Requires the commissioner of motor vehicles to adopt rules and regulations requiring the issuance and placement of special stickers identifying alternative fuel vehicles having a gross vehicle weight of ten thousand pounds or less; requires such stickers to be easily identifiable to first responders as alternative fuel vehicles; defines alternative fuel.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A264
SPONSOR: Eachus TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring
the issuance of special stickers for alternative fuel vehicles having a
gross vehicle weight of ten thousand pounds or less
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To provide first responders a way to easily identify alternative fuel
vehicles at the scene of an accident to enable them to properly respond.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Directs the commissioner of motor vehicles to adopt rules and
regulations requiring the issuance of special stickers identifying
alternative fuel vehicles; Requires the owner of such vehicles to affix
the stickers to the inside of the windshield; Defines alternative fuel
vehicles for the purposes of this section.
Section 2: Sets effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
First responders put their lives on the line every time they arrive on
the scene of an accident. We should take every step possible to minimize
the risk they face while saving the lives of others. One way to protect
not only the first responders, but also the victims of an accident, is
to make it easier for first responders to assess the situation, includ-
ing the kind of vehicle or vehicles they are working with. For example,
while hydraulic rescue tools and water may work fine on traditional
vehicles, using either on an electric vehicle puts the lives of the
first responders and the victims at risk. In addition to electric vehi-
cles, other alternative fuel vehicles such as those that run on propane,
may also need to be handled differently than an accident involving a
traditional fuel vehicle.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24 A6515-A: Referred to Transportation, S9478-A: Referred to Trans-
portation
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Minimal to the state, none to local governments.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
264
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. EACHUS -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring
the issuance of special stickers for alternative fuel vehicles having
a gross vehicle weight of ten thousand pounds or less
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 401-c to read as follows:
3 § 401-c. Alternative fuel stickers. 1. The commissioner shall adopt
4 rules and regulations requiring the issuance of special stickers identi-
5 fying alternative fuel vehicles having a gross vehicle weight of ten
6 thousand pounds or less. Such rules and regulations shall: require
7 that such stickers shall be affixed to the vehicle's windshield and rear
8 window and that such stickers shall be easily identifiable to first
9 responders as an alternative fuel vehicle; require that applications for
10 motor vehicle registration or re-registration include information
11 pertaining to whether a vehicle is an alternative fuel vehicle; and
12 provide that an owner of an alternative fuel vehicle may request such
13 special stickers upon submission of specific information.
14 2. Starting January first next succeeding the effective date of this
15 section, the department shall issue to the owner of an alternative fuel
16 vehicle having a gross vehicle weight of ten thousand pounds or less two
17 stickers identifying such vehicle as being an alternative fuel vehicle
18 at the time of registration or re-registration of such vehicle. The
19 stickers shall, to the maximum extent possible, be based on SAE Recom-
20 mended Practice J3108-1. Such stickers may also be requested by the
21 owner of an alternative fuel vehicle at other times upon the submission
22 of such information as required by the commissioner.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01121-01-5
A. 264 2
1 3. Stickers shall be produced in a size and form suitable for applica-
2 tion to the vehicle's windshield and rear window and shall be applied by
3 the owner of the vehicle to the front windshield of the vehicle adjacent
4 to the vehicle's registration sticker in a manner so as to not obstruct
5 or interfere with the view of the vehicle operator through the windsh-
6 ield, or to prevent the operator from having a clear and full view of
7 the road and conditions, or interfere with or cover the vehicle iden-
8 tification number and to the rear window of the vehicle.
9 4. For the purposes of this section, "alternative fuel" means: biod-
10 iesel (B100); natural gas and liquid fuels domestically produced from
11 natural gas; propane (liquefied petroleum gas); electricity; hydrogen;
12 blends of eighty-five percent or more of methanol, denatured ethanol,
13 and other alcohols with gasoline or other fuels; methanol, denatured
14 ethanol, and other alcohols; coal-derived, domestically produced liquid
15 fuels; fuels (other than alcohol) derived from biological materials; and
16 p-series fuels.
17 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
