Bill Text: NY A04478 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates a distinctive plate for New York state licensed mental health counselors.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-03 - referred to transportation [A04478 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04478-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4478

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 16, 2023
                                       ___________

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

        AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to  authorizing
          distinctive  license  plates for New York state licensed mental health
          counselors

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

     1    Section  1.  The  vehicle  and  traffic law is amended by adding a new
     2  section 404-ff to read as follows:
     3    § 404-ff. Distinctive plates for New York state licensed mental health
     4  counselors.   1. Any New York state  licensed  mental  health  counselor
     5  residing  in  this  state shall, upon request, be issued a license plate
     6  formatted at the discretion of the department bearing the letters "MHC".
     7  If a distinctive plate is issued to a New  York  state  licensed  mental
     8  health  counselor pursuant to this section, such distinctive plate shall
     9  not be issued to the spouse of such  person  unless  such  spouse  is  a
    10  mental  health  counselor as well. Application for such license shall be
    11  filed with the commissioner in such form and detail as the  commissioner
    12  shall prescribe, and shall be verified annually by the applicant.
    13    2. The distinctive plate authorized in subdivision one of this section
    14  shall  be  issued upon proof, satisfactory to the commissioner, that the
    15  applicant is presently a mental health counselor licensed to practice in
    16  the state of New York and shall be issued in the same  manner  as  other
    17  number plates upon payment of the regular registration fee prescribed by
    18  section  four  hundred  one  of this article; provided, however, that an
    19  additional service charge of twenty-five dollars shall  be  charged  for
    20  such plate on an annual basis.
    21    3.  The  commissioner may set an additional fee, not to exceed fifteen
    22  dollars, to the annual service charge, established in subdivision two of
    23  this section, and such fee shall be  deposited  to  the  credit  of  the
    24  department  of  motor vehicles distinctive plate development fund estab-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09345-01-3
        A. 4478                             2

     1  lished by section ninety-five-g of the state finance law. Such fee shall
     2  be used  for  the  production,  design,  advertising  and  marketing  of
     3  distinctive license plates pursuant to such section ninety-five-g.
     4    §  2. 1. A distinctive plate established pursuant to section 404-ff of
     5  the vehicle and traffic law, as added by section one of this act,  shall
     6  only  be  designed, produced and issued upon the delivery to the depart-
     7  ment of motor vehicles of a surety bond in the amount  of  six  thousand
     8  dollars,  which  shall be executed by a surety company authorized by the
     9  department of financial services to transact  business  in  this  state.
    10  Provided, however, that if the commissioner of motor vehicles shall have
    11  received prior to the plate design, production and issuance at least two
    12  hundred  orders  for such distinctive plate together with the additional
    13  annual service charge applicable to each  such  order,  which  shall  be
    14  non-refundable,  no such surety bond shall be required. All such service
    15  charges shall be deposited pursuant to the provisions  of  section  four
    16  hundred  four-oo  of  article fourteen of the vehicle and traffic law to
    17  the credit of the department of motor vehicles distinctive plate  devel-
    18  opment  fund  established  by section ninety-five-g of the state finance
    19  law and shall be  used  for  the  design,  production,  advertising  and
    20  distribution  of  distinctive  license  plates  in  accordance with such
    21  section ninety-five-g.
    22    2. If, upon the expiration of two years following the date upon  which
    23  distinctive  plates  in  the  series  are  first  available for sale two
    24  hundred or more sets of such plates are sold, a bond delivered  pursuant
    25  to this section shall be discontinued. If fewer than two hundred sets of
    26  such  plates  are  sold  by  such time, the department of motor vehicles
    27  shall be entitled to recover against the bond in an amount proportionate
    28  to such shortfall.
    29    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    30  it shall become a law; provided, however, that section two of  this  act
    31  shall  take  effect  immediately.  Effective  immediately, the addition,
    32  amendment and/or repeal of any rule  or  regulation  necessary  for  the
    33  implementation  of  this  act on its effective date are authorized to be
    34  made and completed on or before such effective date.