§ 5 — Payment of fines, civil penalties, rent, rates, taxes, fees, charges and other amounts by credit card

New York § 5

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law GMU: General Municipal
• Art. 2: General Municipal Finances

Text

§ 5. Payment of fines, civil penalties, rent, rates, taxes, fees,\ncharges and other amounts by credit card. (a) The following terms, when\nused or referred to in this section, shall have the following meaning:\n 1. "Credit card" means any credit card, credit plate, charge card,\ncharge plate, courtesy card, debit card, other identification card,\nvalue transfer device as defined by the state comptroller or device\nissued by a person to another person which may be used to obtain a cash\nadvance or a loan or credit, or to purchase or lease property or\nservices on the credit of the person issuing the credit card or a person\nwho has agreed with the issuer to pay obligations arising from the use\nof a credit card issued to another person.\n 1-a. "Card issuer" means an issuer of a credit card, charge card or\nother value transfer device.\n 2. "Financing agency" means any agency defined as such in subdivision\neighteen of section four hundred one of the personal property law.\n 3. "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation or any other\nlegal or commercial entity.\n (b) The governing board of any local government, as that term is\ndefined in section ten of this article, may, by local law, ordinance or\nresolution, determine that it is in the public interest and authorize\nsuch local government to enter into agreements with one or more\nfinancing agencies or card issuers to provide for the acceptance, by\nsuch officers of the local government as may be designated pursuant to\nsubdivision (f) of this section, of credit cards as a means of payment\nof fines, civil penalties, rent, rates, taxes, fees, charges, revenue,\nfinancial obligations or other amounts, including penalties, special\nassessments and interest, owed to the local government. Any such\nagreement shall govern the terms and conditions upon which a credit card\nproffered as a means of payment of a fine, civil penalty, rent, rate,\ntax, fee, charge, revenue, financial obligation or other amount,\nincluding penalty, special assessment or interest, shall be accepted or\ndeclined and the manner in and conditions upon which the financing\nagency or card issuer shall pay to such local government the amount of\nfines, civil penalties, rent, rates, taxes, fees, charges, revenue,\nfinancial obligations or other amounts, including penalty, special\nassessment or interest, paid by means of a credit card pursuant to such\nagreement. Any such agreement may provide for the payment by such local\ngovernment to such financing agency or card issuer of fees for the\nservices provided by such financing agency or card issuer pursuant to\nsuch agreement, which fees may consist of a discount deducted from or\npayable in respect of the amount of each such fine, civil penalty, rent,\nrate, tax, fee, charge, revenue, financial obligation or other amount,\nincluding penalty, special assessment or interest. If fees are paid by\nsuch a discount, they shall be post-audited by the officer or board of\nthe local government responsible for auditing claims against the local\ngovernment.\n (c) Any local government which has entered into an agreement with a\nfinancing agency or card issuer as authorized by the provisions of\nsubdivision (b) of this section may accept credit cards as a means of\npayment of fines, civil penalties, rent, rates, taxes, fees, charges,\nrevenue, financial obligations or other amounts, including penalties,\nspecial assessment or interest, as provided in such agreement and may\npay such fees as are specified in such agreement to such financing\nagency or card issuer in consideration of the services rendered by such\nfinancing agency or card issuer thereunder. Notwithstanding any other\nprovision of law to the contrary, it shall be the option of the\ngoverning board of the local government to require, as a condition of\naccepting payment by credit card, that such person offering payment by\ncredit or charge card pay a service fee to the local government not\nexceeding costs incurred by the local government in connection with the\ncredit or charge card payment transaction, including any fee owed by the\nlocal government to the financing agency or card issuer arising from\nthat transaction.\n (d) Contracts entered into pursuant to this section between local\ngovernment and financing agencies or card issuers shall be awarded in\naccordance with the local government's written internal policies and\nprocedures governing procurements adopted pursuant to section one\nhundred four-b of this chapter.\n (e) The underlying debt, lien, obligation, bill, account or other\namount owed to the local government for which payment by credit card is\naccepted by the local government shall not be expunged, cancelled,\nreleased, discharged or satisfied, and any receipt or other evidence of\npayment shall be deemed conditional, until the local government has\nreceived final and unconditional payment of the full amount due from the\nfinancing agency or card issuer for such credit card transaction.\n (f) The governing board, in enacting a local law, ordinance or\nresolution pursuant to this section, shall designate which of its\nofficers, charged with the duty of collecting or receiving moneys on\nbehalf of the local government, shall be authorized to accept credit\ncards as a means of payment of fines, taxes, rent, rates, fees, charges,\nrevenue, financial obligations and other amounts, including penalties,\nspecial assessments or interest.\n (g) Under circumstances where local governments are otherwise\nauthorized by law to contract for the collection of fines, civil\npenalties, rent, rates, taxes, fees, charges, revenue, financial\nobligations or other amounts, including penalties, special assessments\nor interest, such contract shall provide that the contractor accept\ncredit cards as a mechanism for payment.\n