Provides that registration lists and title information made available to contracting parties may not be used for various purposes without the registrant's consent

5 Co-sponsors

• George Amedore
• Rich Funke
• Kemp Hannon
• Patty Ritchie
• Joseph E. Robach

BILL NUMBER:S5668A

Title of bill

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to consent for the use of registration lists and title information

Purpose

To better protect the privacy of information contained in motor vehicle records.

Summary of provisions

The bill would require that information contained in motor vehicle registration files and sold to the highest responsible bidder(s) be deleted from such file for all purposes other than motor vehicle warranty and safety recall notices and statistical compilations, unless the registrant has provided his or her express affirmative written consent.

Existing law

Paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of § 201 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law authorizes the inclusion of registration information in the file sold to the highest responsible bidder unless the registrant indicates his or her desire to have such information deleted.

Justification

Under current law, the Department of Motor Vehicles is authorized to contract with the highest bidder for the sale of registration information contained in the records of all registrations from any registration period. The term of the contract is limited to two years, and the sale of the information must be limited to only that portion of the registration files describing the name and address of the registered owner of the vehicle, and the make, model, year, weight, body style, number of passengers and cylinder's, fuel, license number, type of registration and transaction, validation and expiration date, and vehicle identification number.

The law requires DMV to notify each vehicle registrant of the sale of this information, and provide them with a way to delete their information for all purposes other than those relating to motor vehicle warranty, safety recall and similar notices, and for statistical compilations. However, individuals often still do not know that the State is selling their personal information and therefore do not exercise their option to prevent the use of their information Requiring that individuals must give their express consent to the sale of this information would guarantee that people who are unaware of the practice would automatically achieve deletion, but provide those who would be interested in receiving direct mail or other types of commercial solicitations with a method to indicate their desire to make their personal information available.

Legislative history

2013-14: A.1145 Referred to Transportation 2011-12. A.172 Referred to Transportation 2009-10: A.517 Referred to Transportation 2007-08: A.78 Referred to Transportation 2005-06: A.3628 Referred to Transportation 2003-04: A.324 Reported/Referred to Ways and Means 2001-02: A.41 Passed Assembly 1999-00: A.8110-A Passed Assembly

Fiscal implications

Undetermined potential loss of revenue if individuals decide to withhold their express affirmative consent.

Effective date

120 days after enactment.