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History
- Referred to investigations and government operations
- Print number 6206a
- Amend (t) and recommit to rules
- Referred to rules
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to accident reports issued by the police department of the county of Suffolk; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof
Purpose or general idea of the bill
This legislation would allow Suffolk County to adopt legislation that would increase fees for the search and copy of accident reports and photographs.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 adds a new subdivision which allows Suffolk County to adopt a local law to authorize the Suffolk County Police Department to charge fees for the search and copy of accident reports and photographs. Search fees would be set at $10 per accident report with no fee for photocopying such report. An additional fee of $10 shall be charged for a certified copy of any accident report, while a $15 fee will be charged per photograph or contact sheet. This section also states that investigative reports shall be charged at the same rate of accident reports which are set at $10.
Section 2 is the effective date.
Justification
The Suffolk County police Department record keeping operation is in desperate need of an upgrade. The current system has up to a twenty-two month backlog before records are scanned and fully indexed. The system is prone to multiple system bottle-necks and potential mistakes. The initial cost of modernizing is estimated to be at least $1 million dollars, with significant recurring costs incurred each year for the operation and maintenance of the system. These new fees could be used to offset some of the costs of modernization. Once the new system is online it is projected that the current twenty-two month backlog would be reduced to approximately one week.
Prior to a court ruling in 1994 Suffolk County was charging $20 per page for an accident report. Once it was rules that Suffolk County should not have raised the fee without New York State approval the fee was restored to $0.25 per page.
This legislation seeks to standardize the fee structure and restore them to a level comparable to Nassau County. The additional revenue would be used to modernize the Suffolk County Police Department's record keeping capabilities.
Approximately 50,000 motor vehicle accidents occur every year in Suffolk County. Each accident that results in damage of $1,000 requires the filing of an accident report (MV104a). The overwhelming majority of these 50,000 accidents result in multiple requests from drivers, insurance companies, passengers, etc for copies of each report. The current fee structure does not make this operation self-sustaining, nor does it provide sufficient revenue for modernization. The increased fees would help support the system upgrades.
Legislative history
New Bill.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be deemed repealed December 31, 2011.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.