2023 New York Laws › PBA - Public Authorities › Article 9 - General Provisions › Title 11 - Wrongful Death Actions › 2985-A - Payment of Tolls Under the Tolls by Mail Program.

* §  2985-a. Payment of tolls under the tolls by mail program. 1. This
section shall not  apply  to  the  payment  of  tolls  by  means  of  an
electronic  toll device that transmits information through an electronic
toll collection system as  defined  in  subdivision  twelve  of  section
twenty-nine hundred eighty-five of this title.
2.  For  purposes  of this section, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
(a) "Cashless tolling facility" shall mean a toll roadway,  bridge  or
tunnel  facility that does not provide for the immediate on-site payment
in cash of a toll owed for the use of such facility.
(b) "Owner" shall mean any  person,  corporation,  partnership,  firm,
agency,  association,  lessor  or  organization  who,  at  the  time  of
incurring an obligation to pay a toll at a  cashless  tolling  facility,
and with respect to the vehicle identified in the toll bill or notice of
violation:  (i) is the beneficial or equitable owner of such vehicle; or
(ii)  has  title  to  such  vehicle;  or  (iii)  is  the  registrant  or
co-registrant of such vehicle which is registered with the department of
motor  vehicles  of  this state or any other state, territory, district,
province,  nation  or  other  jurisdiction;  or  (iv)  subject  to   the
limitations  set forth in subdivision ten of section twenty-nine hundred
eighty-five of this title, uses such  vehicle  in  its  vehicle  renting
and/or  leasing  business;  or  (v)  is a person entitled to the use and
possession of a vehicle  subject  to  a  security  interest  in  another
person.
(c)  "Toll  bill"  shall mean a notice sent to an owner notifying such
owner that the owner's vehicle has been used or operated in  or  upon  a
cashless  tolling  facility  and the owner has incurred an obligation to
pay a toll.
(d) "Notice of violation"  shall  mean  a  notice  sent  to  an  owner
notifying such owner that a toll incurred at a cashless tolling facility
by  the  owner has not been paid at the place and time and in the manner
established for collection of such toll in the toll  bill  and  that  an
administrative violation fee is being imposed for each such unpaid toll.
(e)  "Billing cycle" shall mean a period not to exceed thirty calendar
days once tolls have posted for purposes of consolidated toll billing.
(f) "Initial billing cycle" shall mean a period not to exceed  fifteen
business days after identifying the owner or other party responsible for
paying  the  toll  for  the  purpose of consolidated toll billing for an
obligation to pay a toll bill for the first time at a  cashless  tolling
facility in a six-month period.
(g)  "Tolls  by mail program" shall mean any program operated by or on
behalf of a public authority to send a  toll  bill  to  an  owner  whose
vehicle  crosses  a cashless tolling facility without a valid electronic
device that successfully transmits  information  through  an  electronic
toll  collection  system  as  defined  in  subdivision twelve of section
twenty-nine hundred eighty-five of this title.
(h) "Declaration of dispute" shall  mean  a  submission  by  an  owner
disputing  all  or  any  portion  of  a  toll,  fee,  penalty,  or other
obligation incurred by an owner whose vehicle crosses a cashless tolling
facility, in  such  form  as  the  public  authority  shall  provide  in
regulations and through display on the authority's website.
3.  In the case of an owner who incurs an obligation to pay a toll for
the first time in six months under  the  tolls  by  mail  program  at  a
cashless tolling facility, a toll bill shall be sent within ten business
days  after  the end of the initial billing cycle and of each subsequent
billing cycle. In the case of all other owners incurring  an  obligation
to  pay a toll at a cashless tolling facility, a toll bill shall be sent
at the end of the next billing cycle. Toll bills shall be  sent  to  the

owner  by  first  class mail, and may additionally be sent by electronic
means of communication upon the affirmative consent of the owner, by  or
on  behalf  of the public authority which operates such cashless tolling
facility.  The  owner  shall  have thirty days from the date of the toll
bill to pay the incurred toll. The toll  bill  shall  include:  (i)  the
total  amount  of the incurred tolls due, (ii) the date by which payment
of the incurred tolls is due, (iii) any administrative  fees,  (iv)  the
address  for receipt of payment and methods of payment for the toll, (v)
the procedure for contesting any toll and the  contact  information  for
the  relevant  toll  payer  advocate office and customer service center,
(vi) information related to the failure to timely pay or respond to  the
notice  of liability, in addition to the possibility that a judgment can
be entered for repeat unpaid liabilities that could lead  to  a  vehicle
being towed or immobilized, (vii) a website address or hyperlink for the
owner  to  access  time-stamped  photographs  or  footage  of  each toll
incurred  by  electronic  means,  (viii)  information  related  to   the
availability  of the toll payer advocate to discuss payment options, and
(ix) other information required by law or by the public authority.  Each
toll bill shall identify the date, time, location, license plate number,
and  jurisdiction  of  the  license  plate  for  each toll that has been
incurred. Each toll bill shall include an image of the license plate  of
the  vehicle  being  used or operated on the toll facility. If the owner
fails to pay the initial toll bill, a second toll bill shall be sent  in
the  next  billing  cycle, which shall also indicate the overdue toll or
tolls and any administrative or late fees due.
4. In the case of an owner who does not pay a toll incurred under  the
tolls  by  mail program on a cashless facility at the place and time and
in the manner established for collection of such toll in the second toll
bill, a notice of violation shall be sent notifying the owner  that  the
toll  is unpaid and administrative violation fees are being imposed. The
notice of violation shall be sent to the owner by first class mail,  and
may  additionally  be sent by electronic means of communication upon the
affirmative consent of  the  owner,  by  or  on  behalf  of  the  public
authority  which  operates such cashless tolling facility. The notice of
violation shall include: (i)  the  total  amount  of  unpaid  tolls  and
administrative violation fees due, (ii) the date by which payment of the
tolls  and  administrative  violation fees is due, (iii) the address for
receipt of payment and  methods  of  payment  for  the  toll,  (iv)  the
procedure  for  contesting  any toll and the contact information for the
relevant toll payer advocate office and  customer  service  center,  (v)
information  related  to  the  failure  to  timely pay or respond to the
notice of liability, in addition to the possibility that a judgment  can
be  entered  for  repeat unpaid liabilities that could lead to a vehicle
being towed or immobilized, (vi) a website address or hyperlink for  the
owner  to  access  time-stamped  photographs  or  footage  of  each toll
incurred  by  electronic  means,  (vii)  information  related   to   the
availability  of the toll payer advocate to discuss payment options, and
(viii) other information required by law or  by  the  public  authority.
Each  notice  of  violation  shall  identify  the  date, time, location,
license plate number, and jurisdiction of the  license  plate  for  each
unpaid toll that has been incurred.
5.  Any  fee  or  administrative  violation  fee that is assessed on a
notice of violation pursuant to subdivision four of this  section  shall
be  dismissed if the notice of violation was not sent within ninety days
of the second toll bill, provided that any toll or tolls incurred remain
due and payable and provided further that such dismissal shall not apply
in the event that exceptional circumstances, including but  not  limited
to technological failures, have delayed the timely mailing of the notice

of  violation  and  the  public  authority  has  posted  notice  of such
circumstances prominently on its website within  a  reasonable  time  of
becoming  aware of such circumstances, which shall be adequate record of
such circumstances.
6.  Any  toll bill or notice of violation required to be sent pursuant
to this section by first class mail may also be sent,  with  consent  of
the  owner,  by electronic means of communication by or on behalf of the
public authority. It shall be the sole responsibility of  the  owner  to
provide   and   update   the   address  used  for  electronic  means  of
communication to  the  owner  by  the  public  authority.  A  manual  or
automatic  record  of electronic communications prepared in the ordinary
course of business shall be adequate record of electronic notice.
7. Any owner who incurs an obligation to pay a toll under the tolls by
mail program at a public authority's  cashless  tolling  facility  shall
have  an  option  to receive alerts by electronic means of communication
that a toll has been incurred. Such alerts  shall  be  provided  to  the
owner  who  has  elected to receive such alerts no more than seventy-two
hours after the owner is identified. Each public authority shall  create
an  online  registration  for an electronic means of communication alert
that a toll has been incurred under the  tolls  by  mail  program  at  a
cashless  tolling  facility. In the event an owner chooses to receive an
electronic means of communication alert of a toll incurred, it shall  be
the  owner's  sole  responsibility  to  provide  and  update  any mobile
numbers, electronic mail addresses, or  any  other  addresses  used  for
electronic  means of communication to which alerts are sent. A manual or
automatic record of electronic communications prepared in  the  ordinary
course of business shall be adequate record of electronic notice.
8. If an owner receives a notice of violation pursuant to this section
for  any time period during which the vehicle was reported to the police
department as having been stolen, it shall be  a  valid  defense  to  an
allegation  of  liability for a violation of toll collection regulations
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. If
an owner receives a notice of violation pursuant to this section for any
time period during which the vehicle was stolen, but not as yet reported
to the police as having been stolen, it shall be a valid defense  to  an
allegation  of  liability for a violation of toll collection regulations
pursuant to this section that the vehicle was reported as stolen  within
two hours after the discovery of the theft by the owner. For purposes of
asserting   the  defense  provided  by  this  subdivision  it  shall  be
sufficient that a certified copy of the  police  report  on  the  stolen
vehicle  be sent by first class mail to the court or other entity having
jurisdiction.
9. An owner who is a  lessor  of  a  vehicle  to  which  a  notice  of
violation  was issued pursuant to subdivision four of this section shall
not be liable for the  violation  of  the  toll  collection  regulations
provided  the  owner sends to the public authority serving the notice of
violation and to the court or other entity having jurisdiction a copy of
the rental, lease or other such contract document covering such  vehicle
on  the  date  of the violation, with the name and address of the lessee
clearly legible, within thirty days after receiving the original  notice
of  violation.  Failure  to send such information within such thirty-day
time period shall render the lessor liable for the penalty prescribed by
this section. Where the lessor complies  with  the  provisions  of  this
subdivision,  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  and shall be subject to liability for the violation of the toll
collection regulations, provided  that  the  public  authority  mails  a

notice  of  violation  to  the lessee within ten business days after the
public authority deems the lessee to be the owner. For purposes of  this
subdivision  the term "lessor" shall mean any person, corporation, firm,
partnership, agency, association or organization engaged in the business
of  renting  or leasing vehicles to any lessee under a rental agreement,
lease or otherwise wherein the said lessee has the exclusive use of said
vehicle for any period of time. For purposes of  this  subdivision,  the
term  "lessee"  shall  mean  any person, corporation, firm, partnership,
agency, association or organization that rents, leases or contracts  for
the  use  of  one or more vehicles and has exclusive use thereof for any
period of time.
10. Except as provided in subdivision  nine  of  this  section,  if  a
person  receives a notice of violation pursuant to this section it shall
be a valid defense to an allegation of liability for a violation of toll
collection regulations that the individual who received  the  notice  of
violation  pursuant  to this section was not the owner of the vehicle at
the time the violation occurred. If the owner liable for a violation  of
toll  collection  regulations  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.
11.  Any  public  authority  that operates a cashless tolling facility
shall: (i) maintain a website and toll-free phone number for any  person
to   receive  updated  information  on  any  tolls  or  fees  which  are
outstanding; and (ii) establish procedures for  owners  to  dispute  any
tolls  and  violation  fees  incurred  in  connection  with  toll bills,
including a requirement that written  determinations  in  such  disputes
shall  be  issued  within  forty-five  days  of  receipt  of the owner's
declaration of dispute. Such information shall be prominently  displayed
on such public authority's toll bills, notices of violation and website.
12.  Every  public authority that operates a cashless tolling facility
shall develop  policies  and  procedures  for  the  establishment  on  a
case-by-case  basis  of  a written payment plan agreement for an owner's
unpaid tolls and administrative violation fees incurred  at  a  cashless
tolling  facility,  subject  to the availability of sufficient resources
for the public authority to administer such payment  plans.  Information
related  to  payment  plans  shall  be  made  available upon the owner's
request to the public authority's customer service  center.  The  public
authority  shall  not charge any additional amount or fee for enrollment
in a payment plan agreement. Owners shall fully comply with all  payment
plan agreement terms and conditions and shall be subject to payment plan
agreement default provisions.
13.  Every  public authority that operates a cashless tolling facility
shall establish an office  of  such  authority's  toll  payer  advocate,
designed  to  further  assist  owners who remain unsatisfied after first
attempting resolution in writing of their concern  with,  and  receiving
written  determination  from,  such authority's customer service center.
The office of the toll payer advocate shall also  endeavor  to  identify
any  systemic issues and recommend reasonable improvements regarding the
use of and process involved with the payment of tolls under the tolls by
mail program at cashless tolling facilities to the public authority.
14. A public authority that  operates  a  cashless  tolling  facility,
including the officers, employees, contractors and agents of such public
authority,  shall  not report to a consumer reporting agency, as defined
in 15 U.S.C. §  1681a,  any  toll,  fee,  penalty  or  other  obligation
incurred by an owner related to use of a cashless tolling facility.
15.  Nothing  in  this  section shall prohibit a public authority from
collecting any toll or fee in the event that an owner does not  properly
register  a  vehicle pursuant to the laws, rules and regulations of this

state, or any other state,  territory,  district,  province,  nation  or
other jurisdiction.
16.  Nothing  in  this  section  shall  require  a public authority to
perform any action or forbear from performing any action that  would  in
the  public  authority's  sole  discretion  impair any covenant with the
holders  of  any  of  the  public  authority's  bonds,  notes  or  other
obligations.
* NB Effective September 1, 2024 provided that the state of New Jersey
has enacted legislation having an identical effect