A 7067: Creates a distinctive plate for New York state licensed mental health counselors.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7067 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY March 20, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to authorizing distinctive license plates for New York state licensed mental health counselors The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new 2 section 404-ff to read as follows: 3 § 404-ff. Distinctive plates for New York state licensed mental health 4 counselors. 1. Any New York state licensed mental health counselor 5 residing in this state shall, upon request, be issued a license plate 6 formatted at the discretion of the department bearing the letters "MHC". 7 If a distinctive plate is issued to a New York state licensed mental 8 health counselor pursuant to this section, such distinctive plate shall 9 not be issued to the spouse of such person unless such spouse is a 10 mental health counselor as well. Application for such license shall be 11 filed with the commissioner in such form and detail as the commissioner 12 shall prescribe, and shall be verified annually by the applicant. 13 2. The distinctive plate authorized in subdivision one of this section 14 shall be issued upon proof, satisfactory to the commissioner, that the 15 applicant is presently a mental health counselor licensed to practice in 16 the state of New York and shall be issued in the same manner as other 17 number plates upon payment of the regular registration fee prescribed by 18 section four hundred one of this article; provided, however, that an 19 additional service charge of twenty-five dollars shall be charged for 20 such plate on an annual basis. 21 3. The commissioner may set an additional fee, not to exceed fifteen 22 dollars, to the annual service charge, established in subdivision two of 23 this section, and such fee shall be deposited to the credit of the 24 department of motor vehicles distinctive plate development fund estab- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD10534-01-5 
 A. 7067 2 1 lished by section ninety-five-g of the state finance law. Such fee shall 2 be used for the production, design, advertising and marketing of 3 distinctive license plates pursuant to such section ninety-five-g. 4 § 2. 1. A distinctive plate established pursuant to section 404-ff of 5 the vehicle and traffic law, as added by section one of this act, shall 6 only be designed, produced and issued upon the delivery to the depart- 7 ment of motor vehicles of a surety bond in the amount of six thousand 8 dollars, which shall be executed by a surety company authorized by the 9 department of financial services to transact business in this state. 10 Provided, however, that if the commissioner of motor vehicles shall have 11 received prior to the plate design, production and issuance at least two 12 hundred orders for such distinctive plate together with the additional 13 annual service charge applicable to each such order, which shall be 14 non-refundable, no such surety bond shall be required. All such service 15 charges shall be deposited pursuant to the provisions of section 404-oo 16 of article 14 of the vehicle and traffic law to the credit of the 17 department of motor vehicles distinctive plate development fund estab- 18 lished by section 95-g of the state finance law and shall be used for 19 the design, production, advertising and distribution of distinctive 20 license plates in accordance with such section 95-g. 21 2. If, upon the expiration of two years following the date upon which 22 distinctive plates in the series are first available for sale two 23 hundred or more sets of such plates are sold, a bond delivered pursuant 24 to this section shall be discontinued. If fewer than two hundred sets of 25 such plates are sold by such time, the department of motor vehicles 26 shall be entitled to recover against the bond in an amount proportionate 27 to such shortfall. 28 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 29 it shall have become a law; provided, however, that section two of this 30 act shall take effect immediately. Effective immediately, the addition, 31 amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the 32 implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be 33 made and completed on or before such effective date.