Bill Text: NY A03825 | 2009-2010 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to establishing a demonstration program imposing monetary liability on the owner of a vehicle for failure of an operator thereof to comply with traffic control indications in Nassau county
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-06 - referred to transportation [A03825 Detail]
Download: New_York-2009-A03825-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
3825
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
January 28, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LAVINE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to establishing
a demonstration program imposing monetary liability on the owner of a
vehicle for failure of an operator thereof to comply with traffic
control indications in Nassau county
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Subdivision (a) of section 1111-a of the vehicle and traf-
2 fic law, as amended by chapter 658 of the laws of 2006, is amended to
3 read as follows:
4 (a) 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each city with a
5 population of one million or more [is] AND THE COUNTY OF NASSAU ARE
6 hereby EACH INDIVIDUALLY authorized and empowered to adopt and amend a
7 local law or ordinance establishing a demonstration program imposing
8 monetary liability on the owner of a vehicle for failure of an operator
9 thereof to comply with traffic-control indications in such city OR COUN-
10 TY in accordance with the provisions of this section. Such demonstration
11 program shall empower a city to install and operate traffic-control
12 signal photo violation-monitoring devices at no more than one hundred
13 intersections within such city at any one time AND SHALL EMPOWER SUCH
14 COUNTY TO INSTALL AND OPERATE TRAFFIC-CONTROL SIGNAL PHOTO
15 VIOLATION-MONITORING DEVICES AT NO MORE THAN FIFTY INTERSECTIONS WITHIN
16 SUCH COUNTY AT ANY ONE TIME.
17 2. Such demonstration program shall utilize necessary technologies to
18 ensure, to the extent practicable, that photographs produced by such
19 traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring systems shall not
20 include images that identify the driver, the passengers, or the contents
21 of the vehicle. Provided, however, that no notice of liability issued
22 pursuant to this section shall be dismissed solely because a photograph
23 or photographs allow for the identification of the contents of a vehi-
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00922-01-9
A. 3825 2
1 cle, provided that such city OR COUNTY has made a reasonable effort to
2 comply with the provisions of this paragraph.
3 S 2. Subdivisions (b), (d) and (e) of section 1111-a of the vehicle
4 and traffic law, subdivisions (b) and (d) as amended by chapter 658 of
5 the laws of 2006 and subdivision (e) as amended by chapter 479 of the
6 laws of 1994, are amended to read as follows:
7 (b) In any city OR COUNTY which has adopted a local law or ordinance
8 pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section, the owner of a vehicle
9 shall be liable for a penalty imposed pursuant to this section if such
10 vehicle was used or operated with the permission of the owner, express
11 or implied, in violation of subdivision (d) of section eleven hundred
12 eleven of this article, and such violation is evidenced by information
13 obtained from a traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring
14 system; provided however that no owner of a vehicle shall be liable for
15 a penalty imposed pursuant to this section where the operator of such
16 vehicle has been convicted of the underlying violation of subdivision
17 (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this article.
18 (d) A certificate, sworn to or affirmed by a technician employed by
19 the city OR COUNTY in which the charged violation occurred, or a facsim-
20 ile thereof, based upon inspection of photographs, microphotographs,
21 videotape or other recorded images produced by a traffic-control signal
22 photo violation-monitoring system, shall be prima facie evidence of the
23 facts contained therein. Any photographs, microphotographs, videotape or
24 other recorded images evidencing such a violation shall be available for
25 inspection in any proceeding to adjudicate the liability for such
26 violation pursuant to a local law or ordinance adopted pursuant to this
27 section.
28 (e) An owner liable for a violation of subdivision (d) of section
29 eleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to a local law or ordi-
30 nance adopted pursuant to this section shall be liable for monetary
31 penalties in accordance with a schedule of fines and penalties to be set
32 forth in such local law or ordinance, except that in a city which, by
33 local law, has authorized the adjudication of such owner liability by a
34 parking violations bureau, such schedule shall be promulgated by such
35 bureau, AND IN NASSAU COUNTY IF, BY LOCAL LAW, SUCH COUNTY AUTHORIZES
36 ADJUDICATION OF SUCH OWNER LIABILITY BY THE NASSAU COUNTY TRAFFIC AND
37 PARKING VIOLATIONS AGENCY, SUCH SCHEDULE SHALL BE PROMULGATED BY THE
38 BOARD OF JUDGES OF THE DISTRICT COURT FOR NASSAU COUNTY, PURSUANT TO
39 SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION TWO THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED EIGHT OF THE
40 UNIFORM DISTRICT COURT ACT. The liability of the owner pursuant to this
41 section shall not exceed fifty dollars for each violation; provided,
42 however, that such local law or ordinance may provide for an additional
43 penalty not in excess of twenty-five dollars for each violation for the
44 failure to respond to a notice of liability within the prescribed time
45 period.
46 S 3. Paragraph 4 of subdivision (g) of section 1111-a of the vehicle
47 and traffic law, as added by chapter 746 of the laws of 1988, is amended
48 to read as follows:
49 4. The notice of liability shall be prepared and mailed by the city OR
50 COUNTY having jurisdiction over the intersection where the violation
51 occurred, or by any other entity authorized by the city OR COUNTY to
52 prepare and mail such notification of violation.
53 S 4. Subdivision (h) of section 1111-a of the vehicle and traffic law,
54 as added by chapter 746 of the laws of 1988, is amended to read as
55 follows:
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1 (h) Adjudication of the liability imposed upon owners by this section
2 shall be by a traffic violations bureau OR IN NASSAU COUNTY, BY THE
3 NASSAU COUNTY TRAFFIC AND PARKING VIOLATIONS AGENCY established pursuant
4 to section three hundred seventy of the general municipal law or, if
5 there be none, by the court having jurisdiction over traffic infrac-
6 tions, except that any city which has established an administrative
7 tribunal to hear and determine complaints of traffic infractions consti-
8 tuting parking, standing or stopping violations may, by local law,
9 authorize such adjudication by such tribunal.
10 S 5. Paragraph 1 of subdivision (j) of section 1111-a of the vehicle
11 and traffic law, as added by chapter 746 of the laws of 1988, is amended
12 to read as follows:
13 1. In a city OR A COUNTY where the adjudication of liability imposed
14 upon owners pursuant to this section is by a traffic violations bureau,
15 THE NASSAU COUNTY TRAFFIC AND PARKING VIOLATIONS AGENCY or a court
16 having jurisdiction, an owner who is a lessor of a vehicle to which a
17 notice of liability was issued pursuant to subdivision (g) of this
18 section shall not be liable for the violation of subdivision (d) of
19 section eleven hundred eleven of this article, provided that he or she
20 sends to the traffic violations bureau, THE NASSAU COUNTY TRAFFIC AND
21 PARKING VIOLATIONS AGENCY or court having jurisdiction a copy of the
22 rental, lease or other such contract document covering such vehicle on
23 the date of the violation, with the name and address of the lessee
24 clearly legible, within thirty-seven days after receiving notice from
25 the TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS bureau or court of the date and time of such
26 violation, OR WITHIN FORTY-TWO DAYS AFTER RECEIVING NOTICE FROM THE
27 NASSAU COUNTY TRAFFIC AND PARKING VIOLATIONS AGENCY OF THE DATE AND TIME
28 OF SUCH VIOLATION, together with the other information contained in the
29 original notice of liability. Failure to send such information within
30 such thirty-seven OR FORTY-TWO day time period shall render the owner
31 liable for the penalty prescribed by this section. Where the lessor
32 complies with the provisions of this paragraph, the lessee of such vehi-
33 cle on the date of such violation shall be deemed to be the owner of
34 such vehicle for purposes of this section, shall be subject to liability
35 for the violation of subdivision (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of
36 this article pursuant to this section and shall be sent a notice of
37 liability pursuant to subdivision (g) of this section.
38 S 6. Subdivision (m) of section 1111-a of the vehicle and traffic law,
39 as amended by chapter 658 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as
40 follows:
41 (m) In any COUNTY OR city which adopts a demonstration program pursu-
42 ant to subdivision (a) of this section, such COUNTY OR city shall submit
43 an annual report on the results of the use of a traffic-control signal
44 photo violation-monitoring system to the governor, the temporary presi-
45 dent of the senate and the speaker of the assembly on or before June
46 first, two thousand [seven] TEN and on the same date in each succeeding
47 year in which the demonstration program is operable. Such report shall
48 include, but not be limited to:
49 1. a description of the locations where traffic-control signal photo
50 violation-monitoring systems were used;
51 2. within SUCH COUNTY OR each borough of such city, the aggregate
52 number, type and severity of accidents reported at intersections where a
53 traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring system is used for the
54 year preceding the installation of such system, to the extent the infor-
55 mation is maintained by the department of motor vehicles of this state;
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1 3. within SUCH COUNTY OR each borough of such city, the aggregate
2 number, type and severity of accidents reported at intersections where a
3 traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring system is used, to the
4 extent the information is maintained by the department of motor vehicles
5 of this state;
6 4. the number of violations recorded at each intersection where a
7 traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring system is used and in
8 the aggregate on a daily, weekly and monthly basis;
9 5. the total number of notices of liability issued for violations
10 recorded by such systems;
11 6. the number of fines and total amount of fines paid after first
12 notice of liability issued for violations recorded by such systems;
13 7. the number of violations adjudicated and results of such adjudi-
14 cations including breakdowns of dispositions made for violations
15 recorded by such systems;
16 8. the total amount of revenue realized by such COUNTY OR city from
17 such adjudications;
18 9. expenses incurred by such COUNTY OR city in connection with the
19 program; and
20 10. quality of the adjudication process and its results.
21 S 7. This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, the
22 amendments to section 1111-a of the vehicle and traffic law made by this
23 act shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed
24 repealed therewith.
