Bill Text: NY S01585 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to proof required for application of the distinguishing mark on veterans driver's licenses and non-driver IDs; conforms to federal law including National Guard members and reservists with 20 years of service as veterans.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION [S01585 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S01585-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1585 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 12, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. ORTT -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to special designation for veterans on driver's licenses The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (a-1) of subdivision 1 of section 504 of the 2 vehicle and traffic law, as amended by section 98 of part PP of chapter 3 56 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 4 (a-1) Every license or renewal thereof issued to an applicant who was 5 a member of the armed forces of the United States and who (i) received 6 an honorable discharge or was released therefrom under honorable condi- 7 tions, or (ii) has a qualifying condition, as defined in section one of 8 the veterans' services law, and has received a discharge other than bad 9 conduct or dishonorable from such service, or (iii) is a discharged LGBT 10 veteran, as defined in section one of the veterans' services law, and 11 has received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from 12 such service, or (iv) was a member of the National Guard or military 13 reserves who served at least twenty years, shall, upon his or her 14 request and submission of proof as set forth herein, contain a distin- 15 guishing mark, in such form as the commissioner shall determine, indi- 16 cating that he or she is a veteran. Such proof shall consist of a 17 certificate of release or discharge from active duty including but not 18 limited to a DD Form 214, or in the case of a National Guard member an 19 NGB22 Form indicating twenty years of service, or in the case of a mili- 20 tary reservist a DD Form 256 and a Notification of Eligibility for 21 Retired Pay letter, or other proof satisfactory to the commissioner. The 22 commissioner shall not require fees for the issuance of such licenses or 23 renewals thereof to persons requesting a veteran distinguishing mark 24 which are different from fees otherwise required; provided, however, 25 that notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the commissioner EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05198-01-3S. 1585 2 1 shall not require fees for a duplication or amendment of a license prior 2 to its renewal if such duplication or amendment was solely for the 3 purpose of adding a veteran distinguishing mark to such license. 4 § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of section 490 of the vehicle and 5 traffic law, as amended by section 97 of part PP of chapter 56 of the 6 laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 7 (b) The identification card shall contain a distinguishing number or 8 mark and adequate space upon which an anatomical gift, pursuant to arti- 9 cle forty-three of the public health law, by the holder may be recorded 10 and shall contain such other information and shall be issued in such 11 form as the commissioner shall determine; provided, however, every iden- 12 tification card or renewal thereof issued to a person under the age of 13 twenty-one years shall have prominently imprinted thereon the statement 14 "UNDER 21 YEARS OF AGE" in notably distinctive print or format. 15 Provided, further, however, that every identification card issued to an 16 applicant who was a member of the armed forces of the United States and 17 (i) received an honorable discharge or was released therefrom under 18 honorable conditions, or (ii) has a qualifying condition, as defined in 19 section one of the veterans' services law, and has received a discharge 20 other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such service, or (iii) is a 21 discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section one of the veterans' 22 services law, and has received a discharge other than bad conduct or 23 dishonorable from such service, or (iv) was a member of the National 24 Guard or military reserves who served at least twenty years, shall, upon 25 his or her request and submission of proof as set forth herein, contain 26 a distinguishing mark, in such form as the commissioner shall determine, 27 indicating that he or she is a veteran. Such proof shall consist of a 28 certificate of release or discharge from active duty including but not 29 limited to a DD Form 214, or in the case of a National Guard member an 30 NGB22 Form indicating twenty years of service, or in the case of a mili- 31 tary reservist a DD Form 256 and a Notification of Eligibility for 32 Retired Pay letter, or other proof satisfactory to the commissioner. The 33 commissioner shall not require fees for the issuance of such identifica- 34 tion cards or renewals thereof to persons under twenty-one years of age 35 which are different from the fees required for the issuance of identifi- 36 cation cards or renewals thereof to persons twenty-one years of age or 37 over, nor fees to persons requesting a veteran distinguishing mark which 38 are different from fees that would otherwise be required. Provided, 39 however, that notwithstanding the provisions of section four hundred 40 ninety-one of this article, the commissioner shall not require any fees 41 for the duplication or amendment of an identification card prior to its 42 renewal if such duplication or amendment was solely for the purpose of 43 adding a veteran distinguishing mark to such identification card. 44 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 45 have become a law; provided that if part PP of chapter 56 of the laws of 46 2022 shall not yet have taken effect on or before such effective date 47 then this act shall take effect on the same date that such part, takes 48 effect.
