Bill Text: NJ A264 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Eliminates registration fee for wheelchair trailers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee [A264 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A264-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman MICHELE MATSIKOUDIS
District 21 (Morris, Somerset and Union)
Assemblyman ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Eliminates registration fee for wheelchair trailers.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act eliminating the registration fee for certain trailers and amending R.S.39:3-8.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.39:3-8 is amended to read as follows:
39:3-8. The applicant for registration for any passenger automobile manufactured in any model year prior to the 1971 model year shall pay to the chief administrator for each registration a fee of $14 for each such vehicle having a manufacturer's shipping weight of less than 2,700 pounds, a fee of $23 for each such vehicle having a manufacturer's shipping weight of 2,700 pounds or more, but not greater than 3,800 pounds, and a fee of $44 for each vehicle having a manufacturer's shipping weight in excess of 3,800 pounds; provided, however, an applicant who has been issued an identification card for a person with a disability pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1949, c.280 (C.39:4-205) and is registering a private passenger van manufactured in any model year prior to the 1971 model year which has been equipped with a wheelchair lift, or any other specially designed mechanical device for persons with disabilities as designated by the chief administrator that specifically requires installation only in a private passenger van because of the device's dimensions, operating characteristics, or manufacturer's installation requirements, shall pay a fee of $14 for that vehicle. The applicant for registration for any passenger automobile manufactured in model year 1971 and thereafter, except as determined hereinafter, shall pay to the chief administrator for each registration a fee of $17 for each such vehicle having a manufacturer's shipping weight of less than 2,700 pounds, a fee of $28 for each such vehicle having a manufacturer's shipping weight of 2,700 pounds or more, but not greater than 3,800 pounds, and a fee of $51 for each such vehicle having a manufacturer's shipping weight in excess of 3,800 pounds; provided, however, an applicant who has been issued an identification card for a person with a disability pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1949, c.280 (C.39:4-205) and is registering a private passenger van manufactured in model year 1971 or thereafter, except as determined hereinafter, which has been equipped with a wheelchair lift, or any other specially designed mechanical device for persons with disabilities as designated by the chief administrator that specifically requires installation only in a private passenger van because of the device's dimensions, operating characteristics, or manufacturer's installation requirements, shall pay a fee of $17 for that vehicle. The applicant for registration for any 1980 or thereafter model year passenger automobile registered on or after March 1, 1979 shall pay to the chief administrator for each registration a fee of $25 for each such vehicle having a manufacturer's shipping weight not greater than 3,500 pounds and a fee of $50 for each vehicle having a manufacturer's shipping weight in excess of 3,500 pounds; provided, however, an applicant who has been issued an identification card for a person with a disability pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1949, c.280 (C.39:4-205) and is registering any 1980 or thereafter model year private passenger van which has been equipped with a wheelchair lift, or any other specially designed mechanical device for persons with disabilities as designated by the chief administrator that specifically requires installation only in a private passenger van because of the device's dimensions, operating characteristics, or manufacturer's installation requirements, shall pay a fee of $25 for that vehicle. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the applicant for registration for any new passenger automobile, for which the registration will expire on the last day of the 48th calendar month following the calendar month in which it was first issued, or for the term of the lease if the new passenger automobile is a leased motor vehicle subject to an extended registration period pursuant to R.S.39:3-4, shall prepay to the chief administrator the full amount due for the 48-month term, or the full amount due based upon the term of the lease if the new passenger automobile is a leased motor vehicle, upon the initial registration. The portion of that prepayment that is dedicated to specific purposes in accordance with section 110 of P.L.2003, c.13 (C.39:2A-38) and subsections a. and b. of section 1 of P.L.1992, c.87 (C.39:3-8.2) shall be deposited in their respective dedicated accounts. The chief administrator shall determine the manufacturer's shipping weight and model year for each passenger automobile on the basis of the information contained in the certificate of origin, the application for registration or for renewal of registration, or the records of the [division] commission, or any or all of these; and any case in which the manufacturer's shipping weight of any particular passenger automobile is unavailable, or in doubt or dispute, the chief administrator may require that such automobile be weighed on a scale designated by the chief administrator, and such actual weight shall be considered the manufacturer's shipping weight for the purposes of this section; but in all cases the chief administrator's determination of the manufacturer's shipping weight of any such automobile shall be final. The applicant for registration for passenger automobile shall also pay to the chief administrator the inspection fee fixed in R.S.39:8-2 in addition to the fees described hereinabove.
The chief administrator may also license private utility and house type semitrailers and trailers with a gross load not in excess of 2,000 pounds at a fee of $4 per annum and all other such utility and house-type semitrailers and trailers at $9 per annum. Application for such registration shall be made on a blank to be furnished by the commission, and the application shall contain a statement to the effect that the vehicle so registered will not be used for the commercial transportation of goods, wares, and merchandise, or for hire. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or any other law to the contrary, the chief administrator shall not charge a fee for the registration of a wheelchair trailer. A wheelchair trailer shall comply with maximum dimensions for trailers provided pursuant to this section. For purposes of this section, "wheelchair trailer" means a vehicle without motive power that has a gross load not in excess of 2,000 pounds, is designed to be drawn by a motor vehicle, is designed and used to carry only a wheelchair, and is not used for commercial purposes or for hire.
Except as provided in R.S.39:3-84 for recreation vehicles, no private utility or house type semitrailer or trailer with an outside width of more than 96 inches, a maximum height of 13 feet 6 inches, a maximum length for a single vehicle of more than 35 feet, a maximum length for a semitrailer and its towing vehicle of more than 45 feet, and a maximum length for a trailer and its towing vehicle of more than 50 feet, shall be operated on any highway in this State, except that a vehicle exceeding the above limitations may be operated when a special permit so to operate is secured in advance from the chief administrator. A house type semitrailer or trailer with an outside width of no more than 16 feet shall be entitled to operate with such a special permit if the vehicle is a manufactured home on a transportation system that is designed in accordance with the "Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards," 24 CFR section 3280.901 et seq., promulgated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, as amended and supplemented, provided that the operator complies with the provisions of this Title and the rules and regulations issued thereunder. If such a vehicle has an outside width of more than 16 feet, it shall be entitled to operate with such a special permit if it is transported on a commercial type low-bed trailer, semitrailer, or properly registered dolly wheels pursuant to rules and regulations established by the chief administrator. The application for such permit shall be accompanied by a fee fixed by the chief administrator. A special permit issued by the chief administrator shall be in the possession of the operator of the vehicle for which such permit was issued. In computing any dimensions of a vehicle, for the purposes of this section, there shall not be included in the dimensional limitations safety equipment such as mirrors or lights, provided such appliances do not exceed the overall limitations established by the chief administrator by rule or regulation.
(cf: P.L.2017, c.131, s.149)
2. This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission from charging a fee for the registration of a wheelchair trailer and provides that a wheelchair trailer is to comply with the maximum dimensions applicable to trailers as provided in current law. The bill defines "wheelchair trailer" as a vehicle without motive power that has a gross load not in excess of 2,000 pounds, is designed to be drawn by a motor vehicle, is designed and used to carry only a wheelchair, and is not used for commercial purposes or for hire.
