Bill Text: NJ A2116 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Authorizes issuance of special license plates for alumni of four-year public institutions of higher education.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-01-09 - Withdrawn Because Approved P.L.2023, c.232. [A2116 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A2116-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman WILLIAM F. MOEN, JR.
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Lopez
SYNOPSIS
Authorizes issuance of special license plates for alumni of four-year public institutions of higher education.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act authorizing the issuance of alumni license plates for all four-year public institutions of higher education and supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Chief administrator" means the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.
"Commission" means the New
Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission established by section 4 of P.L.2003, c.13
(C.39:2A-4).
"Four-year public institution of higher education" means any public research university or State college in New Jersey, as those terms are defined in section 3 of P.L.1994, c.48 (C.18A:3B-3), except not including county colleges and public junior colleges.
"Special non-lapsing fund" or "fund" means the non-lapsing fund created and maintained for each alumni license plate program established for each four-year public institution of higher education.
2. The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall establish and administer an alumni license plate program for each four-year public institution of higher education. Each alumni license plate program created pursuant to this section shall be subject to the provisions of sections 3 through 5 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
3. a. Upon proper application, the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall issue special license plates to the alumni of a four-year public institution of higher education for any motor vehicle owned or leased and registered in this State. In addition to the registration number and other markings or identification otherwise prescribed by law, the license plates shall display appropriate words or a slogan and emblem honoring the four-year public institution of higher education. The chief administrator shall, in consultation with an alumni association of the four-year public institution of higher education, select the design and color scheme of the alumni license plates. The alumni license plates shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 3 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, except as hereinafter otherwise provided.
b. Application for issuance of alumni license plates shall be made to the chief administrator on forms and in a manner prescribed by the chief administrator. In order to be deemed complete, an application shall be accompanied by a fee of $50, payable to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, which shall be in addition to the fees otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of a motor vehicle. The chief administrator shall collect annually, subsequent to the year of issuance of the alumni license plates, a $10 fee for the license plates in addition to the fees otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of a motor vehicle. The additional fees required by this subsection shall be deposited in the special non-lapsing fund created, pursuant to subsection c. of this section, for the alumni license plate program.
c. The Department of the Treasury shall create and maintain a special non-lapsing fund for each alumni license plate program established under P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). There shall be deposited in each fund the amount collected from all license plate fees collected pursuant to subsection b. of this section for each alumni license plate program, less the amounts necessary to reimburse the commission for administrative costs pursuant to subsection d. of this section. Monies deposited into each fund shall be appropriated annually to an alumni association of the four-year public institution of higher education to support the organization's mission and programs. Monies deposited into each fund shall be held in interest-bearing accounts in public depositories, as defined pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1970, c.236 (C.17:9-41), and may be invested or reinvested in securities approved by the State Treasurer. Interest or other income earned on monies deposited into each fund, and any monies which may be appropriated or otherwise become available for purposes of the fund, shall be credited to and deposited in the fund for use as set forth in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
d. Prior to the deposit of the additional fees collected pursuant to subsection b. of this section into the applicable special non-lapsing fund, amounts thereof as are necessary shall be used to reimburse the commission for all costs reasonably and actually incurred, as stipulated by the chief administrator for:
(1) designing, producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of alumni license plates; and
(2) any computer programming changes that may be initially necessary to implement each alumni license plate program in an amount not to exceed $150,000.
The chief administrator shall annually certify to the State Treasurer the average cost per license plate incurred in the immediately preceding year by the commission in producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of alumni license plates for each alumni license plate program. The annual certification of the average cost per license plate shall be approved by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee or its successor.
In the event that the average cost per license plate under any alumni license plate program, as certified by the chief administrator and approved by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee or its successor, is greater than the $50 application fee established in subsection b. of this section in two consecutive fiscal years, the chief administrator may discontinue the issuance of the alumni license plates.
e. The chief administrator shall notify eligible motorists of the opportunity to obtain alumni license plates by publicizing the availability of the license plates on the commission's website. The director of an alumni association of a four-year public institution of higher education and any other individual or entity designated by an alumni association, may publicize the availability of alumni license plates in any manner that the alumni association deems appropriate.
f. The chief administrator and the director of an alumni association of each four-year public institution of higher education shall develop and enter into a memorandum of agreement setting forth the procedures to be followed in carrying out their respective responsibilities under P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
g. The director of each alumni association shall appoint a representative who shall act as a liaison between an alumni association and the commission. The liaison shall represent the alumni association in any and all communications with the commission regarding the alumni license plate program established for each four-year public institution of higher education pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
4. a. State or public funds shall not be used by the commission for the initial cost of:
(1) designing, producing, issuing, and publicizing the availability of alumni license plates; or
(2) any computer programming changes which may be necessary to implement an alumni license plate program established by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. An alumni association of each four-year public institution of higher education or an individual or entity designated by the alumni association, shall contribute non-public monies in an amount to be determined by the chief administrator, not to exceed a total of $25,000, to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission for designing, producing, issuing, and publicizing the availability of the alumni license plates for the four-year public institution of higher education, and any computer programming which may be necessary to implement the alumni license plate program. Concerned organizations and individual donors may contribute monies to the alumni association to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission for alumni license plates authorized by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). Any amount remaining after the payment of the initial cost shall be deposited in the special non-lapsing fund established for the applicable alumni license plate program pursuant to subsection c. of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
c. The commission shall not begin designing, producing, issuing, or publicizing the availability of the alumni license plates for the four-year public institution of higher education, or making any necessary programming changes, until the following requirements have been met:
(1) An alumni association of the four-year public institution of higher education or an individual or entity designated by the alumni association, has provided the commission with the non-public monies necessary, as determined by the chief administrator pursuant to subsection b. of this section, to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission in establishing the alumni license plate program; and
(2) The liaison appointed by the director of the alumni association pursuant to subsection g. of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) has provided the commission with not less than 500 completed applications for the alumni license plates. These applications shall constitute the initial order for the alumni license plates and shall be accompanied by a fee representing the total cost of the initial order. The fee shall be determined by multiplying the number of sets of license plates being ordered by the applicable initial fee for each set of license plates as set forth in subsection b. of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill authorizes the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (commission) to issue special license plates to the alumni of four-year public institutions of higher education. Specifically, the bill directs the commission to establish and administer a license plate program for each four-year public institution of higher education.
For each alumni license plate program, the bill provides that the design of the alumni license plates is to display appropriate words or a slogan and an emblem honoring the applicable four-year public institution of higher education. The chief administrator, in consultation with an alumni association of each four-year public institution of higher education, is to select the design and color scheme of the alumni license plates for the respective alumni license plate programs.
In addition to all fees otherwise required by law for the registration of a motor vehicle, the bill imposes an application fee of $50 and an annual renewal fee of $10 for the alumni license plates. After the deduction of the cost of designing, producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the plates and of any computer programming changes that are necessary to implement each alumni license plate program, any additional fee collections are required to be deposited into the special non-lapsing fund established for each four-year public institution of higher education. The proceeds of each fund are to be annually appropriated to an alumni association of the applicable four-year public institution of higher education to support the organization's mission and programs.
The chief administrator is required to annually certify the average cost of producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of the alumni license plates for each alumni license plate program. If the average cost per plate exceeds $50 in two consecutive fiscal years, the chief administrator may discontinue an alumni license plate program. The bill also requires the director of an alumni association to appoint a liaison to represent the alumni association in all communications with the commission regarding the alumni license plates.
The bill prohibits the use of State or other public funds by the commission to cover the initial cost to implement an alumni license plate program. The bill requires an alumni association or an individual or entity designated by an alumni association to contribute non-public monies, not to exceed $25,000, to offset the initial costs to design, produce, issue, and publicize the license plates and for computer programming changes which may be necessary to implement the program. The bill authorizes an alumni association of a four-year public institution of higher education to receive funds from private sources to offset the initial costs.
Under the bill, the commission is not required to design, produce, issue, or publicize the availability of alumni license plates or make any necessary programming changes, until: (1) an alumni association or the individual or entity designated by an alumni association has provided the commission with the money necessary to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission in establishing the license plate program; and (2) the liaison of an alumni association has provided the commission with a minimum of 500 completed applications for the license plates.
