Bill Text: NY A01174 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Directs municipalities to create a program for bystander reporting of stolen, false or fraudulent license plates.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to transportation [A01174 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A01174-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1174

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 13, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. EPSTEIN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Transportation

        AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in  relation  to  bystander
          reporting of stolen, false or fraudulent license plates

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 392-a of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by
     2  chapter 307 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 392-a. Sale or purchase of  stolen,  false  or  fraudulent  license,
     4  identification  card, certificate of registration, or number plate. 1. A
     5  person who knowingly sells or offers to sell or buys or offers to buy  a
     6  false, fraudulent or stolen license, identification card, certificate of
     7  registration  or  number  plate,  shall  be guilty of a misdemeanor as a
     8  first offense and a class E felony as a  second  or  subsequent  offense
     9  committed within ten years of the prior offense.
    10    2. (a) For the purposes of this subdivision, the following definitions
    11  shall apply:
    12    (i)  "Bystander"  shall  mean  any natural person, other than a police
    13  officer or other governmental employee authorized to serve summons for a
    14  violation of this section, who observes a number plate on a motor  vehi-
    15  cle  that  he or she believes to be stolen, false, and/or fraudulent and
    16  reports such believed  violation  to  the  local  enforcement  authority
    17  pursuant to the provisions of this section.
    18    (ii) "Local enforcement authority" shall mean any police department or
    19  other  governmental  entity  designated by a municipality to enforce the
    20  provisions of this chapter.
    21    (iii) "Municipality" shall mean a county outside the city of New York,
    22  or a city, town, or village.
    23    (b) Each municipality in this state shall create a program in which  a
    24  bystander  may  report to the local enforcement authority a number plate
    25  that he or she believes to be stolen, false, and/or fraudulent on a form

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03569-01-3
        A. 1174                             2

     1  prescribed by such municipality. The municipality shall  make  available
     2  and post online information describing such program and all details that
     3  the  local enforcement authority deems necessary and relevant to include
     4  in a bystander report which may include, but not be limited to, time and
     5  date  verification, make, model, and color of the motor vehicle, license
     6  plate number, and issuing state. Such information shall include guidance
     7  on gathering supporting documentation and shall clearly describe  antic-
     8  ipated  timelines  for  the  investigation of such alleged violation and
     9  issuance of fines.
    10    (c) Any bystander who has served a complaint upon a local  enforcement
    11  authority,  pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision, shall receive
    12  twenty-five percent of the proceeds of any fine,  issued  under  article
    13  eighty  of  the penal law, for disclosure of information or evidence not
    14  in the possession  of  such  authority  prior  to  the  receipt  of  the
    15  bystander's  complaint  which  leads  to  a  conviction  of  the offense
    16  described in subdivision one of this section.
    17    (d) A municipality may enter into a joint service agreement,  consist-
    18  ent  with  section  one hundred nineteen-o of the general municipal law,
    19  with another municipality in order to effectuate the provisions of  this
    20  section.
    21    § 2. Section 402 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a
    22  new subdivision 9 to read as follows:
    23    9. (a) For the purposes of this subdivision, the following definitions
    24  shall apply:
    25    (i)  "Bystander"  shall  mean  any natural person, other than a police
    26  officer or other governmental employee authorized to serve summons for a
    27  violation of this section, who observes a number plate on a motor  vehi-
    28  cle  that  he or she believes to violate the provisions of paragraph (b)
    29  of subdivision one of this section.
    30    (ii) "Local enforcement authority" shall mean any police department or
    31  other governmental entity designated by a municipality  to  enforce  the
    32  provisions of this chapter.
    33    (iii) "Municipality" shall mean a county outside the city of New York,
    34  or a city, town, or village.
    35    (b) All municipalities in this state shall create a program in which a
    36  bystander  may  report to the local enforcement authority a number plate
    37  that he or she believes to violate the provisions of  paragraph  (b)  of
    38  subdivision  one  of  this  section in a form prescribed by such munici-
    39  pality. The municipality shall make available and post  online  informa-
    40  tion  describing such program and all details that the local enforcement
    41  authority deems necessary and relevant to include in a bystander report,
    42  which may include but not be limited  to  time  and  date  verification,
    43  make,  model,  and color of the motor vehicle, license plate number, and
    44  issuing state. Such information  shall  include  guidance  on  gathering
    45  supporting  documentation  and  shall clearly describe anticipated time-
    46  lines for the investigation of such alleged violation  and  issuance  of
    47  fines.
    48    (c)  Any bystander who has served a complaint upon a local enforcement
    49  authority, pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision, shall  receive
    50  twenty-five percent of the proceeds of a fine imposed pursuant to subdi-
    51  vision  eight  of this section for disclosure of information or evidence
    52  not in the possession of such authority prior  to  the  receipt  of  the
    53  bystander's  complaint  which  leads  to a finding of a violation of the
    54  provisions of paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this section.
    55    (d) A municipality may enter into a joint service agreement,  consist-
    56  ent  with  section  one hundred nineteen-o of the general municipal law,
        A. 1174                             3

     1  with another municipality in order to effectuate the provisions of  this
     2  section.
     3    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
     4  it shall have become a law. On or before such effective date, each muni-
     5  cipality,  or  set  of  municipalities  if entering into a joint service
     6  agreement pursuant to section 119-o of the general municipal law,  shall
     7  publish   online  a  description  of  the  bystander  reporting  program
     8  described in this act, including information related to  best  practices
     9  for the filing of a report.