Bill Text: NJ S1415 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Clarifies that motor vehicle rental companies may recover, through a "vehicle registration recovery fee" separately stated in rental agreement, certain costs of doing business.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-01-20 - Reported from Senate Committee with Amendments, 2nd Reading [S1415 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S1415-Amended.html
Sponsored by:
Senator RAYMOND J. LESNIAK
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Clarifies that motor vehicle rental companies may recover, through a "vehicle registration recovery fee" separately stated in rental agreement, certain costs of doing business.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Commerce Committee on January 20, 2011, with amendments.
An Act concerning motor vehicle rental fees and supplementing 1[P.L.1994, c.190 (C.56:12-60 et seq.)] Title 39 of the Revised Statutes1.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. For the purposes of this act:
"Motor vehicle rental company" means any business entity or person engaged in renting motor vehicles to retail customers under rental agreements for periods of 90 days or less; and
"Vehicle registration recovery fee" means a fee that, pursuant to subsection b. of this section, is charged by a motor vehicle rental company to recover the cost to the company of paying motor vehicle titling fees and charges, motor vehicle registration and inspection fees, and any motor vehicle licensing fee.
b. In the case of any motor vehicle rental transaction originating in this State, a motor vehicle rental company may provide in the rental agreement for the recovery, through a separate "vehicle registration recovery fee" specifically identified as such, of costs paid or incurred by the company in the form of motor vehicle titling fees and charges, motor vehicle registration and inspection fees, and motor vehicle licensing fees, including any fees paid by the company to obtain license plates for the company's motor vehicle fleet. The amount of any such vehicle registration recovery fee shall (1) be stated as a separate, itemized charge in the rental agreement and in any bill rendered to the customer under the agreement, and (2) represent the motor vehicle rental company's good-faith estimate of the proportional part of all motor vehicle titling fees and charges, motor vehicle registration and inspection fees, and motor vehicle licensing fees, paid or payable by the company during the calendar year in which the agreement was executed, that is attributable to the rental covered by the agreement. Any vehicle registration recovery fee imposed under a motor vehicle rental agreement pursuant to this subsection shall be collected in accordance with the terms of the rental agreement.
The provisions of this section
shall not be construed to prohibit a motor vehicle rental company from imposing
a separate surcharge or surcharges under the rental agreement to recover other
costs paid or incurred by the company, including, but not limited to, a
surcharge to recover the cost of business licensing fees, New Jersey Domestic
Security Account fees, airport access fees, airport concession fees, and
applicable taxes; provided, however, that any such surcharge to recover those
other costs shall not be included as
part of any vehicle registration recovery fee.
c. A motor vehicle rental company imposing a vehicle registration recovery fee under subsection b. of this section shall disclose the existence of the surcharge in any advertisement published in the State that contains a rental rate.
2. If, in a calendar year, the total amount of all vehicle registration recovery fees collected by a motor vehicle rental company under section 1 of this act shall exceed the company's actual expenditure in that calendar year for motor vehicle titling fees and charges, motor vehicle registration and inspection fees, and motor vehicle licensing fees, the company shall:
a. Retain the excess amount; and
b. Adjust the rate of the surcharge for the following calendar year by an amount proportional to the amount of the excess relative to the amount of the actual expenditure.
13. The Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission may impose upon a motor vehicle rental company charged with a violation of P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill), a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for the first offense and not more than $10,000 for the second and each subsequent offense. Any such civil penalty imposed may be collected with costs in a summary proceeding pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).1
1[3.] 4.1 This act shall take effect immediately, but sections 1 1[and 2] through 31 shall be inoperative until the first day of the third month after enactment. 1[The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety may take such anticipatory action in advance of that date as may be necessary for the timely implementation of this act upon the date on which it becomes operative.]1
