Prohibits rental vehicle companies from imposing any fees, charges or penalties, other than the actual cost of a toll…

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Brian Kavanagh says this is needed

New York State has begun the transition away from traditional tollbooths on our roads towards an automatic tolling system. The system uses a camera to take a picture of the vehicle's license plate, and subsequent- ly sends the bill to the driver of the vehicle. The new system helps to ease traffic congestion, helps the environment by reducing emissions from idling cars in lines, and saves hours of driving time for commu- ters. An unintended consequence of this technology is that some rental car companies treat camera-generated bills as traffic violations, such as when a driver passes through a red light that is equipped with a camera. The bill is outsourced to another company that charges the renter of the car the fee for the toll, and a processing fee on top of the original toll fee. This practice forces renters to pay more than their fair share for travel. As New York abandons traditional toll booths for the electronic system, the issue of unfairly imposed fees from camera-generated tolls will affect more New Yorkers who choose to rent a car to travel. By refusing to allow rental car companies to impose any fees, charges, or penalties other than the actual cost of a toll, this bill will eliminate the ineq- uity between drivers using their personal vehicles, and those travelling in rental vehicles.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.