Bill Text: NY A05234 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Increases the penalties for purposefully obstructed license plates including the suspension of a vehicle's registration if the vehicle owner does not remove the artificial or synthetic material or substance that conceals or obscures the license plate or does not purchase new license plates.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to transportation [A05234 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A05234-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5234 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 7, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES, CARROLL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to increasing the penalties for purposefully obstructed license plates The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 5-a of section 401 of the vehicle and traffic 2 law is amended by adding a new paragraph d to read as follows: 3 d. It shall be unlawful for any person to register, reregister, renew, 4 replace or transfer the registration, change the name, address or other 5 information of the registered owner, or change the registration classi- 6 fication of any vehicle whose vehicle identification number is associ- 7 ated with a vehicle whose registration has been suspended, or is subject 8 to a pending request from a tolling authority to suspend the registra- 9 tion, under paragraph d of subdivision three of section five hundred ten 10 of this chapter and 15 NYCRR 127.14. The commissioner or the commission- 11 er's agent shall impose a vehicle identification number block and deny 12 the registration, reregistration, renewal, replacement or transfer of 13 the registration for such vehicle and vehicle identification number 14 until the tolling authority advises, in such form and manner as the 15 commissioner shall prescribe, that notices of violation have been 16 responded to and any unpaid tolls, fees or other charges associated with 17 the vehicle and the vehicle identification number have been paid to the 18 tolling authority. Where an application is denied pursuant to this para- 19 graph, the commissioner may, in the commissioner's discretion, deny a 20 registration, reregistration, renewal, replacement or transfer of the 21 registration for any other motor vehicle registered in the name of the 22 applicant where the commissioner has determined that such registrant's 23 intent has been to evade the purposes of this paragraph and where the 24 commissioner has reasonable grounds to believe that such registration, 25 reregistration, renewal, replacement or transfer of registration will EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06613-01-3A. 5234 2 1 have the effect of defeating the purposes of this paragraph. Such vehi- 2 cle identification number block and denial shall only remain in effect 3 until the tolling authority advises, in such form and manner as the 4 commissioner shall prescribe, that notices of violation have been 5 responded to and any unpaid tolls, fees or other charges associated with 6 the vehicle and the vehicle identification number have been paid to the 7 tolling authority. 8 § 2. Subdivision 8 of section 402 of the vehicle and traffic law, as 9 amended by chapter 451 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as 10 follows: 11 8. A violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine of not 12 less than twenty-five nor more than two hundred dollars, except that a 13 violation of subparagraph (ii) or subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (b) of 14 subdivision one of this section shall be punishable by a fine of not 15 less than fifty nor more than three hundred dollars. A police officer 16 as defined in section one hundred thirty-two of this chapter acting 17 pursuant to this section shall seize and confiscate any covering affixed 18 over the number plates which obscures the ability to easily read such 19 number plates and is made of glass or any plastic material, except that 20 a violation of paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this section shall be 21 punishable by a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars and the 22 owner of the vehicle who such number plates were issued shall have one 23 week from the date such violation is issued to remove any artificial or 24 synthetic material or substance that conceals or obscures such number 25 plates or to purchase new number plates. 26 § 3. Section 510 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a 27 new subdivision 4-h to read as follows: 28 4-h. Suspension of registration for failure to comply with removing 29 any artificial or synthetic material or substance that conceals or 30 obscures number plates or the purchase of new number plates. Upon the 31 receipt of a notification from a court or an administrative tribunal 32 that an owner of a motor vehicle failed to comply with subdivision eight 33 of section four hundred two of this chapter, the commissioner or his or 34 her agent shall suspend the registration of the vehicle involved in the 35 violation and such suspension shall remain in effect until such time as 36 the commissioner is advised that the owner of such vehicle has satisfied 37 the requirements of such subdivision. 38 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed- 39 ing the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, 40 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces- 41 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are 42 authorized to be made on or before such date.
