TO:  Manufacturers, Distributors, and New York Dealers    

FROM:  Ben Ford, Legislative Chairman  

DATE:  March 28, 2005

SUBJECT:  New York Assembly Bill 6123

A Legislative Alert was previously transmitted to members on Assembly-         man Mirones House Bill AB 10518. This legislation was introduced in            2004 and would have made the majority of new vehicles in New York         illegal. The legislation would have imposed a 90 percent visible light       transmission requirement on all windows except the top 6 inches of the             front windshield. There were no exemptions.  AB 6123 is similar but              contains some modifications to the 2004 proposed legislation.

AB 6123 changes the light transmittance standard from the 90 percent     previously proposed to 70 percent for all windows except for the top six       inches of the front windshield.  This would include the rear side windows,           but allows for darker film on the rear windshield if side-mounted rearview    mirrors are present.  The revised language also includes additional          exemptions for peace officers, enforcement officers, and those complying         with the medical exemptions. 

This legislation would still result in factory tinting being illegal on multi-         purpose vehicles and result in current allowances for tint on the rear side   windows being eliminated. 

All members as well as the automobile manufacturers and dealers should    continue to strongly oppose this legislation.