S2773B

The New York State Senate passed legislation Tuesday prohibiting the sale of ATVs and off-highway motorcycles in New York City, advancing a bill sponsored by Sen. Liza Krueger to combat illegal street racing and robberies involving the vehicles. The measure passed 42-19 on a party-line vote, with all 19 nays coming from Republican senators. Krueger argued that while operating the vehicles is already illegal in the city, allowing their sale makes no sense and restricting sales will reduce their availability for illegal use. "They're there all the time, sometimes 50 to 75 of them at a time," she said, describing groups racing ATVs and off-highway motorcycles on Manhattan avenues while robbing people. The bill creates civil penalties for anyone—including private individuals—who sells these vehicles in the city. Republican opponents, led by Sen. Borrello and Sen. Rolison, argued the bill targets the wrong problem. "It's not the machines. It's the people operating the machines," Borrello said, calling for increased criminal penalties for illegal operation instead. Rolison, a former Poughkeepsie mayor, noted that most ATVs are not purchased through retail establishments and questioned whether the bill would actually reduce illegal use. Sen. Tedisco raised concerns about lost sales tax revenue and the lack of data on how many businesses sell these vehicles. The bill also faced a procedural challenge when Sen. Lanza proposed an amendment to repeal congestion pricing, arguing it was germane to vehicle regulation. Acting President Mayer ruled the amendment nongermane, and Lanza's appeal of that ruling failed on a show of hands vote of 20-0.

The New York State Senate passed S2773B, sponsored by Sen. Krueger, an act to amend the Administrative Code of the City of New York. The bill received 43 votes in favor and 18 votes in opposition. Voting against the measure were Sens. Ashby, Borrello, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Lanza, Martins, Mattera, Murray, Oberacker, Ortt, Rhoads, Rolison, Stec, Tedisco, Walczyk and Weik. The legislation is set to take effect on January 1.