Council Member Golby introduced the following:

Ordinance Number 45.92.14 !mended 1"#$#14%

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,he City of !lbany6 in Common Council con7ened6 doe8 hereby ordain and enact:
0ection 1. Cha9ter -59 of the Code of the City of !lbany i8 hereby amended by
adding a new !rticle 5(. to be entitled :,raffic#Control 0ignal +hoto .iolation#
Monitoring 0y8tem;
!&,(C/) 5(.
,raffic#Control 0ignal +hoto .iolation#Monitoring 0y8tem
< -59#1-= Owner liability for failure of o9erator to com9ly with traffic#control indication8.
A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Parking Violations Bureau is hereby
authorized and empowered to establish a demonstration program imposing monetary liability on
the owner of a vehicle for failure of an operator thereof to comply with trafficcontrol indications
in accordance with the provisions of this section. !he Police "epartment and the "ivision of
!raffic #ngineering, for purposes of implementation of such program, shall be authorized to
install and operate trafficcontrol signal photo violationmonitoring devices at no more than $%
intersections at any one time.
B. &uch demonstration program shall utilize necessary technologies to ensure, to the e'tent
practicable, that photographs produced by such trafficcontrol signal photo violationmonitoring
systems shall not include images that identify the driver, the passengers or the contents of the
vehicle( provided, however, that no notice of liability issued pursuant to this section shall be
dismissed solely because a photograph or photographs allow for the identification of the contents
of a vehicle, provided that the )ity of Albany has made a reasonable effort to comply with the
provisions of this subsection.
). !he owner of a vehicle shall be liable for a penalty imposed pursuant to this section if such
vehicle was used or operated with the permission of the owner, e'press or implied, in violation
of &ubdivision *d+ of , ---- of the New .ork &tate Vehicle and !raffic /aw, *hereinafter Vehicle
and !raffic /aw+ and such violation is evidenced by information obtained from a trafficcontrol
signal photo violationmonitoring system( provided, however, that no owner of a vehicle shall be
liable for a penalty imposed pursuant to this section where the operator of such vehicle has been
convicted of the underlying violation of &ubdivision *d+ of , ---- of the Vehicle and !raffic /aw.
". Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no owner of a vehicle shall be sub0ect to
a monetary fine imposed pursuant to this section if the operator of such vehicle was operating
such vehicle without the consent of the owner at the time such operator failed to obey a traffic
control indication. 1or purposes of this subsection, there shall be a presumption that the operator
of such vehicle was operating such vehicle with the consent of the owner at the time such
operator failed to obey a trafficcontrol indication.
#. 1or purposes of this section, 2owner2 shall mean any person, corporation, partnership, firm,
agency, association, lessor or organization who at the time of the issuance of a notice of violation
in which a vehicle is operated3
*-+ 4s the beneficial or e5uitable owner of such vehicle( or
*$+ 6as title to such vehicle( or
*7+ 4s the registrant or coregistrant of such vehicle which is registered with the "epartment
of 8otor Vehicles of the &tate of New .ork or any other state, territory, district, province,
nation or other 0urisdiction( or
*9+ :ses such vehicle in its vehiclerenting and;or leasing business( or
*<+ 4s an owner of such vehicle as defined by , -$= or &ubdivision *a+ of , $-%- of the
Vehicle and !raffic /aw.
1. 1or purposes of this section, 2trafficcontrol signal photo violationmonitoring system2 shall
mean a device installed to work in con0unction with a trafficcontrol signal which, during
operation, automatically produces two or more photographs, two or more microphotographs, a
videotape or other recorded images of each vehicle at the time it is used or operated in violation
of &ubdivision *d+ of , ---- of the Vehicle and !raffic /aw.
>. A certificate, sworn to or affirmed by a technician employed, hired or contracted by the
Albany Police "epartment, or a facsimile thereof, based upon inspection of photographs,
microphotographs, videotape or other recorded images produced by a trafficcontrol signal photo
violationmonitoring system, shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein. ?here
the technician is not a police officer, the certification shall also be sworn to or affirmed by a
police officer of the Albany Police "epartment. Any photographs, microphotographs, videotape
or other recorded images evidencing such a violation shall be available for inspection in any
proceeding to ad0udicate the liability for such violation imposed pursuant to this section.
6. An owner liable for a violation of &ubdivision *d+ of , ---- of the Vehicle and !raffic /aw
pursuant to this section shall be liable for a penalty of @<%. !he Parking Violations Bureau may
provide for an additional penalty not in e'cess of @$< for each violation for the failure to respond
to a notice of liability within the prescribed time period. !he Parking Violations Bureau shall
ad0udicate liability imposed by this section.
4. An imposition of liability under this section shall not be deemed a conviction as an operator
and shall not be made part of the operating record of the person upon whom such liability is
imposed nor shall it be used for insurance purposes in the provision of motor vehicle insurance
coverage.
A. A notice of liability shall be sent by first class mail to each person alleged to be liable as an
owner for a violation of &ubdivision *d+ of , ---- of the Vehicle and !raffic /aw pursuant to this
section. Personal service on the owner shall not be re5uired. A manual or automatic record of
mailing prepared in the ordinary course of business shall be prima facie evidence of the facts
contained therein.
B. A notice of liability shall contain the name and address of the person alleged to be liable as an
owner for a violation of &ubdivision *d+ of , ---- of the Vehicle and !raffic /aw pursuant to this
section, the registration number of the vehicle involved in such violation, the location where such
violation took place, the date and time of such violation and the identification number of the
camera which recorded the violation or other document locator number.
/. !he notice of liability shall contain information advising the person charged of the manner
and the time in which he or she may contest the liability alleged in the notice. &uch notice of
liability shall also contain a warning to advise the persons charged that failure to contest in the
manner and time provided shall be deemed an admission of liability and that a default 0udgment
may be entered thereon.
8. !he notice of liability shall be prepared and mailed by the Parking Violations Bureau or its
designee.
N. 4f an owner receives a notice of liability pursuant to this section for any time period during
which the vehicle was reported to the Police "epartment as having been stolen, it shall be a valid
defense to an allegation of liability for a violation of &ubdivision *d+ of , ---- of the Vehicle and
!raffic /aw pursuant to this section that the vehicle had been reported to the police as stolen
prior to the time the violation occurred and had not been recovered by such time. 1or purposes of
asserting the defense provided by this subsection, it shall be sufficient that a certified copy of the
police report on the stolen vehicle be sent by first class mail, return receipt re5uested, to the
Parking Violations Bureau.
C. 4f the owner liable for a violation of &ubdivision *d+ of , ---- of the Vehicle and !raffic /aw
pursuant to this section was not the operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation, the owner
may maintain an action for indemnification against the operator.
P. An appeal of an ad0udication of liability pursuant to this section may be taken in accordance
with )hapter D% of this )ode.
E. An owner who is a lessor of a vehicle to which a notice of liability was issued pursuant to
&ubdivision 6 of this section shall not be liable for the violation of &ubdivision *d+ of , ---- of
the Vehicle and !raffic /aw, provided that3
*-+ Prior to the violation, the lessor has filed with the Parking Violations Bureau and paid the
re5uired filing fee in accordance with the provisions of , $7D of the Vehicle and !raffic
/aw( and
*$+ ?ithin 7F days after receiving notice from the Parking Violations Bureau of the date and
time of a liability, together with the other information contained in the original notice of
liability, the lessor submits to the Bureau the correct name and address of the lessee of the
vehicle identified in the notice of liability at the time of such violation, together with such
other additional information contained in the rental lease or other contract document, as
may be reasonably re5uired by the Bureau pursuant to regulations that may be
promulgated for such purpose.
*7+ 1ailure to comply with &ubsection E*-+ or *$+ of this section shall render the owner liable
for the penalty prescribed in this section.
*9+ ?here the lessor complies with the provisions of this subsection, the lessee of such
vehicle on the date of such violation shall be deemed to be the owner of such vehicle for
purposes of this section, shall be sub0ect to liability for such violation pursuant to this
section and shall be sent a notice of liability pursuant to &ubsection 6 of this section.
G. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the liability of an operator of a vehicle for
any violation of &ubdivision *d+ of , ---- of the Vehicle and !raffic /aw.
&. Cn or before HCctober -, $%-9I April -, $%-<, and every four months thereafter, until such
time as the demonstration program authorized in &ubsection A hereof shall be fully operational,
the )hief of Police or his or her designee shall submit a written report to the )ommon )ouncil
on the status of said demonstration program. &uch report shall include, but not be limited to, the
locations selected for inclusion in the demonstration program and the cost to the )ity, both
individually and collectively, of each location included in such demonstration pro0ect. Ge5uired
reports shall be posted on the )ity of Albany website.
!. !he )hief of Police or his or her designee shall submit to the >overnor, the temporary
President of the &enate, the &peaker of the Assembly and the )ommon )ouncil, an annual report
on the results of the use of a trafficcontrol signal photo violationmonitoring system on or
before Aune -, $%-<, and on the same date in each succeeding year, in which the demonstration
program is operable. &uch report shall include, but not be limited to3
*-+ A description of the locations where trafficcontrol signal photo violationmonitoring
systems were used(
*$+ !he aggregate number, type and severity of accidents reported at intersections where a
trafficcontrol signal photo violationmonitoring system is used for the year preceding the
installation of such system, to the e'tent the information is maintained by the New .ork
&tate "epartment of 8otor Vehicles(
*7+ !he aggregate number, type and severity of accidents reported at intersections where a
trafficcontrol signal photo violationmonitoring system is used, to the e'tent the
information is maintained by the New .ork &tate "epartment of 8otor Vehicles(
*9+ !he number of violations recorded at each intersection where a trafficcontrol signal
photo violationmonitoring system is used and in the aggregate on a daily, weekly and
monthly basis(
*<+ !he total number of notices of liability issued for violations recorded by such systems(
*J+ !he number of fines and total amount of fines paid after first notice of liability issued for
violations recorded by such systems(
*F+ !he number of violations ad0udicated and results of such ad0udications including
breakdowns of dispositions made for violations recorded by such systems(
*=+ !he total amount of revenue realized by the )ity from such ad0udications(
*D+ #'penses incurred by the )ity in connection with the program( and
*-%+ Euality of the ad0udication process and its results.
:. 4t shall be a defense to any prosecution for a violation of &ubdivision *d+ of , ---- of the
Vehicle and !raffic /aw pursuant to this section that such trafficcontrol indications were
malfunctioning at the time of the alleged violation.
V. All funds in e'cess of the budgeted revenue from the system within a fiscal year, as reported
in , 7<D-7=*!+*=+ above, received by the )ity in its >eneral 1und shall be transferred to a
!raffic &afety 1und. #'penditures from the !raffic &afety 1und shall be made only for
programs, e5uipment, supplies and studies related to traffic safety, traffic law enforcement and
traffic accident prevention( trafficcontrol devices and the maintenance thereof( and the
maintenance, improvement or construction of safetyrelated infrastructure on public streets.
0ection 2. ,hi8 ordinance 8hall ta>e effect immediately
!++&O.)' !0 ,O 1O&M
0e9tember 56 2"14
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Cor9oration Coun8el
,o: Nala &. 4oodard6 City Cler>
1rom: +atric> @. Aordan6 0enior !88i8tant Cor9oration Coun8el
&e: &eBue8t for Common Council /egi8lation
0u99orting Memorandum
'ate: 0e9tember 56 2"14
O&'(N!NC) NCM3)& 45.92.14
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G)N)&!/ +C&+O0) O1 /)G(0/!,(ON
!o implement the trafficcontrol signal photo violationmonitoring system that was authorized by the
N.& /egislature.


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)hanges to the )ity )ode re5uire )ouncil approval.


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:nknown at this time.