A 3198: Relates to fees charged for the issuance of number plates and to requiring a report on the costs of manufacturing such plates; requires the fee for a number plate not to exceed the cost of producing such plate; establishes that no additional fee shall be charged to keep a current number plate due to a design change implemented by the commissioner; requires the commissioner of the department of corrections and community supervision to report on the costs of manufacturing license plates.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3198 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY January 23, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to fees charged for the issuance of number plates; and to amend the correction law, in relation to requiring a report on the costs of manufacturing license plates The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 401 of the vehicle 2 and traffic law, as amended by section 1 of part H of chapter 59 of the 3 laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows: 4 a. Upon filing of such application and the payment of the fee herein- 5 after provided, the commissioner shall assign to such motor vehicle a 6 distinctive number and, without expense to the applicant, issue and 7 deliver in such manner as the commissioner may select to the owner a 8 certificate of registration, in such form as the commissioner shall 9 prescribe, and two number plates at a place within the state of New York 10 named by the applicant in [his or her] such applicant's application. A 11 number plate, within the meaning of this chapter, may, in the discretion 12 of the commissioner, be a plate of a permanent nature, treated with 13 reflectorized material according to specifications prescribed by the 14 commissioner, and with a date tag attached to such plate or to the vehi- 15 cle as prescribed by regulations of the commissioner indicating the 16 validity of the plate during a certain period and the issuance of such a 17 number plate with such date tag to a person possessing such a number 18 plate shall be deemed the issuance of a number plate. An additional fee, 19 not to exceed [twenty-five dollars] the actual cost of manufacturing a 20 number plate, shall be paid to the commissioner whenever a set of 21 reflectorized number plates is issued for any vehicle for which a regis- 22 tration fee is normally charged except that, with respect to any number 23 plate which is specifically requested by the applicant, such fee shall EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06271-01-5 
 A. 3198 2 1 be paid to the commissioner upon approval of such request. In the event 2 of the loss, mutilation or destruction of any certificate of registra- 3 tion, any number plate or set of number plates whether with or without a 4 date tag or tags, or any date tag or set of date tags provided for in 5 this article, the owner of a registered motor vehicle may file such 6 statement and proof of the facts as the commissioner shall require, with 7 a fee of three dollars, in the office of the commissioner, or, unless 8 and until the commissioner shall otherwise direct, in the office of the 9 agent who issued the certificate, plate, plates, tag or tags and the 10 commissioner or [his or her] such commissioner's agent, as the case may 11 be, shall issue a duplicate or substitute. It shall be the duty of every 12 owner holding a certificate of registration to notify the commissioner 13 in writing of any change of residence of such person within ten days 14 after such change occurs, and to inscribe on such certificate, in the 15 place provided by the commissioner, a record of such change of resi- 16 dence. 17 § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 403 of the vehicle and traffic law is 18 amended by adding a new paragraph d to read as follows: 19 d. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph a of this subdivision, 20 no such one-time fee shall be charged for any plates required to be 21 replaced due to any number plate design changes implemented by the 22 commissioner. 23 § 3. The opening paragraph of subdivision 2 of section 186 of the 24 correction law, as amended by section 29 of subpart A of part C of chap- 25 ter 62 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows: 26 The prices established by the commissioner shall be based upon costs 27 as determined pursuant to this subdivision, but shall not exceed a 28 reasonable fair market price determined at or within ninety days before 29 the time of sale. Fair market price as used herein means the price at 30 which a vendor of the same or similar product or service who is regular- 31 ly engaged in the business of selling such product or service offers to 32 sell such a product or service under similar terms in the same market. 33 However, the price established by the commissioner for license plates 34 sold to the New York state department of motor vehicles shall in no 35 event exceed an amount approved by the director of the budget. Beginning 36 April first, two thousand twenty-five, and annually thereafter, the 37 commissioner shall report to the director of the budget, the temporary 38 president of the senate and speaker of the assembly on the costs of 39 manufacturing such license plates. 40 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.