Bill Text: NJ A2019 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Requires notice of motor vehicle safety recalls upon inspection and registration of motor vehicle; requires motor vehicle manufacturers to pay annual fee to MVC.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-12-18 - Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading [A2019 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A2019-Amended.html
ASSEMBLY, No. 2019
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman HERB CONAWAY, JR.
District 7 (Burlington)
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblywoman SHAMA A. HAIDER
District 37 (Bergen)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DePhillips
SYNOPSIS
Requires notice of motor vehicle safety recalls upon inspection and registration of motor vehicle; requires motor vehicle manufacturers to pay annual fee to MVC.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee on December 14, 2023, with amendments.
An Act concerning motor vehicle safety recalls and supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section 1[, the following words shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly requires otherwise]1:
"Chief administrator" means the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission;
"Commission" means the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission; and
"Open recall" means a 1[safety recall applicable to a specific motor vehicle, according to information made available by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, that has not been repaired] safety-related recall, for which notification by a manufacturer is required to be provided under 49 U.S.C. s.30118 and 49 U.S.C. s.30119, that necessitates repairs or modifications to a motor vehicle by an authorized motor vehicle dealer. For purposes of this section, "open recall" shall not include: recalls related to defects or failures to comply with requirements relating to labeling or notification in a motor vehicle's owner's manual; or recalls where the remedy is for the manufacturer to repurchase the motor vehicle or otherwise provide financial compensation to the owner of the motor vehicle1.
b. During a motor vehicle inspection, an official inspection facility, or licensed private inspection facility, shall check information made available by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to determine whether the motor vehicle being inspected is subject to an open recall. If the vehicle is subject to one or more open recalls, the official inspection facility, or licensed private inspection facility, shall provide the owner of the motor vehicle, at the time of inspection, written notice of all open recalls applicable to the motor vehicle. The recall notice shall include the following:
(1) a description of each open recall; and
(2) a statement that each open recall may be repaired by a motor vehicle dealer approved by the manufacturer of the motor vehicle at no cost to the owner of the motor vehicle, except as provided in 49 U.S.C. s.30120.
c. Nothing in this section shall alter the liability under common law of any motor vehicle manufacturer or motor vehicle dealer approved by the manufacturer to repair an open recall.
d. The chief administrator and employees of the commission who are designated by the chief administrator, for the purposes of discharging their duties pursuant to this section, and a private inspection facility or its owner and employees shall not be liable to any person for any act or omission related to the open recall notice provided pursuant to this section, except for cases of gross negligence.
2. a. As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
"Chief administrator" means the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission;
"Commission" means the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission; and
"Open recall" means a 1[safety recall applicable to a specific motor vehicle, according to information made available by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, that has not been repaired] safety-related recall, for which notification by a manufacturer is required to be provided under 49 U.S.C. s.30118 and 49 U.S.C. s.30119, that necessitates repairs or modifications to a motor vehicle by an authorized motor vehicle dealer. For purposes of this section, "open recall" shall not include: recalls related to defects or failures to comply with requirements relating to labeling or notification in a motor vehicle's owner's manual; or recalls where the remedy is for the manufacturer to repurchase the motor vehicle or otherwise provide financial compensation to the owner of the motor vehicle1.
b. The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall, prior to issuing a motor vehicle registration or mailing a motor vehicle registration renewal notice, check information made available by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to determine whether the motor vehicle is subject to an open recall. For a vehicle that is subject to one or more open recalls, the commission shall provide the owner of the motor vehicle written notice of all open recalls applicable to the motor vehicle. The recall notice shall be provided at the time the vehicle is registered, except that for registration renewals, the recall notice shall be included in the registration renewal notice. The recall notice shall include the following:
(1) a description of each open recall; 1and1
(2) a statement that each open recall may be repaired by a motor vehicle dealer approved by the manufacturer of the motor vehicle at no cost to the owner of the motor vehicle, except as provided in 49 U.S.C. s.30120 1[; and
(3) a statement that, except as provided in subsection d. or e. of this section, the commission shall not issue a registration certificate for a motor vehicle until each open recall is repaired in compliance with the provisions of subsection c. of this section.
c. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, after an owner of a motor vehicle receives notice that the motor vehicle is subject to one or more open recalls pursuant to subsection b. of this section, the owner shall obtain the necessary repairs before the motor vehicle's next registration renewal. It shall be the responsibility of the owner to submit proof, in a manner determined by the chief administrator, that the repairs needed to address all open recalls have been made. The chief administrator shall deny an application for registration renewal for any motor vehicle that has failed to receive repairs necessary to remedy an open recall within the time period established by this section.
d. The chief administrator shall extend for six-month intervals, the registration of a motor vehicle subject to an open recall for which parts or equipment to repair the open recall are unavailable.
e. The chief administrator may, at the chief administrator's discretion, extend the registration of a motor vehicle subject to an open recall for a period not to exceed one six-month period if the owner of the motor vehicle fails to repair the motor vehicle due to circumstances beyond the control of the owner or due to undue hardship]1.
1[f.] c.1 Nothing in this section shall alter the liability under common law of any motor vehicle manufacturer or motor vehicle dealer approved by the manufacturer to repair an open recall.
1[g.] d.1 The chief administrator and employees of the commission who are designated by the chief administrator, for the purpose of discharging their duties pursuant to this section, shall not be liable to any person for any act or omission related to the open recall notice provided pursuant to this section, except for cases of gross negligence.
13. a. As used in this section, "motor vehicle manufacturer" means a natural person, corporation, partnership, or entity engaged in the business of manufacturing or assembling new motor vehicles, which under normal business conditions during the year, manufactures or assembles at least 10 new motor vehicles.
b. The Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall require all motor vehicle manufacturers that conduct business in the State to pay an annual fee to the commission, except that total collections of the fee shall not exceed the actual costs incurred by the commission associated with the implementation of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The amount of the annual fee shall be determined by the chief administrator based on documentation of the actual costs incurred by the commission associated with the implementation of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), which documentation shall be published annually on the commission's Internet website and provided directly to each motor vehicle manufacturer that conducts business in the State.
c. The chief administrator may adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), such rules and regulations as are necessary to implement this section, which rules and regulations may include enforcement and penalty provisions for violations.1
1[3.] 4.1 This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month after enactment, but the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission may take any administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the timely implementation of this act.
