Some of these state fees and assessments are ridiculous.
In NYS the Driver Responsibility Program applies to all drivers who operate, or operated, a motor vehicle in the State of New York, regardless of the state the motorist is licensed in. The purpose of the Driver Responsibility Program is to prevent the repeated behavior of problem drivers and to improve traffic safety according the NYS DMV.
In addition to any fines, fees, penalties, or surcharges that you pay for a traffic conviction, you must pay the driver responsibility assessment. The assessment is an amount that you must pay each year for three years to the DMV.
If you receive a statement from the NY DMV that instructs you to pay a driver responsibility assessment and you do not pay the assessment, the DMV will suspend your driver license, your learner permit, or your driving privileges.
Your driver's license being suspended in New York would most likely affect your driving privileges in Massachusetts as well. Both states are part of the Non Resident Violator Compact (NRVC) that requires member states to suspend the license of a driver that does not comply with an out of state ticket by paying the fines associated with it or otherwise take care of the ticket. So most likely your MA driver's license will be suspended if you choose to not pay the NY assessment. For the specifics about your situation though of what will happen if you do not pay the driver responsibility fee you would need to contact the Registry of Motor Vehicles in MA.
It would depend upon if your MA license is suspended or if not paying the driver responsibility assessment from NY would otherwise place you on the National Drivers Registry as a problem driver if you could obtain a driver's license in another state in the next 5 years. If you are termed a problem driver on the NDR then likely you could not get a license in a different state until this issue was dealt with.
Normally after one has plead guilty and paid the fine, thus been convicted of a violation you cannot go back and fight the original ticket. However to make sure there is no way to either fight the original ticket or