Bill Text: NY A06198 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Increases penalties for defaced or obstructed license plates; requires a one year suspension.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-3)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to transportation [A06198 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A06198-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6198

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      April 3, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Transportation

        AN  ACT  to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to increasing
          penalties for defaced or obstructed license plates

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 402 of the vehi-
     2  cle and traffic law, as amended by chapter 451 of the laws of  2021,  is
     3  amended to read as follows:
     4    (b)  (i) Number plates shall be kept clean and in a condition so as to
     5  be easily readable and shall not be covered  by  glass  or  any  plastic
     6  material.
     7    (ii) Number plates shall not be knowingly defaced or covered or coated
     8  with  any artificial or synthetic material or substance that conceals or
     9  obscures such number plates or that distorts a recorded or  photographic
    10  image of such number plates.
    11    (iii)  The  view  of such number plates shall not be obstructed by any
    12  part of the vehicle or by anything carried thereon, except for a receiv-
    13  er-transmitter issued by a publicly owned tolling facility in connection
    14  with  electronic  toll  collection  when  such  receiver-transmitter  is
    15  affixed  to  the  exterior  of  a  vehicle  in  accordance with mounting
    16  instructions provided by the tolling facility.
    17    § 2. Subdivision 8 of section 402 of the vehicle and traffic  law,  as
    18  amended  by  chapter  451  of  the  laws  of 2021, is amended to read as
    19  follows:
    20    8. A violation of this section shall be punishable by a  fine  of  not
    21  less  than  twenty-five nor more than two hundred dollars, except that a
    22  violation of subparagraph (ii) or subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (b) of
    23  subdivision one of this section shall [be punishable by a  fine  of  not
    24  less than fifty nor more than three hundred dollars] result in a suspen-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09834-03-3
        A. 6198                             2

     1  sion of the registration of such vehicle for one year pursuant to subdi-
     2  vision four-h of section five hundred ten of this chapter.
     3    § 3. Section 510 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a
     4  new subdivision 4-h to read as follows:
     5    4-h. Suspension of registration for defaced or obscured number plates.
     6  Upon  the  receipt  of  a notification from a court or an administrative
     7  tribunal that an owner of a motor vehicle has violated subparagraph (ii)
     8  or (iii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section four hundred two
     9  of this chapter, the commissioner or his or her agent shall suspend  the
    10  registration  of  the  vehicle involved in the violation for a period of
    11  one year. Each subsequent violation shall result in  an  additional  one
    12  year  suspension. During any period of suspension under this subdivision
    13  the registered owner of the vehicle  shall  be  prohibited  from  trans-
    14  ferring  ownership of such vehicle to any other person and shall also be
    15  prohibited from registering any other vehicle.
    16    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.