Can a New York village charge for use of its public docks with a parking meter, and run boat parking tickets through a village traffic court?

Plain-English summary

Lake George Village wanted to switch from staffing the village docks with a fee collector to installing boat parking meters. It also wanted to set up a traffic violations bureau to handle boat parking tickets. The Assistant Village Attorney asked the AG if either was lawful.

Meters: yes. Village Law § 4-412(3)(8) authorizes a village to acquire, construct, enlarge, extend, or improve public docks as a municipal purpose, and to impose charges for the use of those facilities. The AG saw no meaningful distinction between collecting charges with an employee at a booth and collecting charges through a meter. The mechanism does not matter; the underlying authority to charge is what controls.

Traffic violations bureau for boats: no. General Municipal Law Article 14-B (§ 370(1)) authorizes certain municipalities to set up traffic violations bureaus to help courts dispose of "infractions in relation to traffic violations." That is vehicle traffic, not boats. The Vehicle and Traffic Law itself draws a clean line between vehicles and vessels: § 155 defines "traffic infraction" and excludes Article 48 (Registration of Vessels), and §§ 159 and 2250 give separate definitions of "vehicle" and "vessel."

If the village wants to enforce boat parking violations, those become "offenses" under Penal Law § 10.00(3), prosecuted in the local criminal court like any other code violation. (This tracks the same general rule the AG articulated a year earlier in Op Atty Gen (Inf) No. 99-22.) The village also cannot patch that limitation by passing a local law to create such a bureau, because Municipal Home Rule Law § 11(1)(e) bars local laws inconsistent with State statutes that affect the courts.

The village had also asked whether DMV could be asked to suspend boat registrations of people who don't pay parking fines. The AG declined to answer, saying that question belongs to counsel at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2000. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Why does it matter whether boat parking is "vehicular traffic"?

Because General Municipal Law Article 14-B, the statutory authority for traffic violations bureaus, says it is for vehicular traffic. The bureau is a State-authorized shortcut for a high-volume class of low-stakes offenses. A village cannot extend it to boats by interpretation, and cannot extend it by local law either, because the Municipal Home Rule Law preserves State control over court structure.

How would a boat parking ticket actually get enforced under this opinion?

Through the local criminal court. The village writes its boat parking ordinance (a "law" under Penal Law § 10(1)), an officer issues a citation, and the case proceeds under the Criminal Procedure Law: accusatory instrument under CPL § 100.05, fine imposed under CPL § 380.10. The result is the same enforcement path used for any other village code violation that does not involve a vehicle.

Could the village contract with a private fee collector instead of installing meters?

The opinion does not address this directly, but Village Law § 4-412(3)(8) authorizes the charge for use of village docks. Whether to collect through meters, a village employee, or a contractor is operationally a village decision, subject to procurement rules and the general restrictions on delegating enforcement (collecting fees is not enforcement of penalties).

Does the same rule apply to other waterfront municipalities (cities, towns)?

The Village Law authority in § 4-412(3)(8) is specific to villages. Cities and towns operating public docks would look to corresponding provisions in their organic statutes (General City Law, Town Law) and to General Municipal Law authorities for public-purpose user fees. The traffic-violations-bureau analysis applies to all municipalities equally: Article 14-B is for vehicular traffic.

Could the State Legislature extend Article 14-B to cover boats?

In principle, yes. Article VI of the Constitution lets the Legislature set court jurisdiction. The 2000 opinion is about what a village can do under existing law, not what is theoretically possible.

Background and statutory framework

Village authority to charge dock fees. Village Law § 4-412(3)(8) authorizes acquisition, construction, and improvement of public docks and provides for charges for use. This is the substantive authority for the meter idea.

Traffic violations bureau machinery. General Municipal Law Article 14-B (§§ 370 et seq.) is the State-authorized mechanism for setting up administrative bureaus to handle high-volume traffic offenses. § 370(1) ties the bureau to "infractions in relation to traffic violations."

Vehicle and Traffic Law: vessels are different. VTL § 155 defines "traffic infraction" and excludes Article 48 (vessel registration). § 159 defines "vehicle"; § 2250 defines "vessel." Article 48 governs vessel registration. The Legislature kept the vessel and vehicle worlds in separate statutory rooms.

Criminal procedure for code violations. Penal Law § 10(1)/(3) defines "offense" to include local-law violations punishable by fine. The Criminal Procedure Law (§§ 100.05 et seq., 380.10) governs adjudication. See also Op Atty Gen (Inf) No. 99-22 for the parallel rule that any village code violation enforcement runs through the Criminal Procedure Law.

Court preemption. Municipal Home Rule Law § 11(1)(e) prevents local laws from supersedeing State statutes that affect courts as required by Article VI of the Constitution.

Citations

• Village Law § 4-412(3)(8) (village authority to charge for use of public docks).
• General Municipal Law § 370(1) (traffic violations bureau for vehicular infractions).
• Vehicle and Traffic Law §§ 155 (traffic infraction definition, excluding Article 48), 159 (vehicle), 2250 (vessel), 2256(1) (Article 48 registration of vessels).
• Vehicle and Traffic Law § 510(4-a)(b), (4-c) (DMV registration suspension provisions).
• Penal Law § 10.00(3) (definition of offense covering local-law violations).
• Criminal Procedure Law §§ 100.05 et seq. (accusatory instruments), 380.10 (sentencing).
• Municipal Home Rule Law § 11(1)(e) (local laws cannot supersede State court-procedure statutes).
• Op Atty Gen (Inf) No. 99-22 (parallel rule on code-violation enforcement through criminal procedure).
• Op Atty Gen (Inf) No. 91-3 (offenses prosecuted in local criminal court).
• Op Atty Gen (Inf) No. 88-62 (prior AG opinion on traffic violations bureau authority).

Source

• Landing page: https://ag.ny.gov/libraries-documents/opinions/opinions-year
• Original PDF: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/I_2000-21_pw.pdf

Original opinion text

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Page 1 of 2

Opn. No. 2000-21
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW §§ 100.05 et seq., 380.10; GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW, ART 14-B, § 370(1); VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW, ART 48, §§ 510(4-a)(b), (4-c), 2256(1); VILLAGE LAW § 4-412(3)(8).
A village may use boat parking meters to collect fees for use of village-owned docks. A village may not
create a traffic violations bureau to handle parking tickets issued with respect to use of its docks.
December 11, 2000
Jeffrey C. Matte, Esq.
Assistant Village Attorney
Village of Lake George
444 Glen Street
Glens Falls, New York 12801-2943

Informal Opinion
No. 2000-21

Dear Mr. Matte:
You have inquired whether the Village of Lake George (the "village") may use boat parking
meters to collect dock fees at the village-owned docks in Lake George. You further inquire whether the
village may authorize a court to assess and collect fines for boat parking violations. In a telephone
conversation, you clarified this request by stating that you desired to know whether the village could
create a traffic violations bureau to handle parking violations related to boats. We conclude that the
village may use boat parking meters to collect dock fees in the circumstances described. We further
conclude that the village is not authorized to create a traffic violations bureau to enforce boat parking
regulations.
You advise us that the village owns docks at the southern end of Lake George. At present, the
village hires a person to collect the dock fees. In lieu of this arrangement, the village is interested in
using parking meters that would be installed on land adjoining the docks to collect the dock fees.
We conclude that the village may use boat parking meters to collect dock fees. Village Law § 4-412(3)(8) authorizes a village to "acquire, construct, enlarge, extend or improve public docks, as a
municipal purpose," and further authorizes a village to impose charges for the use of such facilities. We
see no meaningful distinction between collecting these charges by use of parking meters or by use of an
employee.
With respect to enforcement of the dock use regulations, we conclude that the village is not
authorized to create a traffic violations bureau to handle parking violations relating to boats. Article 14-B of the General Municipal Law permits certain municipalities to "authorize the court having
jurisdiction of traffic cases to establish a traffic violations bureau to assist the court in the disposition of
infractions in relation to traffic violations." General Municipal Law § 370(1); see Op Atty Gen (Inf) No.
88-62. Article 14-B relates to vehicular traffic, not boating traffic. This conclusion is supported by the
fact that where the Vehicle and Traffic Law addresses matters related to boats, it does so expressly and
in articles separate from those dealing with traffic rule enforcement. See Vehicle and Traffic Law § 155
(definition of "traffic infraction" excludes article 48 [Registration of Vessels]); compare Vehicle and
Traffic Law §§ 159 (definition of "vehicle") and 2250 (definition of "vessel"). We are aware of no other

http://www.oag.state.ny.us/lawyers/opinions/2000/informal/2000_21.html

4/20/2006

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Page 2 of 2

statutory provisions that would authorize the formation of a traffic violations bureau relating to parking
violations for boats. Because of the above provisions, such a bureau may not be authorized by local law.
Municipal Home Rule Law § 11(1)(e) (local laws must be consistent with State statutes that affect the
courts). In the absence of such provisions, the dock parking regulations would be enforced as would any
other local law. Violation of these regulations would be classified as "offenses" under Penal Law §
10.00(3) and must be prosecuted in the local criminal court. See Op Atty Gen (Inf) No. 91-3.
You have also asked whether the village may request that the State Department of Motor Vehicles
suspend the boat registrations of those who fail to pay fines for boat parking violations. This part of your
inquiry is more appropriately addressed to counsel at that department.
The Attorney General renders formal opinions only to officers and departments of the state
government. This perforce is an informal and unofficial expression of the views of this office.
Very truly yours,
WILLIAM E. STORRS
Assistant Solicitor General

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4/20/2006