ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive budget will include a ban on "stretched" or remanufactured limousines in New York, as well as sweeping measures to expand regulation of the limousine industry in response to October's fatal crash in Schoharie County that killed 20 people.

The governor's proposed changes, scheduled to be unveiled Tuesday afternoon as part of his executive budget package, would seek to close gaps in the safety and oversight of limousine passenger vehicles by the state Department of Transportation and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

"This crash was a horrific tragedy that shocked this state to its very core," Cuomo said in a statement. "We are advancing reforms that will give aggressive new powers that will allow authorities to take dangerous vehicles off the roads without delay, hold unscrupulous businesses accountable and increase public safety in every corner of New York."

In addition to an outright ban on stretched limousines, Cuomo's proposals would:

Make it a felony for any owner/operator to tamper with a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard tag or vehicle inspection sticker, or remove an "out of service" sticker placed by a DOT inspector from a vehicle without having the vehicle re-inspected and cleared by DOT to return to service;

Create new criminal penalties for any DMV-regulated inspection station that illegally issues an inspection sticker;

Require mandatory reporting by inspection stations to DMV if a vehicle attempts an unauthorized inspection;

Increase the civil penalty to a maximum fine of $25,000 per violation for any person found operating with suspended DOT "operating authority" or operating a vehicle without such authority;

Require drivers to hold a Commercial driver license with a special passenger endorsement to operate a for-hire vehicle with eight or more passengers;

Prohibit U-turns for larger vehicles on all roads within the state;

Establish stronger registration suspension and vehicle impoundment powers, including "an explicit process for immediate suspension of operating authority by the DOT Commissioner in circumstances that endanger the health, safety, and welfare of the public";

Subject multiple violators to the potential for civil forfeiture of vehicle;

Eliminate the exception to seatbelt requirements for limousines, buses, taxis, liveries, and school buses;

Establish a DOT inspection fee of $120 per inspection for vehicles subject to such inspection;

Make explicit the authorization of DOT and DMV to seize suspended license plates.

The October crash involved a 2001 Ford Excursion stretch limousine that was allegedly transporting passengers unlawfully after the owners failed to heed DOT's directives to keep the vehicle out of service because it lacked operating authority and had failed multiple safety inspections.

The Times Union first reported that the Ford Excursion was pulled over by a state trooper in Saratoga Springs in late August and — after dropping off 11 people — the same driver who was killed in the fatal crash was cited for operating the vehicle without a proper license.

Nauman Hussain of Cohoes operated the limousine company, Prestige Limo, and has been charged with homicide in connection with the fatal crash. Records indicate the company is owned by his father, Shahed Hussain, a former FBI informant who has been overseas since before the crash took place and has not returned to the United States.

During the August traffic stop, Nauman Hussain was made aware that his now-deceased driver, Scott T. Lisinicchia, was not licensed to drive the large passenger vehicle. Hussain also was informed that the vehicle was not properly registered with the U.S. Department of Transportation, as required.

Other records obtained by the Times Union confirmed that state DOT officials had inspected the vehicle two other times, in March and in early September, just 10 days after the traffic stop. During those inspections, the investigators had flagged numerous safety issues on the oversized Excursion, including bad brakes.

On Oct. 6, the SUV failed to stop at an intersection and careened off a rural state highway, killing two bystanders, 17 passengers in the vehicle and the driver.

Last April, Nauman Hussain wrote a check to the state for $700 after he was fined for failing to appear before a DOT administrative law judge to answer violations related to his limousine company. The hearing was apparently scheduled as a result of the March inspection in which a DOT investigator ordered the vehicle taken out of service.

Former U.S. Rep. John Faso, R-Kinderhook, and Reps. Paul Tonko D-Amsterdam, and Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, last year introduced a federal bill to impose safety checks on limousines that have been retrofitted to increase seating capacity to more than 10 passengers.

On the state level, Sen. Simcha Felder, D-Brooklyn, introduced a bill a week after the crash that would regulate stretch limousines. Felder said the passenger vehicles are not properly defined by state law and operate under a "patchwork of regulations." His legislation would require stretch limousines be taken off the road after 10 years; create new procedures if a vehicle fails a safety inspection; impose a minimum liability insurance coverage of $2 million; and display inspection results on the state DOT website.