§ 319 — Penalties

§ 319. Penalties. 1. Any owner of a motor vehicle registered in this\nstate, or an unregistered motor vehicle, who shall operate such motor\nvehicle or permit it to be operated in this state without having in full\nforce and effect the financial security required by the provisions of\nthis chapter and any other person who shall operate in this state any\nmotor vehicle registered in this state, or an unregistered motor\nvehicle, with the knowledge that the owner thereof does not have in full\nforce and effect such proof of financial security, except a person who,\nat the time of operation of such motor vehicle, had in effect an\noperator's policy of liability insurance, as defined in section three\nhundred eighteen, with respect to his operation of such vehicle shall be\nguilty of a traffic infraction and upon conviction may be fined not less\nthan one hundred fifty dollars or more than one thousand five hundred\ndollars or may be imprisoned for not more than fifteen days or both. In\naddition to the penalties herein set forth, such person, upon\nconviction, shall also become liable for payment to the department of\nthe civil penalty provided in subdivision five of this section.\n 2. When the production of an insurance identification card is required\nby any provision of this chapter, no person shall produce an insurance\nidentification card which indicates insurance coverage which is not in\neffect. In any prosecution or proceeding alleging a violation of this\nsubdivision, it shall be an affirmative defense that the person so\ncharged did not have knowledge that the insurance indicated on such card\nwas not in effect. A violation of this subdivision shall be a\nmisdemeanor.\n 3. Every person who operates a vehicle registered in this state, or a\nvehicle required to be registered in this state, shall, when required by\nthe commissioner's regulations, produce an insurance identification card\nwhen requested by any peace officer, acting pursuant to his special\nduties, police officer or magistrate. The failure to so produce such a\ncard shall be presumptive evidence that such person was operating the\nvehicle without having in effect financial security required by the\nprovisions of this chapter.\n 4. Where the commissioner finds, other than by means of the receipt of\na certificate of conviction, that a person has violated any provision of\nsubdivision one of this section, such person shall become liable for\npayment to the department of the civil penalty provided in subdivision\nfive of this section. However, the enforcement of such civil penalty,\nand of any revocation order based upon such finding, shall be stayed at\nthe request of the person against whom such civil penalty and revocation\norder has been issued until after a hearing, provided such person was\nnot both the operator and the owner of the motor vehicle which was being\noperated without the required financial security being in effect. After\nsuch hearing, the stay of enforcement of the civil penalty and\nrevocation order shall be vacated unless it is found by a preponderance\nof the evidence that such person, (a) if he was the operator and not the\nowner of the motor vehicle, had no knowledge that the financial security\nrequired for such motor vehicle was not in effect; or (b) if he was the\nowner and not the operator of the motor vehicle, that he did not permit,\neither expressly or impliedly, the operation of such motor vehicle.\n 5. The civil penalty for a violation of subdivision one of this\nsection shall be seven hundred fifty dollars.\n