Bill Text: NJ S385 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Creates New Jersey Public School Education License Plate.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Transportation Committee [S385 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S385-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator ROBERT W. SINGER
District 30 (Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Creates New Jersey Public School Education License Plate.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act providing for the issuance of New Jersey Public School License Plates 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. As used in this act:
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Education;
"Department" means the Department of Education;
"Fund" means the ""Special Education License Plate Fund" created pursuant to section 4 of this act.
2. The Chief Administrator of the Motor Vehicle Commission shall, upon proper application therefor, issue New Jersey Public School license plates 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, a New Jersey Public School license plate shall display words or a slogan and an emblem indicating support for, or an interest in public education. Issuance of New Jersey Public School license plates in accordance with this section shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 3 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, except as hereinafter otherwise specifically provided.
3. a. Application for issuance of a New Jersey Public School license plate shall be made to the Motor Vehicle Commission on forms and in a manner as may be prescribed by the chief administrator. In order to be deemed complete, an application shall be accompanied by a fee of $50 payable to the Motor Vehicle Commission, which fee shall be in addition to all fees otherwise required by law for the registration of the motor vehicle.
b. The annual fee for the registration certificate of a motor vehicle that has been issued a New Jersey Public School license plate pursuant to the provisions of this act shall include in each year subsequent to the year of issuance a fee in the amount of $10, which fee shall be in addition to all fees otherwise required by law for the renewal of the registration of the motor vehicle and shall be collected by the Motor Vehicle Commission and deposited in the New Jersey Public School License Plate Fund created pursuant to section 4 of this act.
4. There is created in the Department of Education a special non-lapsing fund to be known as the New Jersey Public School License Plate Fund. There shall be deposited in the fund the amount collected from all license plate fees collected pursuant to section 3 of this act, less the amounts necessary to reimburse the Motor Vehicle Commission for administrative costs pursuant to section 5 of this act. Monies deposited in the fund from the sale of a New Jersey Public School license plate shall be allocated to the school district in which the purchaser of a license plate resides. Funding allocated pursuant to this section shall be used exclusively by the school district for the purpose of reducing property taxes.
5. a. Prior to the deposit of license plate fees collected pursuant to section 3 of this act into the fund, amounts thereof as are necessary shall be used to reimburse the Motor Vehicle Commission for all costs reasonably and actually incurred, as stipulated by the chief administrator, for:
(1) producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of New Jersey Public School license plates; and
(2) any initial fees, in an amount conferred as necessary to the commissioner, collected from the issuance of New Jersey Public School license plates to be allocated to the Motor Vehicle Commission to pay the cost of any computer programming changes that may be necessary to implement the New Jersey Public School license plate program established by this act.
b. The chief administrator shall annually certify to the commissioner the average cost per license plate incurred in the immediately preceding year by the Motor Vehicle Commission in producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of New Jersey Public School license plates. The annual certification of the average cost per license plate shall be approved by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee, or its successor.
c. 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 a. of section 3 of this act in two consecutive fiscal years, the chief administrator may discontinue the issuance of New Jersey Public School license plates.
6. The chief administrator shall notify eligible motorists of the opportunity to obtain New Jersey Public School license plates by including a notice with all motor vehicle registration renewals, and by posting appropriate posters or signs in all Motor Vehicle Commission facilities and offices, as may be provided by the department. The notices, posters, and signs shall be designed by the commissioner. The designs shall be subject to the approval of the chief administrator, and the commissioner shall supply the Motor Vehicle Commission with the notices, posters, and signs to be circulated or posted by that division.
7. The commissioner, the chief administrator, and the State Treasurer shall develop and enter into an interagency memorandum of agreement setting forth the procedures to be followed by the departments and the Motor Vehicle Commission in carrying out their respective responsibilities under this act.
8. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month after enactment, but the commissioner, the State Treasurer, and the chief administrator may take such anticipatory acts in advance of that date as may be necessary for the timely implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) to establish a New Jersey Public School license plate. The special plates would contain markings or identification expressing the vehicle owner's support for, or interest in, public education. A $50 fee would be charged for the issuance of the plates, and an additional $10 fee would be collected for each annual renewal.
The bill creates in the Department of Education a special non-lapsing "New Jersey Public School License Plate Fund." All license plate fees collected pursuant to the bill, less the amounts necessary to reimburse the MVC for administrative costs, would be deposited in the fund. Monies deposited in the fund from the sale of a New Jersey Public School license plate would be allocated to the school district in which the purchaser of the license plate resides. Funding allocated to each school district would be used exclusively for the purpose of reducing property taxes.
Under the provisions of the bill, costs incurred by the MVC in producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the license plates, as annually certified by the chief administrator, would be reimbursed from the fees collected. The bill also authorizes MVC to use a portion of the fees collected to pay for the costs of any computer programming changes that may be necessary to implement the license plate program.
The bill directs the MVC to include in all mailings of motor vehicle registration renewals a notice of the availability of public education license plates. The bill also requires the Joint Budget Oversight Committee to approve the MVC's annual certification of the average cost to produce, issue, renew, and publicize the availability of a license plate. If the average annual cost exceeds $50 per plate for two consecutive fiscal years, the MVC would be authorized to discontinue the issuance of these license plates.
