A05258 Summary:

BILL NO    A05258 

SAME AS    No same as

SPONSOR    Gianaris

COSPNSR    

MLTSPNSR   

Amd S837-m, Exec L

Provides for the fingerprinting of applicants who apply for licenses or
authorizations from the taxi and limousine commission for the purpose of
determining the criminal history of such applicants.

A05258 Actions:

BILL NO    A05258 

02/11/2009 referred to governmental operations
01/06/2010 referred to governmental operations

A05258 Votes:

A05258 Memo:

 BILL NUMBER:  A5258

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the executive law, in relation to
obtaining the fingerprints of applicants who apply for licenses or
authorizations from the taxi and limousine commission for the purpose
of determining the criminal history of such applicants

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :
To allow the fingerprints of applicants who apply for licenses or
authorizations from the taxi limousine commission to be transmitted to
federal authorities for the purpose of determining the criminal
history of such applicants.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :
This bill amends Section 837-m(1) (b) (4) of the Executive Law by
adding license renewal, authorization and authorization renewal to the
list in subparagraph (4) which defines applicant.  Additionally, this
bill adds a new clause to subparagraph (4) referring to applicants for
licenses, license renewals, authorizations or authorization renewals
from the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission ("TLC").  The
result of these amendments will be that a person applying for a
license, license renewal, authorization, or authorization renewal from
the TLC will be considered an applicant for purposes of Section 837-m
of the Executive Law.

Sections 2 and 3 of the bill amend Executive Law Section 837-m(2) and
Section 837-m(5) (b) respectively, by adding references to license
renewal, authorization and authorization renewal in order that there
be consistency throughout Section 837-m.

Section 4 of the bill provides that the bill take effect sixty days
after enactment.

 JUSTIFICATION :
This proposed legislation amends the New York State Executive Law to
provide that an applicant for a license or an authorization from the
TLC, to the extent he or she is required by Chapter 5 of Title 19 to
be fingerprinted, shall be considered an applicant for purposes of
Section 837-m.  As a result, the TLC would be required, as is its
current practice, to forward the fingerprints of an applicant to the
Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS).  However, as a result of
the amendment, DCJS would, in addition to conducting a criminal
history records search of the New York State files, also forward the
fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for a
nationwide criminal history record search.  At present, the TLC is
able to obtain the result of a New York State criminal history records
search, but is not able to obtain information regarding whether an
applicant has any criminal history outside New York State.  By
amending the definition of "applicant" in Section 837-m to include
applicants for licenses or authorizations from the TLC who are
required by the New York City Administrative Code to be fingerprinted,
the TLC will be able to ensure that it has complete information about
any state or national criminal history records of those applicants.

TLC currently licenses over 150,000 drivers, vehicle owners and
business owners operating in the for-hire-industries in New York City.
These licensees provide transportation for over 1.5 million people
every day.  The TLC needs access to state and national criminal
history records to ensure that its licensees are safe and responsible
individuals.  For example, at present, individuals convicted of crimes
such as driving while intoxicated in states outside of New York are
able to avoid the extra scrutiny that their applications warrant.
This amendment would not disqualify applicants, but instead would give
the TLC relevant background information.  In that way, the TLC would
make more informed decisions about whether to license an individual to
provide vital transportation services to the public.
To the extent the national criminal history records search imposes
additional time constraints on the application process for a TLC
license or authorization, the TLC will continue to process other parts
of the license or authorization application.  The TLC remains
committed to reviewing all license and authorization applications as
quickly as possible, while ensuring that applicants are indeed
qualified.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
01/11/07 referred to governmental operations 01/09/08 referred to
governmental operations

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law.