Bill Text: NJ S161 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits certain persons 70 and older to prove identity by affidavit for purpose of renewing driver's license.
Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-03 - Reported from Senate Committee, 2nd Reading [S161 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S161-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator NIA H. GILL
District 34 (Essex and Passaic)
Senator CHRISTOPHER "KIP" BATEMAN
District 16 (Morris and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Permits certain persons 70 and older to prove identity by affidavit for purpose of renewing driver's license.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning driver's licenses and supplementing chapter 3 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes and chapter 21 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A person 70 years of age or older who has held a valid New Jersey driver's license for over 29 years may substitute a signed and notarized affidavit for a birth certificate for the purpose of verifying his or her identity. The affidavit shall state the person's name, current address, place of birth and age.
b. To determine whether the person was 70 years of age or older, the commission shall consider the date of birth listed on the person's most recently issued driver's license to be the person's actual date of birth.
c. The chief administrator may create a special design for driver's licenses renewed pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
2. A person who knowingly files an affidavit pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (now pending before the Legislature as this bill) that contains false information is guilty of a crime of the second degree.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would allow a person 70 years old or older who has held a valid New Jersey driver's license for over 29 years to establish his or her identity for the purpose of renewing a driver's license by affidavit rather than by producing a birth certificate. The affidavit would state the person's name, address, place of birth and age. The commission would use the age on the person's most recently issued driver's license to determine whether the person is old enough to qualify under the bill's provisions.
To deter fraud, the bill makes filing a false affidavit a second degree crime, which is punishable by five to ten years imprisonment, a fine of up to $150,000, or both.
Under current law, to renew a driver's license a person is required to submit documentation, including a primary document such as a birth certificate, to verify his or her identity. This requirement places a hardship on many senior citizens who have trouble finding their birth certificates.
