Relates to missing or non-functioning airbags in vehicles for sale
This bill, known as the “Anthony Amoros Law,” would amend the General Business Law to require disclosure when a motor vehicle manufactured on or after September 1, 1997 is sold with a missing or non-functioning inflatable restraint system (airbag). The disclosure obligation would apply to automobile auctioneers, retail dealers, and individual sellers. If the vehicle lacks a functioning airbag system, the seller must clearly disclose that fact in a written notice on the front of the sales contract, receipt, invoice, or similar sales document in at least ten-point bold type, and must also post a conspicuous sign on the vehicle’s windshield before sale or auction inspection.
The bill also requires the seller to forward or present the disclosure and acknowledgment of compliance to the Department of Motor Vehicles, either electronically or in person. If the required disclosure is not made, the vehicle may not be sold or transferred. The bill is intended to create a clear consumer protection rule for buyers of used vehicles, especially where airbag systems may be absent or disabled.
The bill would add a new disclosure requirement to section 23 of the General Business Law and would affect vehicle sellers, auction houses, retail dealers, and private sellers. It would not itself create a new civil liability shield for sellers; instead, it expressly preserves personal injury and wrongful death claims and bars the disclosure from being used to reduce damages or as evidence of culpable conduct.
Overall sentiment appears supportive and consumer-protection oriented, though the available record contains no committee transcript or recorded vote to show debate. The bill’s framing suggests concern about hidden airbag defects and the safety risks posed to buyers of used vehicles. Because there is no discussion history provided, no specific opposition or compromise positions are evident from the record.
The main point of potential contention is the breadth of the disclosure mandate, particularly its application to individual sellers as well as dealers and auctioneers, and the administrative burden of posting signs and filing acknowledgments with DMV. Another possible issue is how the law would interact with existing vehicle sale practices and whether sellers can reliably determine if an airbag system is missing or non-functioning.
This bill would amend the New York General Business Law by adding a new mandatory disclosure regime for sales of certain motor vehicles with missing or non-functioning airbags. It would impose affirmative duties on automobile auctioneers, retail dealers, and individual sellers, and would prohibit the sale or transfer of a covered vehicle unless the disclosure requirements are satisfied. It also preserves tort remedies by stating that notice of the defect cannot be used to bar, reduce, or mitigate personal injury or wrongful death claims.
The bill appears to have a generally favorable, consumer-safety-oriented posture based on its text and title, with no recorded committee testimony or votes available to indicate opposition or support from specific stakeholders. Its purpose is to protect buyers from undisclosed airbag defects and to improve transparency in used vehicle sales. The absence of transcripts or votes means the record does not show any formal controversy, but the measure is framed as a safety and disclosure bill rather than a regulatory rollback or industry relief measure.
Potential contention centers on the compliance burden for sellers, especially individual sellers, who would need to make written disclosures, post windshield notices, and transmit acknowledgments to DMV. Dealers and auctioneers may also object to the practical difficulty of verifying whether an airbag system is missing or non-functioning. A further issue is the bill’s explicit preservation of personal injury and wrongful death claims, which may be viewed as limiting any argument that disclosure should reduce liability exposure.