Establishes the COVID-19 livery vehicle recovery act; provides any entity issuing for-hire vehicle licenses shall, for a minimum of one year upon the effective date of this act, allow for the renewal of livery vehicle licenses which expired during the COVID-19 pandemic, under the same vehicle type requirement that existed at the time of expiration unless the livery vehicle owner opts to renew at the current requirement; provides that livery vehicle owners seeking a renewal of an expired license during this open window shall not be penalized, such as through additional charges or fees.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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6670--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 4, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation -- recom-
mitted to the Committee on Transportation in accordance with Senate
Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT establishing the "COVID-19 livery vehicle recovery act"
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 "COVID-19 livery vehicle recovery act".
3 § 2. Notwithstanding any local law to the contrary, any entity issuing
4 for-hire vehicle licenses shall, for a minimum of one year upon the
5 effective date of this act, allow for the renewal of livery vehicle
6 licenses which expired during the COVID-19 pandemic, under the same
7 vehicle type requirement that existed at the time of expiration unless
8 the livery vehicle owner opts to renew at the current requirement. Such
9 livery vehicle licenses restored pursuant to this act may not transfer
10 their base affiliation to individuals, partnerships, limited liability
11 companies, business corporations, sole proprietorships, or any combina-
12 tion of one or more such entities operating under, or in affiliation
13 with, one brand or trade name or a common brand, trade, business or
14 operating name, that offers, facilitates, or otherwise connects passen-
15 gers to for-hire vehicles by prearrangement in the city of New York,
16 utilizing software that allows a passenger or prospective passenger to
17 arrange for transportation using a passenger-facing booking tool,
18 including a smartphone or other electronic device, and that dispatches,
19 or facilitates the dispatching of, 10,000 or more trips in such city in
20 one day. Livery vehicle owners seeking a renewal of an expired license
21 during this open window shall not be penalized, such as through addi-
22 tional charges or fees. Provided further that, notwithstanding the
23 livery vehicle licenses restored pursuant to this act, this act shall
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11093-02-4
S. 6670--A 2
1 not otherwise affect the ability of the entity issuing for-hire vehicle
2 licenses from setting or regulating the number of for-hire vehicle
3 licenses, nor shall it impair such entity's ability to enter into agree-
4 ments with for-hire vehicles, including liveries, to transition to
5 hybrid or zero-emission vehicles by 2030.
6 § 3. For the purposes of this act, the COVID-19 pandemic is deemed to
7 have begun upon the issuance of Executive Order 202 on March 7, 2020,
8 and is deemed to have ended upon the expiration of Executive Order 11
9 after September 12, 2022.
10 § 4. For purposes of this act, "for-hire vehicle", "owner", "livery"
11 and "vehicle license" shall mean the same as defined by local law or
12 regulation.
13 § 5. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
14 have become a law.
