Relates to the imposition of penalties and administrative fees for toll evaders and establishes the crime of unlawful purchase, sale or possession of a license plate hiding device

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of the bill amends subdivision 3 and the closing paragraph of section 165.15 of the penal law to make clear that theft of public transportation services shall include avoidance of tolls on a toll road. Additionally, this bill makes the theft of any services of a value in excess of $1000 a class E felony consistent with the grand larceny statute.

Section 2 adds a new section 165.75 to the penal law to make it illegal to purchase, sell or possess a license plate hiding device when a person knowingly purchases, sells, or possesses the device with the intent to use such device or apparatus to hide the appearance of a license plate from E-ZPass or any other toll booth camera. The unlawful purchase, possession, or sale of such a device shall be a class A misdemeanor.

Section 3 of the bill designates section 2985 of the public authorities law as Title 11-a under the heading "toll collections."

Section 4 amends subdivision 5 of section 2985 of the public authorities law to increase the fines that a vehicle owner who is found liable for a violation of a toll collection regulation is subject to as follows: from $50 to $100 for a first violation; from $100 to $200 for a second violation within 18 months; and from $150 to $300 for a third and subsequent violation within an 18-month period. This section also provides that one-half of such monetary penalties shall be paid to the public authority whose toll collection regulations were violated., Lastly; this section provides that, in addition to these penalties, the vehicle owner shall also be liable to the public authority for full restitution of lost toll revenues as a result of the violation.

Section 5 amends paragraph (b) of subdivision 7 of section 2985 of the public authorities law to provide that a notice of liability to a vehicle owner for a violation of toll collection regulations also contain the amount of toll evaded.

Section 6 amends section 2985 of the public authorities law by adding a new subdivision 15 to provide that, in addition to any monetary liability that may be imposed pursuant to this section, every public authority which operates a toll highway, bridge and/or tunnel facility is authorized and empowered to impose an administrative fee or fees, subject to the applicable provisions of the state administrative procedure act, on the owner of a vehicle that has violated toll collection regulations.

Section 7 amends subdivision 4-d of section 510 of the vehicle and traffic law to permit public authorities or any other public entity imposing toll collection violations to refer those who have failed to appear or who failed to pay penalties imposed by a court or tribunal in relation to a violation of toll collection regulations to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles for suspension of the vehicle owner's registration.

Section 8 provides the effective date.

Justification

Several public authorities in New York have implemented the electronic toll collection system commonly referred to as E-ZPass. The E-ZPass system has increased customer convenience while reducing travel time, fuel consumption and potential back-ups at toll plazas for the Thruway Authority and other public authorities.

While the benefits of E-ZPass are numerous, it does provide opportunities for abuse. Those who are not E-ZPass subscribers can evade tolls by driving through lanes designated for that purpose. This legislation takes a comprehensive approach to addressing the problem of toll evasion by clarifying the existing theft of services offense to make clear that it also includes avoidance of paying tolls on any road, bridge or tunnel that requires them.

The bill would also address the increasing problem of motorists using special devices designed specifically to hide or shield a person's license plate from the view of the cameras that are used for toll collection enforcement by creating a new offense, as a class A misdemeanor, of unlawfully purchasing, selling or possessing a license plate hiding device with the intent to use such device to hide the appearance of a license plate from an E-ZPass or any other toll booth camera.

In addition, current law provides for a progressive series of fines for those accumulating toll collection offenses. However, none of the fine money, not even the amount of the toll evaded, goes back to the affected public authority. Providing one half of the monetary penalties to the affected public authority will help to make the public authority whole and offset the costs incurred in addressing these types of violations. By doubling the existing fines, there will be no impact on the entities that currently receive the fine money.

In addition, there is currently no mechanism in law for a public authority to recover the actual toil lost due to toll evasion. This bill would allow public authorities to recover these funds by making restitution in these cases mandatory.

Current law provides that upon notification from a court or administrative tribunal that a vehicle owner has accumulated 5 or more toll collection violations within an eighteen month period, the DMV shall suspend that person's vehicle registration. Because only courts and administrative tribunals are authorized to transmit this information to DMV, and these entities only track violations within their own geographic jurisdictions, the only time a multiple violator is reported to DMV is when a violator has accumulated five or more violations within one jurisdiction. This process leaves a gap in tracking violators who often travel between multiple jurisdictions and does not effectively serve as a deterrent to those who would abuse the system at the expense of others. This bill would enhance E-ZPass enforcement by subjecting individuals with five toll collection violations within an eighteen month period to a mandatory vehicle registration suspension.

This legislation is also consistent with recommendations included in two audit reports issued by the New York State Office of the Comptroller (2008-S-6 and 2006-S-101).

Legislative history

New bill.

Fiscal implications

None to state; increase in revenue for toll assessing public authorities through enhanced collection of evaded toll revenues.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.