Parking tickets that are illegible, contain misdescribed information or are missing specific information required by law would be dismissed immediately if legislation sponsored by Assemblyman William Colton (D—Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Dyker Heights), which just passed the New York State Assembly, is signed into law.

The bill (A 1994) would no longer require that the individual charged with the violation move for the dismissal of the violation, thereby ensuring that all defective parking tickets are treated in the same manner, something which is currently not happening.

“All too often, motorists pay tickets that, on their face, have serious defects, either because they do not realize that there are defects or because the difficulty of contesting those tickets is daunting,” said Assemblyman Colton. “Especially in this economy, this expense is a hardship for many people, and it is, to put it simply, unfair. My legislation would remedy that and help put hard-earned money back in the pockets of residents, where it belongs.”

According to the New York City Department of Finance website, defects in parking tickets include missing or illegible location, as well as errors in vehicle description (including make or model and car body type); vehicle plate number, as well as type and state of registration; days or hours that the posted sign governing the spot that the ticket was issued for are in effect (unless it is a 24-hour sign), including meter hours; and date and time of ticket issuance. In addition, the ticket must contain the signature of the issuer (though that is not required to be legible). The DOF website states that there is “a five-minute grace period for parking meters and restrictive hours zones.”

The Senate version of the bill (S07267), which is sponsored by Senator James Sanders (D-Queens), was referred to that body’s Transportation Committee in January.