2018 New York Laws
VAT - Vehicle and Traffic
Title 2 - Department of Motor Vehicles; Commissioner
Article 2-A - Adjudication of Traffic Infractions
227 - Hearings; Determinations.

§ 227. Hearings; determinations. 1. Every hearing for the adjudication
  of  a  traffic  infraction,  as  provided by this article, shall be held
  before a hearing officer appointed by the commissioner.  The  burden  of
  proof  shall be upon the people, and no charge may be established except
  by clear and convincing evidence. The  commissioner  may  prescribe,  by
  rule or regulation, the procedures for the conduct of such hearings.
2. In any case wherein the people are not ready for the hearing on the
  scheduled hearing date, the hearing officer may order a dismissal of the
  charge  or  the  adjournment of the hearing to a subsequent time. In any
  case wherein the people are not ready for  the  hearing  at  an  ordered
  adjourned time and do not provide a minimum of seven days' notice to the
  department  after  having been not ready for a hearing on the charge for
  any reason previously, the charge shall be dismissed unless the  hearing
  officer determines that a substantial traffic safety hazard would result
  from  the  dismissal.  The  commissioner  shall  promulgate  regulations
  concerning the adjournment of hearings which may permit the dismissal of
  cases by a hearing officer for reasons not prescribed herein.
3. After due consideration of the evidence and arguments offered in  a
  contested  case, the hearing officer shall determine whether the charges
  have been established. Where the charges have not been  established,  an
  order  dismissing the charges shall be entered. Where a determination is
  made that a charge has been established, either in a contested  case  or
  in  an  uncontested  case  where there is an appearance before a hearing
  officer, or if  an  answer  admitting  the  charge  otherwise  has  been
  received,  an  appropriate  order  shall  be entered in the department's
  records.
4. a. An order entered upon the failure to answer or appear  or  after
  the  receipt  of an answer admitting the charge or where a determination
  is made that the charge has been established shall be civil  in  nature,
  but  shall  be treated as a conviction for the purposes of this chapter.
  The commissioner or his designee may include in such order an imposition
  of any penalty authorized  by  any  provision  of  this  chapter  for  a
  conviction  of  such  violation,  except that no penalty therefore shall
  include imprisonment, nor, if monetary, exceed the amount  of  the  fine
  which  could have been imposed had the charge been heard by a court. The
  driver's license or privileges, or, if the charge involves  a  violation
  of section three hundred eighty-five or section four hundred one of this
  chapter  by  a  registrant  who was not the operator of the vehicle, the
  registration of such vehicle or privilege  of  operation  of  any  motor
  vehicle owned by such registrant may be suspended pending the payment of
  any penalty so imposed. Any suspension issued pursuant to this paragraph
  shall be subject to the provisions of paragraph (j-1) of subdivision two
  of section five hundred three of this chapter.
b. Unpaid fines 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 appeal is pending,  the  commissioner
  may file with the county clerk of the county in which the person resides
  a  final  order of the commissioner containing the amount of the fine or
  fines. 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 execution issued against property upon judgments of
  a court of record. No such civil action shall  be  commenced  nor  shall
  such  final  order  be  filed  until  at  least  thirty  days  after the
  department has posted by ordinary mail to the person at the  address  of
  such  person  on  file  with  the  department  or at the current address
  provided by the United States postal service notice  of  the  amount  of
  such fine or fines and that such fine or fines are due and owing.

* 5.  All  penalties  and forfeited security collected pursuant to the
  provisions of this article shall be paid to the department of audit  and
  control  to the credit of the justice court fund and shall be subject to
  the applicable provisions of section  eighteen  hundred  three  of  this
  chapter.  After  such  audit  as  shall  reasonably  be  required by the
  comptroller,  such  penalties  and  forfeited  security  shall  be  paid
  quarterly  or,  in  the  discretion  of the comptroller, monthly, to the
  appropriate jurisdiction in which the violation occurred  in  accordance
  with  the  provisions of section ninety-nine-a of the state finance law,
  except that the sum of four dollars for each violation occurring in such
  jurisdiction  for  which  a  complaint   has   been   filed   with   the
  administrative  tribunal  established  pursuant to this article shall be
  retained by the state.  Notwithstanding  any  law  to  the  contrary  an
  additional  annual sum of three million dollars collected from fines and
  assessed to the city of New York, shall be deposited  into  the  general
  fund.  Provided,  however,  that if the full costs of administering this
  article shall exceed the amounts received and retained by the state  for
  any  period  specified by the commissioner, then such additional sums as
  shall be required to offset such costs shall be retained  by  the  state
  out  of  the penalties and forfeited security collected pursuant to this
  article.
* NB Effective until April 1, 2019
* 5. All penalties and forfeited security collected  pursuant  to  the
  provisions  of this article shall be paid to the department of audit and
  control to the credit of the justice court fund and shall be subject  to
  the  applicable  provisions  of  section  eighteen hundred three of this
  chapter. After such  audit  as  shall  reasonably  be  required  by  the
  comptroller,  such  penalties  and  forfeited  security  shall  be  paid
  quarterly or, in the discretion of  the  comptroller,  monthly,  to  the
  appropriate  jurisdiction  in which the violation occurred in accordance
  with the provisions of section ninety-nine-a of the state  finance  law,
  except that the sum of four dollars for each violation occurring in such
  jurisdiction   for   which   a   complaint   has  been  filed  with  the
  administrative tribunal established pursuant to this  article  shall  be
  retained  by  the  state.  Provided,  however, that if the full costs of
  administering  this  article  shall  exceed  the  amounts  received  and
  retained by the state for any period specified by the commissioner, then
  such  additional sums as shall be required to offset such costs shall be
  retained by the state  out  of  the  penalties  and  forfeited  security
  collected pursuant to this article.
* NB Effective April 1, 2019
6. Unless a hearing officer shall determine that a substantial traffic
  safety  hazard  would  result  therefrom,  he  shall,  pursuant  to  the
  regulations of the commissioner, delay for a period of thirty  days  the
  effective  date  of any suspension or revocation of a drivers license or
  vehicle registration imposed after a hearing pursuant to  this  article,
  unless  such  suspension  was  imposed  because  of the failure to pay a
  monetary penalty. Provided, however, the commissioner's regulations  may
  provide  for  the  immediate  surrender  of  any item to be suspended or
  revoked and the issuance of appropriate temporary  documentation  to  be
  used during such thirty day period.