§ 14-f. Transportation of hazardous materials. 1. The commissioner of transportation is hereby authorized to promote safety in the transportation of hazardous materials by all modes of transportation, and in connection therewith shall:

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(a) Have the power to make rules and regulations governing transportation of hazardous materials, which shall mean a substance or material in a quantity and form which may pose an unreasonable risk to health and safety or property when transported in commerce, by all modes as defined by the rules and regulations of the department.

Such rules and regulations shall be no less protective of public safety than the rules and regulations promulgated by the federal government with respect to the transportation of hazardous materials. The regulations shall set forth the criteria for identifying and listing, and a list of hazardous materials subject to this section as may be amended by the commissioner of transportation from time to time in a manner consistent with the state administrative procedure act and consistent with those substances and materials designated by the United States secretary of transportation as hazardous under section 5103 of title 49 of the United States code as amended from time to time, including those designated as hazardous in the hazardous materials table set forth in section 172.101 and materials that meet the defining criteria for hazard classes and divisions in part 173 of subchapter C of title 49 of the code of federal regulations as amended from time to time. Such regulations shall include specifications for marking and placarding of vehicles transporting hazardous materials as will be applied pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision three of this section. The regulations promulgated hereunder shall include notice that a violation of the rules and regulations is subject to a fine or a period of imprisonment, and the rules and regulations shall set forth the penalty provisions contained in subdivision four of this section. Provided, however, that all local laws or ordinances, except those of cities having a population of one million or more, regulating the transportation of flammable liquids in trucks, trailers or semi-trailers, are hereby superseded and without force and hereafter no such local law or ordinance shall be adopted to regulate or control the equipment or means of transporting flammable liquids in trucks, trailers or semi-trailers.

For the purposes of this section, a "vehicle" shall mean every device in which property may be transported upon a highway, stationary rails or tracks, or on the navigable waterways of the state.

(b) Have power to enforce said rules and regulations through the use of department staff or others pursuant to cooperative agreement.

(c) Have power and is hereby authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with agencies of this and other states and of the federal government in relation to enforcement of said rules and regulations.

(d) Consult with and receive the full cooperation from the commissioner of environmental conservation and other agencies in order to aid the commissioner of transportation in establishing an information system capable of identifying the amount and type of hazardous materials transported in New York, and the methods used for transporting such materials. This system shall be established and maintained in order to assess the volume and potential danger of hazardous materials transported in commerce, by all modes.

(e) Establish and publicize, after consultation with the commissioner of environmental conservation, a public education program to provide publications and technical assistance regarding the regulations governing the transportation of hazardous materials.

(f) Develop a training program for the state police and environmental conservation officers in order to aid such officers in the enforcement of the rules and regulations made pursuant to this section.

2. It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation, company, association, partnership or any officer or agent thereof to transport or cause to be transported hazardous materials in violation of the rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner pursuant to this section.

3. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation, company, association, partnership or any officer or agent thereof to operate or cause to be operated in this state a vehicle transporting hazardous materials unless the vehicle is conspicuously marked or placarded to identify the material transported or its principal hazard in a manner specified in rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner that are consistent with related federal requirements; provided that the commissioner may, by rules and regulations prescribe with respect to any specific hazardous materials the minimum quantities below which no placard shall be required.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation, company, association, partnership or any officer or agent thereof to operate or cause to be operated in this state a vehicle transporting those hazardous wastes identified and listed pursuant to section 27-0903 of the environmental conservation law or those regulated wastes listed and defined pursuant to section 27-0303 of the environmental conservation law unless such person complies with the requirements applicable to the transport of such wastes as set forth in Article 27 of the environmental conservation law and any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

4. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, any person, corporation, company, association or partnership found guilty of violating any such rule or regulation shall be guilty of a traffic infraction, and all of the provisions of the vehicle and traffic law, except as otherwise specifically provided herein, shall be applicable thereto, and shall be subject to a fine of not less than three hundred fifty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars for the first offense, and upon being found guilty of a second or subsequent offense committed within eighteen months by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than ninety days or by both such fine and imprisonment. Except as otherwise provided by law, such a violation shall not be a crime and the penalty or punishment imposed therefor shall not be deemed for any purpose a criminal penalty or punishment and shall not impose any disability upon or affect or impair the credibility as a witness, or otherwise, of a person found guilty thereof; provided, however, that any person transporting hazardous waste in violation of Article 27 of the environmental conservation law shall be subject to the penalties provided in article seventy-one of such law.

(b) Any person, corporation, company, association or partnership found guilty of violating any such rules or regulations involving an out-of-service defect relating to brake systems, steering components and/or coupling devices shall be subject to a fine of not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than sixty days or by both such fine and imprisonment, and upon being found guilty of a second or subsequent offense committed within eighteen months by a fine of not less than one thousand five hundred dollars nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than ninety days or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(c) Operation of an out-of-service vehicle shall constitute a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than two thousand five hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than one year or by both such fine and imprisonment. A conviction for a second or subsequent offense committed within eighteen months shall constitute a class E felony and shall be punished by a fine of not less than three thousand five hundred dollars or by a period of imprisonment as provided in the penal law, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(d) If any person does not appear in response to an appearance ticket or the court's direction, or pay any fine imposed, the commissioner of motor vehicles shall have the power to suspend the registration or privilege of operation of any such vehicle operated or alleged to have been operated in violation of such rules and regulations.

(e) (i) Any complaint issued for an equipment violation, except for a violation involving an out-of-service defect or except for a violation involving the operation of any motor vehicle after it has been placed out of service, shall be dismissed by the court before such summons is returnable if the violation as set forth in the summons is corrected not later than one-half hour after sunset on the first full business day after the issuance of the summons and proof of such correction as set forth in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph is submitted to the court. For the purposes of this subparagraph, "business day" shall mean any calendar day except Sunday, or the following business holidays: New Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

(ii) Acceptable proof of repair or adjustment shall consist of submission to the court on or before the return date of the summons of (A) a statement of correction from an officially designated state inspection station duly executed by the person performing or making such inspection and bearing the official stamp of the state inspection station, (B) a statement of correction from an automobile repair shop on the letterhead of such repair shop duly executed by the person who made the correction or (C) a signed statement of any police officer or a department inspector that the necessary corrections have been made. The statement required by this subparagraph shall be directed to the court having jurisdiction of the alleged violation, shall be affirmed as true under penalty of perjury, and shall include the name, occupation and position of the person making the statement, the time and date that the repairs or inspection were made and a statement that the defective equipment, cited in the violation, on the vehicle in question, is in proper working order.

5. With respect to the transportation of radioactive materials, nothing in this section shall be construed to abrogate or effect the provisions of any federal or state statute or local ordinance, regulation or resolution which are more restrictive than or which supersede the provisions of this section.

6. Any police officer having lawfully stopped any vehicle which he has reason to believe is transporting hazardous materials or hazardous waste may require that such vehicle shall be driven to a place designated by such police officer to be inspected pursuant to the provisions of this § of the environmental conservation law. Provided, however, that such place designated by such police officer shall not exceed a distance of five miles from the place at which such vehicle was stopped. Furthermore, that when such place designated by such officer or any other place utilized for inspection of vehicles pursuant to this section is a roadside rest area, such rest area shall be kept open for the use of the public to the extent practicable.