NY Veh & Traf L § 303 (2021)
2021 New York Laws VAT - Vehicle and Traffic Title 3 - Safety Responsibility; Financial Security; Equipment; Inspection; Size and Weight; and Other Provisions Article 5 - Periodic Inspection of Motor Vehicles 303 - Official Inspection Stations.

§ 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) 1. 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:  (i)  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.  (ii)  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.  (iii) Fraud, deceit or misrepresentation in securing the license or  a certificate  to  inspect  vehicles  or  in  the  conduct  of licensed or certified activity.  (iv) Excessive charges  for  conducting  inspections  and  for  making adjustments, corrections or repairs required by such inspections.  (v)  Violation  of  any  provision  of  this  article  or  any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder.   2. Provided, however a  license  to  operate  an  official  inspection station  or  a  certificate  to  inspect  vehicles shall be suspended or revoked or renewal thereof shall be refused by the commissioner  or  any person  duly  deputized,  upon a third or subsequent violation committed within a period of eighteen months of any  rule  or  regulation  of  the commissioner  requiring  an  inspection  station to refuse to perform an inspection as set forth in paragraph two of subdivision (f)  of  section 79.20  of title fifteen of the codes, rules and regulations of the state of New York. If the commissioner or any  person  duly  deputized  orders penalties  to  be paid pursuant to subdivision (h) of this section, such penalties shall be in addition to, but not in  lieu  of,  a  suspension, revocation, or renewal thereof imposed pursuant to this paragraph.    * 3.  Provided,  however,  a license to operate an official inspection station or a certificate to  inspect  vehicles  shall  be  suspended  or revoked  or  renewal thereof shall be refused by the commissioner or any person duly deputized, upon a third or subsequent willful violation, all within  a  period  of  eighteen months, of any rule or regulation of the commissioner requiring an inspection station to inspect the  muffler  or exhaust  system  of  a  motorcycle  as  set  forth in subdivision (c) of section 79.28 of title 15 of the codes, rules  and  regulations  of  the state  of  New  York.  If  the commissioner or any person duly deputized orders penalties to be paid pursuant to subdivision (h) of this section, such penalties  shall  be  in  addition  to,  but  not  in  lieu  of,  a suspension,  revocation,  or  renewal  thereof  imposed pursuant to this paragraph.   * NB Effective April 1, 2022  (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  one  thousand 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 five hundred dollars for each violation found to have been committed; provided, however, the penalty  for  each  and  any violation  of  subparagraph (iii) of paragraph one of subdivision (e) of this section found to have been committed shall be  no  less  than  five hundred  dollars and no more than one thousand five hundred dollars, and provided further, however, the penalty for a  violation  found  to  have been  committed  of any rule or regulation of the commissioner requiring an inspection station to refuse to perform an inspection as set forth in paragraph two of subdivision (f) of section 79.20 of  title  fifteen  of the  codes,  rules  and  regulations of the state of New York shall be a  fine of not less than two  hundred  fifty  dollars  nor  more  than  one thousand dollars for a first violation, and a fine of not less than five hundred  dollars  nor  more than one thousand five hundred dollars for a second or subsequent such violation not arising out of the same incident both  of  which  were  committed within a period of eighteen months, 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.