STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2197 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 22, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. GANTT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to establishing an independent traffic violations bureau The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Title II of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by 2 adding a new article 3-B to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 3-B 4 TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS BUREAU 5 Section 280. Statement of purpose. 6 281. Definitions. 7 282. Traffic violations bureau; organization. 8 283. Functions, powers and duties. 9 284. Administrative adjudication of traffic violations. 10 § 280. Statement of purpose. This article is enacted to establish a 11 traffic violations bureau independent from the department of motor vehi- 12 cles which shall be responsible for providing the public with a just 13 system of adjudicating serious traffic violations and other administra- 14 tive proceedings arising under the provisions of this chapter and to 15 ensure that the elements of due process are present with regard to such 16 adjudications. 17 § 281. Definitions. As used in this article: 18 1. "Office" shall mean the traffic violations bureau as created in 19 section two hundred eighty-two of this article. 20 2."Director" shall mean the director of the traffic violations bureau. 21 3. "Adjudicatory proceeding" means hearings pursuant to article two-A 22 of this title. 23 4. "Hearing officer" means a person appointed by the director to 24 conduct and preside over contested adjudicatory proceedings in accord- 25 ance with this article. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00297-01-9

A. 2197 2 1 § 282. Traffic violations bureau; organization. 1. There shall be a 2 separate and independent traffic violations bureau to implement the 3 provisions of article two-A of this title and to be operated and admin- 4 istered as provided in this article consistent therewith. The powers, 5 functions, duties and obligations of the office shall be separate from 6 and independent of the authority of the commissioner of motor vehicles. 7 2. The head of the office shall be the director of the traffic 8 violations bureau who shall be appointed by the governor, by and with 9 the advice and consent of the senate, and shall hold office until the 10 end of the term of the appointing governor and until a qualified succes- 11 sor is appointed. The director shall receive an annual salary within 12 the amount appropriated therefor. No person shall be appointed director 13 unless at the time of his or her appointment he or she is knowledgeable 14 on the subject of administrative adjudication and has been admitted to 15 practice as an attorney at law in this state for at least ten years. The 16 director shall have the immediate charge of the office. The director may 17 appoint, and at pleasure remove, such deputy directors, administrative 18 law judges, other assistants and employees of the office as are deemed 19 necessary. The director and all other officers and employees of the 20 office shall be paid and allowed their necessary, actual and reasonable 21 expenses incurred in the exercise of their duties. All salaries and 22 expenses of the office shall be paid out of the state treasury on the 23 audit and warrant of the comptroller on the certificate of the office. 24 The principal office shall be in the city of Albany and there shall be 25 one or more offices in each jurisdiction as necessary to carry out the 26 provisions of article two-A of this title and other administrative adju- 27 dication responsibilities under this chapter. 28 § 283. Functions, powers and duties. The director shall have the 29 following functions, powers and duties: 30 1. To establish, consolidate, alter or abolish any departments in the 31 bureau and to appoint the head of such departments and fix their duties; 32 2. Subject to the civil service law and the applicable collective 33 bargaining agreements, to appoint, remove or transfer deputies, offi- 34 cers, assistants, hearing officers, counsels and other employees as may 35 be necessary for the exercise of powers and performance of the duties of 36 the bureau and to prescribe their duties, and fix their compensation 37 within the amounts appropriated therefor; 38 3. When regularly appointed hearing officers are not available, the 39 director, pursuant to the applicable collective bargaining agreements, 40 may contract with qualified individuals to serve as hearing officers 41 provided that temporary hearing officers shall have the same qualifica- 42 tions for appointment as permanent hearing officers; 43 4. To develop and implement a program of evaluation to aid the direc- 44 tor in the performance of his or her duties. The director shall develop 45 standards and procedures which shall include taking comments from 46 selected litigants and representatives before a hearing officer; 47 provided however that the director's authority pursuant to this subdivi- 48 sion is subject to the provisions of the civil service law and applica- 49 ble collective bargaining agreements; 50 5. To the extent permitted by law, to publish and make available to 51 the public all recommended decisions rendered by a hearing officer; 52 6. To adopt, promulgate, amend and rescind rules and regulations to 53 carry out the provisions of this article. Such regulations shall super- 54 sede any inconsistent department rules; and 55 7. To submit to the governor, the temporary president and minority 56 leader of the senate and the speaker and minority leader of the assembly

A. 2197 3 1 an evaluation of the effectiveness of the bureau in attaining the objec- 2 tives of this article prepared by an independent entity. Such evaluation 3 shall be submitted by November thirtieth of the second year following 4 the effective date of this section and by September first every two 5 years thereafter. 6 § 284. Administrative adjudication of traffic violations. The bureau 7 shall be vested with exclusive jurisdiction over all cases that may be 8 heard and determined pursuant to the provisions of section two hundred 9 twenty-five of this title. 10 § 2. Subdivisions 2 and 3 of section 225 of the vehicle and traffic 11 law, subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 196 of the laws of 1972, and 12 subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 682 of the laws of 1970, are amended 13 to read as follows: 14 2. Whenever [~~the commissioner or his deputy~~] the director of the traf- 15 fic violations bureau determines that a charge alleges an offense other 16 than a traffic infraction, he or she shall, and where a charge cannot be 17 disposed of because of the non-appearance of the motorist, he or she may 18 notify the court of appropriate jurisdiction and request removal of the 19 case to such court. Prior notice of such request need not be given the 20 motorist involved. Upon receipt of such request, the court may grant an 21 order transferring such case, provided that the date on which the charge 22 or charges must be answered before the court shall not be earlier than 23 the return date which appears on the complaint alleging the offense. 24 Notice of transfer of cases involving other than traffic infractions 25 shall be mailed to the motorist at the address appearing on such 26 complaint not less than ten days before the date of appearance indicated 27 on his or her summons and not less than fifteen days before his or her 28 scheduled appearance in such court. Notice of transfer of cases which 29 cannot be disposed of because of the non-appearance of the motorist 30 shall be mailed to the motorist at the address appearing on such 31 complaint not less than fifteen days before his or her scheduled appear- 32 ance in such court. Such mailing shall constitute due notice of such 33 transfer. Thereafter, such case shall be treated in the same manner as 34 if the complaint had initially been filed with such court. 35 3. The commissioner [~~shall appoint such hearing officers as shall be~~ 36 ~~necessary to hear and determine cases as provided by this article and~~] 37 may promulgate [~~such~~] regulations [~~as shall be necessary or desirable to~~ 38 ~~effect the purposes of this article. Such regulations may~~] to provide 39 for a schedule of monetary penalties to be used where an answer is made, 40 other than before a hearing officer, admitting a charge, provided that 41 no such penalty shall exceed the maximum fine established by law for the 42 traffic infraction involved. 43 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 225 of the vehicle and traffic law, as 44 amended by chapter 157 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as 45 follows: 46 1. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, all violations 47 of this chapter or of a law, ordinance, order, rule or regulation relat- 48 ing to traffic, except parking, standing, stopping or pedestrian 49 offenses, which occur within a city having a population of one million 50 or more in which administrative tribunals have heretofore, been estab- 51 lished, and which are classified as traffic infractions, may be heard 52 and determined pursuant to the regulations of the [~~commissioner~~] direc- 53 tor of the traffic violations bureau as provided in [~~this~~] article 54 three-B of this title. Whenever a crime and a traffic infraction arise 55 out of the same transaction or occurrence, a charge alleging both 56 offenses may be made returnable before the court having jurisdiction

A. 2197 4 1 over the crime. Nothing herein provided shall be construed to prevent a 2 court, having jurisdiction over a criminal charge relating to traffic or 3 a traffic infraction, from lawfully entering a judgment of conviction, 4 whether or not based on a plea of guilty, for any offense classified as 5 a traffic infraction. 6 § 4. Codification of changes. Within nine months of the effective date 7 of this section, the commissioner of motor vehicles shall prepare and 8 submit to the governor, the temporary president and minority leader of 9 the senate, and the speaker and minority leader of the assembly a 10 proposed codification of changes in law necessary and appropriate to 11 carry out the purposes and provisions of article 3-B of the vehicle and 12 traffic law as added by section one of this act. Such changes shall 13 include provisions for transition of personnel and cases to the traffic 14 violations bureau. 15 § 5. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 16 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.

Creates an independent traffic violations bureau

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