Bill Text: NY A08461 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the parking protection act; provides that parking facilities shall display a sign stating the current applicable price of parking at such facilities; includes provisions on when a motor vehicle may be towed or immobilized and provides a limit to the cost of towing and storage of a vehicle.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to consumer affairs and protection [A08461 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A08461-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8461 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY July 8, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. RYAN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to establishing the parking protection act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "parking 2 protection act". 3 § 2. The section heading, subdivisions 2 and 3, and paragraph (i) of 4 subdivision 7 of section 399-v of the general business law, the section 5 heading and subdivision 2 as amended, and paragraph (i) of subdivision 7 6 as added by chapter 328 of the laws of 2008 and subdivision 3 as amended 7 by chapter 655 of the laws of 1997, are amended to read as follows: 8 Parking facilities; towing and immobilization of vehicles, posting of 9 notices. 10 2. (a) Every parking facility shall display prominently a conspicuous 11 notice stating the name, address and telephone number of the operator of 12 the parking facility together with the name, address and telephone 13 number of any individual or entity authorized to tow from such parking 14 facility any motor vehicle or the name, address and telephone number of 15 any individual or entity authorized to place a device designed to immo- 16 bilize any motor vehicle in such parking facility. Such notice shall 17 also state that unauthorized vehicles will be towed or immobilized at 18 the vehicle owner's expense and shall state the cost for the towing and 19 storage or for the immobilization. 20 (b) All parking facilities shall display prominently a conspicuous 21 sign, not less than three feet by four feet in size, that unambiguously 22 states the currently applicable price of parking at the facility and the 23 period of time during which the price is valid. A higher price shall not 24 take effect unless a sign providing notice of the change in price has 25 been posted at least one hour prior to the time at which the higher EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD13117-01-9A. 8461 2 1 price is intended to commence. The signs required under this paragraph 2 shall be separate from the notice required under paragraph (a) of this 3 subdivision and shall comply with and contain all of the following: 4 (i) black letters on a white background; 5 (ii) letters and numbers that are at least six inches in height; 6 (iii) all letters shall be in the same font; 7 (iv) all letters and numbers shall be proportionately spaced; 8 (v) each type of rate shall be specified on a separate line; and 9 (vi) no prices shall be expressed as a range. 10 (c) No person shall be charged a price for parking except as set forth 11 on the sign posted pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision. 12 3. (a) No owner or operator of a parking facility shall tow or author- 13 ize the towing of any motor vehicle or immobilize or authorize the immo- 14 bilization of any motor vehicle in such parking facility unless such 15 owner or operator displays a notice pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdi- 16 vision two of this section and the commercial tower is duly licensed by 17 a municipality or local government. 18 (b) No motor vehicle may be towed or immobilized: 19 (i) unless the motor vehicle has, on at least two previous occasions, 20 parked in a manner inconsistent with law or posted instructions at the 21 parking facility from which the owner seeks to have it towed or at which 22 the owner seeks to have it immobilized; or 23 (ii) when the vehicle is occupied by any person or live animal. 24 (c) No vehicle towed pursuant to this section shall be stored more 25 than ten miles from the parking facility from which is it removed. If no 26 such storage facility is available, the closest available facility for 27 storage shall be utilized. The storage facility must be a secure place 28 for safekeeping vehicles. 29 (d) (i) If the registered owner or other person in control of the 30 motor vehicle arrives at the scene prior to the removal of the vehicle, 31 and the vehicle is connected to any apparatus for towing, the vehicle 32 shall be removed from the apparatus and the registered owner or other 33 person having control of the vehicle shall be allowed to remove the 34 vehicle from the premises upon payment of a reasonable service fee of 35 not more than one-half of the charge allowed for towing. 36 (ii) A person who has immobilized a motor vehicle shall release the 37 vehicle to the registered owner or other person in control of the motor 38 vehicle within thirty minutes of having received payment for the vehi- 39 cle's release. 40 (iii) A tow operator who has removed a motor vehicle under this 41 section, or person who has immobilized a vehicle under this section, 42 shall accept for payment either cash or credit card, at the election of 43 the owner or person in control of the vehicle and a receipt for payment 44 shall be offered. 45 (i) regulate the reasonable amount, which amount shall not exceed one 46 hundred twenty-five dollars total for the towing and first three days of 47 storage and not more than fifteen dollars per day of storage for the 48 fourth and subsequent days of storage, that a commercial tower may 49 charge for the towing and storage of a vehicle removed from a parking 50 facility; 51 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
