S. 5765                             4
 
     1    (i)  has  a  chassis that contains: (A) a permanently lowered floor or
     2  permanently lowered frame; or (B) a permanently raised roof  and  raised
     3  door; and
     4    (ii)  contains  at  least  one  of the following: (A) an electronic or
     5  mechanical wheelchair, scooter, or platform lift that enables  a  person
     6  to  enter  or  exit the vehicle while occupying a wheelchair or scooter;
     7  (B) an electronic or mechanical wheelchair ramp that is installed as  an
     8  integral part or permanent attachment to the motor vehicle.
     9    For the purposes of this section, the terms "alterer" and "final-stage
    10  manufacturer"  shall have the same meanings as such terms are defined in
    11  part 567.3 of title 49 of the code of federal regulations, and the  term
    12  "modifier"  shall mean any motor vehicle repair business that modifies a
    13  motor vehicle to enable a person with a disability to operate,  or  ride
    14  as a passenger in, the motor vehicle.
    15    l. "New mobility vehicle" means a mobility vehicle that has not previ-
    16  ously been titled or registered for operation by a consumer, either as a
    17  mobility vehicle or as a motor vehicle.
    18    §  2.  Subdivision  7 of section 415 of the vehicle and traffic law is
    19  amended by adding a new paragraph c-1 to read as follows:
    20    c-1. Special provisions relating to mobility vehicles. (i) Any dealer,
    21  other than a new motor vehicle dealer, engaged in displaying,  advertis-
    22  ing,   storing  and/or  demonstrating  mobility  vehicles  shall  notify
    23  prospective purchasers regarding any warranty on the mobility  modifica-
    24  tions  and  the  effect  of any such modifications or alterations on any
    25  warranty on the underlying motor vehicle and, upon the sale of any  such
    26  mobility  vehicle,  provide  the purchaser with any warranty information
    27  available to any such dealer relating to the underlying motor vehicle.
    28    (ii) Notwithstanding the provisions of article twelve-A of this  chap-
    29  ter,  a dealer engaged in displaying, advertising, storing and/or demon-
    30  strating mobility vehicles may, without obtaining a repair shop  license
    31  pursuant to such article twelve-A, perform repairs on those parts of the
    32  mobility  vehicle  that are unique to the modifications made thereto and
    33  which are not part of the original manufactured motor vehicle.
    34    § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  which  it
    35  shall have become a law.