N.Y. VAT. LAW § 303 : NY Code - Section 303: Official inspection stations

Search N.Y. VAT. LAW § 303 : NY Code - Section 303: Official inspection stations

(a)   The  commissioner  is
  authorized to operate, enter into contracts with any person to  operate,
  and  license  official inspection stations for the purpose of making the
  inspection prescribed by this article and for  the  purpose  of  issuing
  certificates of inspection.
    (1)  A  license  to  operate  an  official inspection station shall be
  issued only upon written application which shall set  forth  such  facts
  and   evidence   as   may   be   required  to  ascertain  the  identity,
  qualifications and character of the applicant. An  original  application
  for a license for an official inspection station shall be accompanied by
  an  application  fee  of twenty-five dollars, which shall in no event be
  refunded. The commissioner shall  issue  a  license,  after  appropriate
  inquiry  and  investigation,  only  when  satisfied  that the station is
  properly equipped and has competent personnel to make  such  inspections
  and  that  such  inspections  will  be  properly conducted, and that the
  applicant complies with the provisions of this article and the rules and
  regulations promulgated thereunder. If an application is approved by the
  commissioner, a license shall be issued to the applicant. The annual fee
  for  a  license  or  license  renewal  shall  be  fifty   dollars.   The
  commissioner may issue such licenses on a staggered expiration basis, in
  which  event  the  fees for such licenses shall be prorated on a monthly
  basis. In no event shall the fee exceed  one  hundred  dollars  for  two
  years.  The  commissioner  shall  have  discretion to issue a license or
  license renewal which shall be valid for a period of not more  than  two
  years.  The  fee for any such renewal shall be not more than one hundred
  dollars.
    (2) The commissioner may issue a temporary permit to any applicant for
  a license under the provisions of this article pending final  action  on
  an  application  made  for  such  a  license, and the computation of the
  license fee, if a license is issued, shall be computed from the date  of
  issuance  of  the temporary permit. Any such permit shall be valid for a
  period not in excess of sixty days. The  provisions  of  this  paragraph
  relating to fees, shall not apply to the state, a city, county, village,
  town or school district, or any of the departments thereof.
    (3)  A  contract  to  operate  an  emission  inspection facility shall
  include the following conditions:
    (i) emission inspection facilities must  be  geographically  dispersed
  throughout   each  region  in  numbers  sufficient  to  allow  motorists
  reasonable access to such facilities;
    (ii) maximum daily average waiting times  for  motorists  at  emission
  inspection  facilities  shall  not  exceed fifteen minutes for more than
  five days each calendar month; and
    (iii) no emission inspection facility authorized by a chapter  of  the
  laws   of   nineteen   hundred   ninety-three  shall  begin  to  operate
  commercially, except for a limited test period not to exceed  thirty-one
  days  as  approved  by  the department, prior to January first, nineteen
  hundred ninety-six, in any area of  the  state  which  has  an  emission
  inspection  program  in  operation  at the time of the enactment of such
  chapter. The commissioner shall approve any proposed fee schedule to the
  extent that it will allow an official inspection station operating  such
  a  pre-existing  program  to  recover any additional fee imposed by such
  chapter.
    (b)  Each  official  inspection  station  shall  keep  a   record   of
  inspections,  re-inspections,  and  the results thereof, and a record of
  certificates of inspection issued.
    (c) Each official inspection station shall prominently display  in  an
  area  of  the  station where the orderly transaction of business of such
  station occurs a sign provided or approved by the department and,  after

  a  motor  vehicle  fails  to  pass  inspection  at such station, provide
  written notice on forms provided or approved by the  department  to  the
  owner  or  person  in  charge of said vehicle that the necessary repairs
  must  be  made  to  the  vehicle  within  thirty  days  from the date of
  inspection and that such repairs need not necessarily be  made  at  that
  station  and  shall  be made in a manner consistent with federal law and
  regulations.  The  period  allowed  for  repair  shall  not  extend  the
  expiration  date  of  either  the  inspection  sticker  or  registration
  certificate.
    (d) 1. The commissioner shall supervise and cause  inspections  to  be
  made  of  such official inspection stations. It shall be the duty of the
  superintendent  of  state  police  and  of  the  police  forces  of  all
  municipalities  of  the  state  to  assist  the commissioner in assuring
  compliance by all official inspection stations with  the  provisions  of
  this  article and with all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
  An official inspection station and the records thereof shall be open for
  inspection at reasonable times by  any  police  officer  or  any  person
  designated  by  the  commissioner  to  inspect  such official inspection
  stations or any person designated by the commissioner  of  environmental
  conservation  to  inspect such official inspection stations with respect
  to emission inspections.
    2. The commissioner shall have the right  to  inspect  motor  vehicles
  located  on  the  premises  of  any  person,  association,  corporation,
  subsidiary corporation or municipality  having  obtained  permission  to
  conduct self-inspection of motor vehicles pursuant to subdivision (c) or
  (f)  of  section  three  hundred two of this chapter and which have been
  issued a certificate of inspection within the previous fifteen days.
    (e)  A  license  to  operate  an  official  inspection  station  or  a
  certificate  to  inspect vehicles may be suspended or revoked or renewal
  thereof may be refused by the commissioner or any person duly  deputized
  for one or more of the following causes:
    1.  Failure  to conduct inspections in conformance with the provisions
  of this article and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder  or
  improper issuance of certificates of inspections.
    2. Conviction of a crime involving fraud, theft, perjury or bribery or
  other cause which would permit disqualification from receiving a license
  or a certificate to inspect vehicles upon the original application.
    3.  Fraud,  deceit  or  misrepresentation in securing the license or a
  certificate to inspect  vehicles  or  in  the  conduct  of  licensed  or
  certified activity.
    4.  Excessive  charges  for  conducting  inspections  and  for  making
  adjustments, corrections or repairs required by such inspections.
    5. Violation  of  any  provision  of  this  article  or  any  rule  or
  regulation promulgated thereunder.
    (f)  No  license  or  certificate  shall  be  revoked or suspended, or
  renewal refused,  except  upon  notice  to  the  licensee  or  certified
  inspector   and   after  an  opportunity  to  be  heard.  A  license  or
  certificate, however, may be temporarily suspended upon a written notice
  of temporary suspension delivered by certified mail to the  licensee  or
  certified  inspector  pending any prosecution, investigation or hearing.
  The written notice  of  temporary  suspension  shall  provide  that  the
  temporary  suspension  is  effective seventy-two hours after delivery of
  such notice. Whenever any license  to  operate  an  official  inspection
  station  or  certificate  to  inspect vehicles is revoked, no license or
  certificate shall be reissued to an applicant until after the expiration
  of a period of one year from the date of such revocation.
    (g) Upon the revocation or suspension of an inspection station license
  or certificate to inspect vehicles, the  holder  thereof  shall  deliver

  such  license  or  certificate  to  the  revoking or suspending officer,
  together with all inspection and inspection extension certificates,  all
  inspection  record  forms, and any and all other items in the possession
  of  the  license or certificate holder which theretofore had been issued
  by the commissioner for use in connection with the inspection station or
  the inspection of vehicles. The failure of the holder thereof to deliver
  any of the aforesaid items to the revoking or suspending officer, or  to
  any  peace  officer,  acting  pursuant  to his special duties, or police
  officer directed by the  commissioner  or  agent  of  the  commissioner,
  displaying  authorization to act in such capacity along with a certified
  copy of  the  order  revoking  or  suspending  such  inspection  station
  license, to secure possession thereof, shall constitute a misdemeanor.
    (h)  The commissioner, or any person duly deputized, in addition to or
  in lieu of revoking or suspending  a  license  to  operate  an  official
  inspection  station  or  a certificate to inspect vehicles, may by order
  require the licensee or certified inspector to pay to the people of this
  state a penalty for a first violation a sum not exceeding seven  hundred
  and  fifty  dollars for each violation found to have been committed; and
  for a second or  subsequent  violation  not  arising  out  of  the  same
  incident  both of which were committed within a period of thirty months,
  a sum of not more than one thousand dollars for each violation found  to
  have  been  committed;  provided,  however, the penalty for each and any
  violation of paragraph three of subdivision (e) of this section found to
  have been committed shall be  no  less  than  three  hundred  and  fifty
  dollars  and  no more than one thousand dollars, and upon the failure of
  such licensee to pay such penalty within twenty days after  the  mailing
  of  such  order, postage prepaid, registered or certified, and addressed
  to the last known place  of  business  of  such  licensee  or  certified
  inspector,  unless  such  order  is  stayed  by  a  court  of  competent
  jurisdiction or in accordance with the provisions of Article three-A  of
  this  chapter,  the commissioner may revoke the license of such licensee
  or the certificate of such certified inspector or may suspend  the  same
  for  such  period  as  may be determined. Civil penalties assessed under
  this subdivision shall be paid to the commissioner for deposit into  the
  state  treasury,  and  unpaid  civil  penalties  may be recovered by the
  commissioner in a civil action in  the  name  of  the  commissioner.  In
  addition,  as  an  alternative to such civil action and provided that no
  proceeding for judicial review shall then be pending and  the  time  for
  initiation  of  such proceeding shall have expired, the commissioner may
  file with the county clerk of the county  in  which  the  registrant  is
  located  or  the  certified  inspector  resides  a  final  order  of the
  commissioner containing the amount of the penalty assessed.  The  filing
  of  such  final order shall have the full force and effect of a judgment
  duly docketed in the office of such clerk and may  be  enforced  in  the
  same  manner and with the same effect as that provided by law in respect
  to executions issued against property  upon  judgments  of  a  court  of
  record.
    (i)  The holder of an inspection station license shall remove or cause
  to be removed any sign which contains the license number of the  station
  which  is visible to the public and which is required to be displayed by
  this article or regulations promulgated thereunder  if  the  license  is
  revoked  or  suspended  or the inspection station is out of business. If
  the license is only suspended, the holder may cover up the sign  instead
  of removing it.
    (j)  No  person  shall  permit  the display of any sign required to be
  displayed  by  this  article  or  regulations   promulgated   thereunder
  indicating  to  the  public  that  an  official  inspection  station  is

  operating unless an inspection station license has been issued  to  that
  person and is currently valid.