Bill Text: NJ S2166 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Authorizes creation of new POW-MIA license plate.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-05-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Transportation Committee [S2166 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-S2166-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JAMES BEACH
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Senator CHRISTOPHER "KIP" BATEMAN
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Doherty
SYNOPSIS
Authorizes creation of new POW-MIA license plate.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act authorizing the creation of a new prisoner of war - missing in action license plate and supplementing chapter 3 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Upon proper application, the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall issue special license plates honoring prisoners of war and the missing in action for any motor vehicle owned or leased and registered in the State. In addition to the registration number and other markings or identification otherwise prescribed by law, the license plate shall display the POW-MIA emblem, consisting of: an image of a person's silhouette in the foreground; a watchtower and barbed wire fence in the background; the letters "POW-MIA" above the image; and the words "YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN" beneath the image. The chief administrator shall select the design and color scheme, in consultation with Rolling Thunder Charities Incorporated. The POW-MIA license plates shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 3 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, except as hereinafter otherwise specifically provided.
b. Application for issuance of POW-MIA 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 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 POW-MIA license plate, a $10 fee for the license plate 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 "POW-MIA License Plate Fund" created pursuant to subsection c. of this section.
c. There is created in the Department of the Treasury a special non-lapsing fund to be known as the "POW-MIA License Plate Fund." There shall be deposited in the fund the amount collected from all license plate fees collected pursuant to subsection b. of this section, less the amounts necessary to reimburse the commission for administrative costs pursuant to subsection d. of this section. Monies deposited in the fund shall be appropriated annually to the Rolling Thunder Charities Incorporated, to be used to support veterans and their families. Monies deposited in the 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 in the fund, and any monies which may be appropriated or otherwise become available for the 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 into the fund of the additional fees collected pursuant to subsection b. of this section, 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 the POW-MIA license plates; and
(2) any computer programming changes that may be initially necessary to implement the POW-MIA license plate program established by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), 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 the POW-MIA license plates. 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 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 POW-MIA license plates.
e. The chief administrator shall notify eligible motorists of the opportunity to obtain POW-MIA license plates by publicizing the availability of the license plates on the website of the commission. Rolling Thunder Charities Incorporated, and any other individual or entity designated by Rolling Thunder Charities Incorporated, may publicize the availability of POW-MIA license plates in any manner Rolling Thunder Charities Incorporated deems appropriate.
f. The chief administrator and Rolling Thunder Charities Incorporated 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 Rolling Thunder
Charities Incorporated shall appoint a representative who shall act as a liaison
between rolling Thunder Charities Incorporated and the commission. The liaison
shall represent the Rolling Thunder Charities Incorporated in any and all
communications with the commission regarding the POW-MIA license plates
established by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill).
2. a. No State or other public funds shall be used by the commission for the initial cost of:
(1) designing, producing, issuing, and publicizing the availability of POW-MIA license plates; or
(2) any computer programming changes which may be necessary to implement the POW-MIA license plate program established by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. Rolling Thunder Charities Incorporated, or an individual or entity designated by Rolling Thunder Charities Incorporated, shall contribute monies in an amount to be determined by the chief administrator, not to exceed a total of $25,000, to be used to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission for designing, producing, issuing, and publicizing the availability of POW-MIA license plates, and any computer programming which may be necessary to implement the program. To further offset the initial costs incurred by the commission for the POW-MIA license plates authorized by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), other concerned organizations and individual donors may contribute monies to Rolling Thunder Charities Incorporated, or the individual or entity designated by Rolling Thunder Charities Incorporated, for this purpose. Any amount remaining after the payment of the initial costs shall be deposited in the "POW-MIA License Plate Fund" established pursuant to subsection c. of section 1 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 POW-MIA license plates, or making any necessary programming changes, until the following requirements have been met:
(1) Rolling Thunder Charities Incorporated, or the individual or entity designated by Rolling Thunder Charities Incorporated, has provided the commission with the money 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 POW-MIA license plate program; and
(2) The liaison appointed by
Rolling Thunder Charities Incorporated pursuant to subsection g. of section 1
of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before
the Legislature as this bill) has provided the commission with not less than 500
completed applications for POW-MIA license plates. These applications shall
constitute the initial order for POW-MIA 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 1 of P.L. , c. (C. )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill).
3. Nothing in P.L. c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall authorize the commission to discontinue or otherwise stop the issuance of special license plates created pursuant to P.L.1981, c.236 (C.39:3-27.24 et seq.).
4. This act shall take effect immediately, but shall remain inoperative until the first day of the seventh month following the date on which the conditions set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection c. of section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) have been satisfied. The chief administrator may take anticipatory actions in advance of that date as may be necessary for the timely implementation of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall expire if the conditions set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection c. of section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) are not satisfied by the last day of the 12th month following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill authorizes the Chief Administrator (chief administrator) of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (commission) to issue special license plates which honors prisoners of war and the missing in action. The purpose of the bill is to support Rolling Thunder Charities Incorporated (Rolling Thunder), which serves as one of the nation's leading non-profits established to benefit veterans, with 95 percent of all donations received by the organization going directly to veterans and their families.
The bill provides that the design of the POW-MIA license plate is to display the POW-MIA emblem, consisting of: an image of a person's silhouette in the foreground; a watchtower and barbed wire fence in the background; the letters "POW-MIA" above the image; and the words "YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN" beneath the image.
In addition to all fees otherwise required by law for the registration of a motor vehicle, there is an application fee of $50 and an annual renewal fee of $10 for the POW-MIA 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 the license plate program, in an amount not to exceed $150,000, the additional fees will be deposited into a special non-lapsing fund known as the "POW-MIA License Plate Fund." The proceeds of the fund are to be annually appropriated to Rolling Thunder, to be used to support veterans and their families.
The chief administrator is required to annually certify the average cost per license plate in producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the POW-MIA license plates. If the average cost exceeds $50 for two consecutive fiscal years, the chief administrator may discontinue the issuance of the license plates.
The bill provides that no State or other public funds may be used by the commission for the initial cost of designing, producing, issuing, and publicizing the availability of POW-MIA license plates or any computer programming changes which may be necessary to implement the POW-MIA license plate program.
The bill also requires that Rolling Thunder, or an individual or entity designated by Rolling Thunder, contribute monies in an amount to be determined by the chief administrator, not to exceed a total of $25,000, to be used to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission for designing, producing, issuing, and publicizing the availability of POW-MIA license plates, and any computer programming which may be necessary to implement the program.
The bill prohibits the commission from designing, producing, issuing, or publicizing the availability of POW-MIA license plates, or making any necessary programming changes, until: (1) Rolling Thunder, or an individual or entity designated by Rolling Thunder, has provided the commission with the money necessary to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission in establishing the POW-MIA license plate program; and (2) Rolling Thunder, or its designee, has provided the commission with a minimum of 500 completed applications, including the application fees, for POW-MIA license plates, upon the availability for purchase of those license plates.
The chief administrator is responsible for publicizing the availability of the license plates on the commission's website. Rolling Thunder, or any individual or entity designated by Rolling Thunder, may also publicize the availability of POW-MIA license plates in any manner Rolling Thunder deems appropriate.
The provisions of the bill will remain inoperative until the appropriate applications and fees required to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission are provided by Rolling Thunder, or an individual or entity designated by Rolling Thunder. The bill expires after 12 months if sufficient applications and fees to offset the initial costs are not received. The commission is not authorized to discontinue or otherwise stop the issuance of existing prisoner of war license plates, which are exclusively issued to prisoners of war or their surviving spouses.
