Bill Text: NY A07206 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
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
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--A 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 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 19 pursuant to this section shall be dismissed solely because a photograph 20 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. LBD11328-02-3A. 7206--A 2 1 cle, provided that such county has made a reasonable effort to comply 2 with the provisions of this paragraph. 3 (b) In any such county which has adopted a local law or ordinance 4 pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section, the owner of a vehicle 5 shall be liable for a penalty imposed pursuant to this section if such 6 vehicle was used or operated with the permission of the owner, express 7 or implied, in violation of subdivision (d) of section eleven hundred 8 eleven of this article, and such violation is evidenced by information 9 obtained from a traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring 10 system; provided however that no owner of a vehicle shall be liable for 11 a penalty imposed pursuant to this section where the operator of such 12 vehicle has been convicted of the underlying violation of subdivision 13 (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this article. 14 (c) For purposes of this section, "owner" shall have the meaning 15 provided in article two-B of this chapter. For purposes of this section, 16 "traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring system" shall mean a 17 vehicle sensor installed to work in conjunction with a traffic-control 18 signal which automatically produces two or more photographs, two or more 19 microphotographs, a videotape or other recorded images of each vehicle 20 at the time it is used or operated in violation of subdivision (d) of 21 section eleven hundred eleven of this article. 22 (d) A certificate, sworn to or affirmed by a technician employed by 23 Westchester county in which the charged violation occurred, or a facsim- 24 ile thereof, based upon inspection of photographs, microphotographs, 25 videotape or other recorded images produced by a traffic-control signal 26 photo violation-monitoring system, shall be prima facie evidence of the 27 facts contained therein. Any photographs, microphotographs, videotape 28 or other recorded images evidencing such a violation shall be available 29 for inspection in any proceeding to adjudicate the liability for such 30 violation pursuant to a local law or ordinance adopted pursuant to this 31 section. 32 (e) An owner liable for a violation of subdivision (d) of section 33 eleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to a local law or ordi- 34 nance adopted pursuant to this section shall be liable for monetary 35 penalties in accordance with a schedule of fines and penalties to be set 36 forth in such local law or ordinance. The liability of the owner pursu- 37 ant to this section shall not exceed fifty dollars for each violation; 38 provided, however, that such local law or ordinance may provide for an 39 additional penalty not in excess of twenty-five dollars for each 40 violation for the failure to respond to a notice of liability within the 41 prescribed time period. 42 (f) An imposition of liability under a local law or ordinance adopted 43 pursuant to this section shall not be deemed a conviction as an operator 44 and shall not be made part of the operating record of the person upon 45 whom such liability is imposed nor shall it be used for insurance 46 purposes in the provision of motor vehicle insurance coverage. 47 (g) 1. A notice of liability shall be sent by first class mail to each 48 person alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of subdivision 49 (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to this 50 section. Personal delivery on the owner shall not be required. A manual 51 or automatic record of mailing prepared in the ordinary course of busi- 52 ness shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein. 53 2. A notice of liability shall contain the name and address of the 54 person alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of subdivision 55 (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to this 56 section, the registration number of the vehicle involved in suchA. 7206--A 3 1 violation, the location where such violation took place, the date and 2 time of such violation and the identification number of the camera which 3 recorded the violation or other document locator number. 4 3. The notice of liability shall contain information advising the 5 person charged of the manner and the time in which he or she may contest 6 the liability alleged in the notice. Such notice of liability shall also 7 contain a warning to advise the persons charged that failure to contest 8 in the manner and time provided shall be deemed an admission of liabil- 9 ity and that a default judgment may be entered thereon. 10 4. The notice of liability shall be prepared and mailed by Westchester 11 county or by any other entity authorized by such county to prepare and 12 mail such notification of violation. 13 (h) Adjudication of the liability imposed upon owners by this section 14 shall be by a traffic violations bureau established pursuant to section 15 three hundred seventy of the general municipal law where the violation 16 occurred or, if there be none, by the court having jurisdiction over 17 traffic infractions. 18 (i) If an owner receives a notice of liability pursuant to this 19 section for any time period during which the vehicle was reported to the 20 police department as having been stolen, it shall be a valid defense to 21 an allegation of liability for a violation of subdivision (d) of section 22 eleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to this section that the 23 vehicle had been reported to the police as stolen prior to the time the 24 violation occurred and had not been recovered by such time. For purposes 25 of asserting the defense provided by this subdivision it shall be suffi- 26 cient that a certified copy of the police report on the stolen vehicle 27 be sent by first class mail to the court having jurisdiction. 28 (j) An owner who is a lessor of a vehicle to which a notice of liabil- 29 ity was issued pursuant to subdivision (g) of this section shall not be 30 liable for the violation of subdivision (d) of section eleven hundred 31 eleven of this article, provided that he or she sends to the court 32 having jurisdiction a copy of the rental, lease or other such contract 33 document covering such vehicle on the date of the violation, with the 34 name and address of the lessee clearly legible, within thirty-seven days 35 after receiving notice from the court of the date and time of such 36 violation, together with the other information contained in the original 37 notice of liability. Failure to send such information within such thir- 38 ty-seven day time period shall render the owner liable for the penalty 39 prescribed by this section. Where the lessor complies with the 40 provisions of this subdivision, the lessee of such vehicle on the date 41 of such violation shall be deemed to be the owner of such vehicle for 42 purposes of this section, shall be subject to liability for the 43 violation of subdivision (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this 44 article pursuant to this section and shall be sent a notice of liability 45 pursuant to subdivision (g) of this section. 46 (k) 1. If the owner liable for a violation of subdivision (d) of 47 section eleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to this section 48 was not the operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation, the 49 owner may maintain an action for indemnification against the operator. 50 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no owner of a 51 vehicle shall be subject to a monetary fine imposed pursuant to this 52 section if the operator of such vehicle was operating such vehicle with- 53 out the consent of the owner at the time such operator failed to obey a 54 traffic-control indication. For purposes of this subdivision there shall 55 be a presumption that the operator of such vehicle was operating suchA. 7206--A 4 1 vehicle with the consent of the owner at the time such operator failed 2 to obey a traffic-control indication. 3 (l) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the liability 4 of an operator of a vehicle for any violation of subdivision (d) of 5 section eleven hundred eleven of this article. 6 (m) When a county has established a demonstration program pursuant to 7 this section, all fines and penalties collected under such program shall 8 be distributed in accordance with subdivision ten of section eighteen 9 hundred three of this chapter. 10 (n) Any county that adopts a demonstration program pursuant to subdi- 11 vision (a) of this section shall submit an annual report detailing the 12 results of the use of such traffic-control signal photo violation-moni- 13 toring system to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and 14 the speaker of the assembly on or before June first, two thousand twen- 15 ty-four and on the same date in each succeeding year in which the demon- 16 stration program is operable. Such report shall include, but not be 17 limited to: 18 1. a description of the locations where traffic-control signal photo 19 violation-monitoring systems were used; 20 2. the aggregate number, type and severity of accidents reported at 21 intersections where a traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring 22 system is used for the three years preceding the installation of such 23 system, to the extent the information is maintained by the department; 24 3. the aggregate number, type and severity of accidents reported at 25 intersections where a traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring 26 system is used for the reporting year, as well as for each year that the 27 traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring system has been opera- 28 tional, to the extent the information is maintained by the department; 29 4. the number of events and number of violations recorded at each 30 intersection where a traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring 31 system is used and in the aggregate on a daily, weekly and monthly 32 basis; 33 5. the number of notices of liability issued for violations recorded 34 by such system at each intersection where a traffic-control signal photo 35 violation-monitoring system is used; 36 6. the number of fines imposed and total amount of fines paid after 37 first notice of liability; 38 7. the number and percentage of violations adjudicated and results of 39 such adjudications including breakdowns of disposition made for 40 violations recorded by such systems which shall be provided at least 41 annually to such county by the respective courts and bureaus conducting 42 such adjudications; 43 8. the total amount of revenue realized by such county from such adju- 44 dications including a breakdown of revenue realized by such county for 45 each year since deployment of its traffic-control signal photo viola- 46 tion-monitoring system; 47 9. expenses incurred by such county in connection with the program; 48 and 49 10. quality of the adjudication process and its results which shall be 50 provided at least annually to such county by the respective courts and 51 bureaus conducting such adjudications. 52 (o) It shall be a defense to any prosecution for a violation of subdi- 53 vision (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to 54 a local law or ordinance adopted pursuant to this section that such 55 traffic-control indications were malfunctioning at the time of the 56 alleged violation.A. 7206--A 5 1 § 2. Section 1803 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding 2 a new subdivision 13 to read as follows: 3 13. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three of section 4 ninety-nine-a of the state finance law, where the county of Westchester 5 has established a demonstration program imposing monetary liability on 6 the owner of a vehicle for failure of an operator thereof to comply with 7 subdivision (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this chapter in 8 accordance with section eleven hundred eleven-g of this chapter, any 9 fine or penalty collected by a court, judge, magistrate or other officer 10 for an imposition of liability which occurs within a city, town or 11 village within such county pursuant to such program shall be paid to the 12 state comptroller within the first ten days of the month following 13 collection. Every such payment shall be accompanied by a statement in 14 such form and detail as the comptroller shall provide. The comptroller 15 shall pay eighty percent of any such fine or penalty imposed for such 16 liability to the county of Westchester, and twenty percent of any such 17 fine or penalty to the city, town or village in which the violation 18 giving rise to the liability occurred. All fines, penalties and forfei- 19 tures paid to a city, town or village pursuant to the provisions of this 20 subdivision shall be credited to the general fund of such city, town or 21 village, unless a different disposition is prescribed by charter, 22 special law, local law or ordinance. 23 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 87 of the public officers law is amended 24 by adding a new paragraph (t) to read as follows: 25 (t) are photographs, microphotographs, videotape or other recorded 26 images prepared under authority of section eleven hundred eleven-g of 27 the vehicle and traffic law. 28 § 4. The purchase or lease of equipment for a demonstration program 29 established pursuant to section 1111-g of the vehicle and traffic law 30 shall be subject to the provisions of section 103 of the general munici- 31 pal law. 32 § 5. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 33 have become a law and shall expire and be deemed repealed on December 1, 34 2027, provided, further, that any such local law as may be enacted 35 pursuant to section one of this act shall remain in full force and 36 effect only until December 1, 2027.
