1. A county, city, town or village may, by adoption of a local law or ordinance, establish a handicapped parking violation unit to assist in the enforcement of handicapped parking laws or ordinances. Persons appointed to such unit shall be volunteers, shall serve without compensation, and shall be authorized to provide evidence of violations of handicapped parking laws or ordinances to the appropriate local enforcement authority. Such evidence may include photographing a violation, provided that such photograph is taken and handled in compliance with the requirements of this section.



2. A local law or ordinance enacted in accordance with the provisions of this section shall:



(a) establish a training program of no less than two hours in length and require each volunteer to participate in and complete such training program;



(b) provide for the assignment of an identification number to each volunteer, and provide official identification and equipment to assist volunteer personnel in the conduct of their duties;



(c) establish uniform procedures for volunteers to follow in determining whether a violation has occurred;



(d) establish procedures for the uniform reporting of violations, which reporting shall include the identification number of the volunteer making the report;



(e) if such local law or ordinance provides for the taking of photographs of violations, (i) grant only the enforcement agency the authority to process or to contract for the processing of all film submitted by volunteers; (ii) require any photographs evidencing a violation to be available for inspection in any proceeding to adjudicate the liability for such violation; (iii) provide that a certificate, sworn to or affirmed by a technician employed by the locality in which the charged violation occurred, or a facsimile thereof, based upon inspection of photographs produced from film submitted by volunteers, shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein; and (iv) prohibit the use of such a photograph for any purpose other than as evidence of a handicapped parking violation; and



(f) provide the following with respect to notices of violation: (i) a notice of violation shall be sent by first class mail to each person alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of a handicapped parking law or ordinance. A manual or automatic record of mailing prepared in the ordinary course of business shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein; (ii) a notice of violation shall reference the law which was allegedly violated, and shall contain the name and address of the person alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of a handicapped parking law or ordinance, the registration number of the vehicle involved in such violation, the location where such violation took place, the date and time of such violation, and the identification number of the volunteer who recorded the violation; (iii) a notice of violation shall contain information advising the person charged of the manner and the time in which he or she may contest the violation alleged in the notice, and shall also contain a warning to advise the persons charged that failure to contest in the manner and time provided shall be deemed an admission of liability and that a default judgment may be entered thereon.