Bill Text: NY A07206 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Relates to adjudications and owner liability for a violation of traffic-control signal indications in the county of Westchester.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-09-28 - signed chap.501 [A07206 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A07206-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7206--B 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 12, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW, SAYEGH -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation -- reported and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- again reported from said committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to adjudi- cations and owner liability for a violation of traffic-control signal indications in the county of Westchester; to amend the public officers law, in relation to accessing records; and providing for the repeal of certain provisions upon expiration thereof 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 1111-g to read as follows: 3 § 1111-g. Owner liability for failure of operator to comply with 4 traffic-control indications. (a) 1. Notwithstanding any other provision 5 of law, the county of Westchester is hereby authorized and empowered to 6 adopt and amend a local law or ordinance establishing a demonstration 7 program imposing monetary liability on the owner of a vehicle for fail- 8 ure of an operator thereof to comply with traffic-control indications in 9 such county in accordance with the provisions of this section. Such 10 demonstration program shall empower such county to install and operate 11 traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring devices at no more 12 than fifty intersections within and under the jurisdiction of such coun- 13 ty at any one time. 14 2. Such demonstration program shall utilize necessary technologies to 15 ensure, to the extent practicable, that photographs produced by such 16 traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring systems shall not 17 include images that identify the driver, the passengers, or the contents 18 of the vehicle. Provided, however, that no notice of liability issued EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11328-06-3A. 7206--B 2 1 pursuant to this section shall be dismissed solely because a photograph 2 or photographs allow for the identification of the contents of a vehi- 3 cle, provided that such county has made a reasonable effort to comply 4 with the provisions of this paragraph. 5 (b) In any such county which has adopted a local law or ordinance 6 pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section, the owner of a vehicle 7 shall be liable for a penalty imposed pursuant to this section if such 8 vehicle was used or operated with the permission of the owner, express 9 or implied, in violation of subdivision (d) of section eleven hundred 10 eleven of this article, and such violation is evidenced by information 11 obtained from a traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring 12 system; provided however that no owner of a vehicle shall be liable for 13 a penalty imposed pursuant to this section where the operator of such 14 vehicle has been convicted of the underlying violation of subdivision 15 (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this article. 16 (c) For purposes of this section, "owner" shall have the meaning 17 provided in article two-B of this chapter. For purposes of this section, 18 "traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring system" shall mean a 19 vehicle sensor installed to work in conjunction with a traffic-control 20 signal which automatically produces two or more photographs, two or more 21 microphotographs, a videotape or other recorded images of each vehicle 22 at the time it is used or operated in violation of subdivision (d) of 23 section eleven hundred eleven of this article. 24 (d) A certificate, sworn to or affirmed by a technician employed by 25 Westchester county in which the charged violation occurred, or a facsim- 26 ile thereof, based upon inspection of photographs, microphotographs, 27 videotape or other recorded images produced by a traffic-control signal 28 photo violation-monitoring system, shall be prima facie evidence of the 29 facts contained therein. Any photographs, microphotographs, videotape 30 or other recorded images evidencing such a violation shall be available 31 for inspection in any proceeding to adjudicate the liability for such 32 violation pursuant to a local law or ordinance adopted pursuant to this 33 section. 34 (e) An owner liable for a violation of subdivision (d) of section 35 eleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to a local law or ordi- 36 nance adopted pursuant to this section shall be liable for monetary 37 penalties in accordance with a schedule of fines and penalties to be set 38 forth in such local law or ordinance. The liability of the owner pursu- 39 ant to this section shall not exceed fifty dollars for each violation; 40 provided, however, that such local law or ordinance may provide for an 41 additional penalty not in excess of twenty-five dollars for each 42 violation for the failure to respond to a notice of liability within the 43 prescribed time period. 44 (f) An imposition of liability under a local law or ordinance adopted 45 pursuant to this section shall not be deemed a conviction as an operator 46 and shall not be made part of the operating record of the person upon 47 whom such liability is imposed nor shall it be used for insurance 48 purposes in the provision of motor vehicle insurance coverage. 49 (g) 1. A notice of liability shall be sent by first class mail to each 50 person alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of subdivision 51 (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to this 52 section. Personal delivery on the owner shall not be required. A manual 53 or automatic record of mailing prepared in the ordinary course of busi- 54 ness shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein. 55 2. A notice of liability shall contain the name and address of the 56 person alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of subdivisionA. 7206--B 3 1 (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to this 2 section, the registration number of the vehicle involved in such 3 violation, the location where such violation took place, the date and 4 time of such violation and the identification number of the camera which 5 recorded the violation or other document locator number. 6 3. The notice of liability shall contain information advising the 7 person charged of the manner and the time in which he or she may contest 8 the liability alleged in the notice. Such notice of liability shall also 9 contain a warning to advise the persons charged that failure to contest 10 in the manner and time provided shall be deemed an admission of liabil- 11 ity and that a default judgment may be entered thereon. 12 4. The notice of liability shall be prepared and mailed by Westchester 13 county or by any other entity authorized by such county to prepare and 14 mail such notification of violation. 15 (h) Adjudication of the liability imposed upon owners by this section 16 shall be by a traffic violations bureau established pursuant to section 17 three hundred seventy of the general municipal law where the violation 18 occurred or, if there be none, by the court having jurisdiction over 19 traffic infractions. 20 (i) If an owner receives a notice of liability pursuant to this 21 section for any time period during which the vehicle was reported to the 22 police department as having been stolen, it shall be a valid defense to 23 an allegation of liability for a violation of subdivision (d) of section 24 eleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to this section that the 25 vehicle had been reported to the police as stolen prior to the time the 26 violation occurred and had not been recovered by such time. For purposes 27 of asserting the defense provided by this subdivision it shall be suffi- 28 cient that a certified copy of the police report on the stolen vehicle 29 be sent by first class mail to the court having jurisdiction. 30 (j) An owner who is a lessor of a vehicle to which a notice of liabil- 31 ity was issued pursuant to subdivision (g) of this section shall not be 32 liable for the violation of subdivision (d) of section eleven hundred 33 eleven of this article, provided that he or she sends to the court 34 having jurisdiction a copy of the rental, lease or other such contract 35 document covering such vehicle on the date of the violation, with the 36 name and address of the lessee clearly legible, within thirty-seven days 37 after receiving notice from the court of the date and time of such 38 violation, together with the other information contained in the original 39 notice of liability. Failure to send such information within such thir- 40 ty-seven day time period shall render the owner liable for the penalty 41 prescribed by this section. Where the lessor complies with the 42 provisions of this subdivision, the lessee of such vehicle on the date 43 of such violation shall be deemed to be the owner of such vehicle for 44 purposes of this section, shall be subject to liability for the 45 violation of subdivision (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this 46 article pursuant to this section and shall be sent a notice of liability 47 pursuant to subdivision (g) of this section. 48 (k) 1. If the owner liable for a violation of subdivision (d) of 49 section eleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to this section 50 was not the operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation, the 51 owner may maintain an action for indemnification against the operator. 52 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no owner of a 53 vehicle shall be subject to a monetary fine imposed pursuant to this 54 section if the operator of such vehicle was operating such vehicle with- 55 out the consent of the owner at the time such operator failed to obey a 56 traffic-control indication. For purposes of this subdivision there shallA. 7206--B 4 1 be a presumption that the operator of such vehicle was operating such 2 vehicle with the consent of the owner at the time such operator failed 3 to obey a traffic-control indication. 4 (l) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the liability 5 of an operator of a vehicle for any violation of subdivision (d) of 6 section eleven hundred eleven of this article. 7 (m) When a county has established a demonstration program pursuant to 8 this section, all fines and penalties collected under such program shall 9 be distributed in accordance with subdivision thirteen of section eigh- 10 teen hundred three of this chapter. 11 (n) Any county that adopts a demonstration program pursuant to subdi- 12 vision (a) of this section shall submit an annual report detailing the 13 results of the use of such traffic-control signal photo violation-moni- 14 toring system to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and 15 the speaker of the assembly on or before June first, two thousand twen- 16 ty-four and on the same date in each succeeding year in which the demon- 17 stration program is operable. Such report shall include, but not be 18 limited to: 19 1. a description of the locations where traffic-control signal photo 20 violation-monitoring systems were used; 21 2. the aggregate number, type and severity of accidents reported at 22 intersections where a traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring 23 system is used for the three years preceding the installation of such 24 system, to the extent the information is maintained by the department; 25 3. the aggregate number, type and severity of accidents reported at 26 intersections where a traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring 27 system is used for the reporting year, as well as for each year that the 28 traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring system has been opera- 29 tional, to the extent the information is maintained by the department; 30 4. the number of events and number of violations recorded at each 31 intersection where a traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring 32 system is used and in the aggregate on a daily, weekly and monthly 33 basis; 34 5. the number of notices of liability issued for violations recorded 35 by such system at each intersection where a traffic-control signal photo 36 violation-monitoring system is used; 37 6. the number of fines imposed and total amount of fines paid after 38 first notice of liability; 39 7. the number and percentage of violations adjudicated and results of 40 such adjudications including breakdowns of disposition made for 41 violations recorded by such systems which shall be provided at least 42 annually to such county by the respective courts and bureaus conducting 43 such adjudications; 44 8. the total amount of revenue realized by such county from such adju- 45 dications including a breakdown of revenue realized by such county for 46 each year since deployment of its traffic-control signal photo viola- 47 tion-monitoring system; 48 9. expenses incurred by such county in connection with the program; 49 and 50 10. quality of the adjudication process and its results which shall be 51 provided at least annually to such county by the respective courts and 52 bureaus conducting such adjudications. 53 (o) It shall be a defense to any prosecution for a violation of subdi- 54 vision (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to 55 a local law or ordinance adopted pursuant to this section that suchA. 7206--B 5 1 traffic-control indications were malfunctioning at the time of the 2 alleged violation. 3 § 2. Section 1803 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding 4 a new subdivision 13 to read as follows: 5 13. Where the county of Westchester has established a demonstration 6 program imposing monetary liability on the owner of a vehicle for fail- 7 ure of an operator thereof to comply with subdivision (d) of section 8 eleven hundred eleven of this chapter in accordance with section eleven 9 hundred eleven-g of this chapter, any fine or penalty collected by a 10 court, judge, magistrate or other officer for an imposition of liability 11 which occurs within a city, town or village within such county pursuant 12 to such program shall be paid to the state comptroller within the first 13 ten days of the month following collection, except as otherwise provided 14 in subdivision three of section ninety-nine-a of the state finance law. 15 Every such payment shall be accompanied by a statement in such form and 16 detail as the comptroller shall provide. The comptroller shall pay 17 eighty percent of any such fine or penalty imposed for such liability to 18 the county of Westchester, and twenty percent of any such fine or penal- 19 ty to the city, town or village in which the violation giving rise to 20 the liability occurred. All fines, penalties and forfeitures paid to a 21 city, town or village pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision 22 shall be credited to the general fund of such city, town or village, 23 unless a different disposition is prescribed by charter, special law, 24 local law or ordinance. 25 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 87 of the public officers law is amended 26 by adding a new paragraph (t) to read as follows: 27 (t) are photographs, microphotographs, videotape or other recorded 28 images prepared under authority of section eleven hundred eleven-g of 29 the vehicle and traffic law. 30 § 4. The purchase or lease of equipment for a demonstration program 31 established pursuant to section 1111-g of the vehicle and traffic law 32 shall be subject to the provisions of section 103 of the general munici- 33 pal law. 34 § 5. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 35 have become a law and shall expire and be deemed repealed on December 1, 36 2027, provided, further, that any such local law as may be enacted 37 pursuant to section one of this act shall remain in full force and 38 effect only until December 1, 2027.
