Assembly BillIntroduced
A 7196: Relates to directing the department of motor vehicles to issue New York drivers' licenses to individuals holding a valid or recently expired driver's license from certain Caribbean countries.
What A 7196 does, verified January 9, 2026
The bill aims to permit the exchange of driver's licenses from certain countries in the United States for the state of New York. It allows individuals holding valid driver's licenses from participating countries to exchange them for a New York license, provided they pass a written examination and vision test. The participating countries include Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The license must be valid or have expired within the past six months, state the date of issuance, and not…
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: referred to transportation (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about A 7196
- What is the current status of A 7196?
- As of January 9, 2026, A 7196 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "referred to transportation".
- Did A 7196 pass?
- Not yet. A 7196 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote A 7196, and where is it now?
- A 7196 was authored by Asm. Monique Chandler-Waterman. Its committee of record is Assembly Transportation.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | referred to transportation |
| Mar. 21, 2025 | referred to transportation |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, March 21, 2025 · 387 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7196 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 21, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CHANDLER-WATERMAN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to permitting the exchange of drivers licenses from certain countries The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 502 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by 2 adding a new subdivision 1-a to read as follows: 3 1-a. License exchange for certain countries. (a) Notwithstanding any 4 provisions of this section, the commissioner shall accept as valid for 5 purposes of identification, age and examination a driver's license 6 issued from a country listed in paragraph (b) of this subdivision and 7 shall issue a license to drive in this state to an individual holding a 8 license described in paragraph (c) of this subdivision, provided howev- 9 er, the individual shall be subject to the written examination and the 10 vision test required by subdivision four of this section. 11 (b) A drivers license issued by the following countries or territories 12 shall be valid for purposes of paragraph (a) of this subdivision: 13 Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, Brit- 14 ish Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican 15 Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Mont- 16 serrat, Puerto Rico, Saba, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, 17 Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Eusta- 18 tius, Sint Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and 19 the Virgin Islands of the United States. 20 (c) A license issued by a country listed in paragraph (b) of this 21 subdivision shall be accepted for exchange if it: is valid or has 22 expired within the past six months; states the date upon which it was 23 issued and it was issued a minimum of six months prior to the date of 24 the application; and is not suspended, revoked, lost or stolen. 25 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06056-01-5
Text of A 7196 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions