N.Y. Vehicle & Traffic Law § 1203-f: Handicapped parking enforcement

§ 1203-f. Handicapped parking enforcement. 1. A county, city, town

or village may, by adoption of a local law or ordinance, establish a

handicapped parking violation unit to assist in the enforcement of

handicapped parking laws or ordinances. Persons appointed to such unit

shall be volunteers, shall serve without compensation, and shall be

authorized to provide evidence of violations of handicapped parking laws

or ordinances to the appropriate local enforcement authority. Such

evidence may include photographing a violation, provided that such

photograph is taken and handled in compliance with the requirements of

this section.

2. A local law or ordinance enacted in accordance with the provisions

of this section shall:

(a) establish a training program of no less than two hours in length

and require each volunteer to participate in and complete such training

program;

(b) provide for the assignment of an identification number to each

volunteer, and provide official identification and equipment to assist

volunteer personnel in the conduct of their duties;

(c) establish uniform procedures for volunteers to follow in

determining whether a violation has occurred;

(d) establish procedures for the uniform reporting of violations,

which reporting shall include the identification number of the volunteer

making the report;

(e) if such local law or ordinance provides for the taking of

photographs of violations, (i) grant only the enforcement agency the

authority to process or to contract for the processing of all film

submitted by volunteers; (ii) require any photographs evidencing a

violation to be available for inspection in any proceeding to adjudicate

the liability for such violation; (iii) provide that a certificate,

sworn to or affirmed by a technician employed by the locality in which

the charged violation occurred, or a facsimile thereof, based upon

inspection of photographs produced from film submitted by volunteers,

shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein; and (iv)

prohibit the use of such a photograph for any purpose other than as

evidence of a handicapped parking violation; and

(f) provide the following with respect to notices of violation: (i) a

notice of violation shall be sent by first class mail to each person

alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of a handicapped

parking law or ordinance. A manual or automatic record of mailing

prepared in the ordinary course of business shall be prima facie

evidence of the facts contained therein; (ii) a notice of violation

shall reference the law which was allegedly violated, and shall contain

the name and address of the person alleged to be liable as an owner for

a violation of a handicapped parking law or ordinance, the registration

number of the vehicle involved in such violation, the location where

such violation took place, the date and time of such violation, and the

identification number of the volunteer who recorded the violation; (iii)

a notice of violation shall contain information advising the person

charged of the manner and the time in which he or she may contest the

violation alleged in the notice, and shall also contain a warning to

advise the persons charged that failure to contest in the manner and

time provided shall be deemed an admission of liability and that a

default judgment may be entered thereon.