A5646

An Act authorizing the creation and issuance of Ramapo College alumni license plates and supplementing 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 Ramapo College alumni license plates for any motor vehicle owned or leased and registered in this State. In addition to the registration number and other markings or identification otherwise prescribed by law, the license plates shall display appropriate words or a slogan and emblem honoring Ramapo College. The chief administrator shall, in consultation with the Ramapo College Alumni Association, select the design and color scheme of the Ramapo College alumni license plates. The Ramapo College alumni license plates shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 3 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, except as hereinafter otherwise provided.

b. Application for issuance of Ramapo College alumni license plates shall be made to the chief administrator in a form and 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 New Jersey Motor Vehicle 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 Ramapo College alumni license plates, a $10 fee for the license plates 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 “Ramapo College 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 “Ramapo College 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 Ramapo College Alumni Association to be used to support the organization’s mission and programs. 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 into the fund, and any monies which may be appropriated or otherwise become available for 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 of the additional fees collected pursuant to subsection b. of this section into the “Ramapo College License Plate Fund,” 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 Ramapo College alumni license plates; and

(2) any computer programming changes that may be initially necessary to implement the Ramapo College alumni license plate program 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 Ramapo College alumni 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 Ramapo College alumni license plates.

e. The chief administrator shall notify eligible motorists of the opportunity to obtain Ramapo College alumni license plates by publicizing the availability of the license plates on the commission’s website. The Ramapo College Alumni Association President, and any other individual or entity designated by the Ramapo College Alumni Association, may publicize the availability of the Ramapo College alumni license plates in any manner that the Ramapo College Alumni Association deems appropriate.

f. The chief administrator and the Ramapo College Alumni Association President 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 Ramapo College Alumni Association President shall appoint a representative who shall act as a liaison between the Ramapo College Alumni Association and the commission. The liaison shall represent the Ramapo College Alumni Association in any and all communications with the commission regarding the Ramapo College alumni license plates established by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

2. a. State or public funds shall not be used by the commission for the initial cost of:

(1) designing, producing, issuing, and publicizing the availability of Ramapo College alumni license plates; or

(2) any computer programming changes which may be necessary to implement the Ramapo College alumni license plate program established by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

b. The Ramapo College Alumni Association, or an individual or entity designated by the Ramapo College Alumni Association, shall contribute non-public 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 Ramapo College alumni license plates and for any computer programming that may be necessary to implement the program. Concerned organizations and individual donors may contribute monies to the Ramapo College Alumni Association to be used to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission for the Ramapo College alumni license plates authorized by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). Any amount remaining after the payment of the initial cost shall be deposited in the “Ramapo College 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 Ramapo College alumni license plates, or making any necessary programming changes, until the following requirements have been met:

(1) The Ramapo College Alumni Association, or an individual or entity designated by the Ramapo College Alumni Association, has provided the commission with the non-public monies 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 Ramapo College alumni license plate program; and

(2) The liaison appointed by the Ramapo College Alumni Association President, 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 Ramapo College alumni license plates. These applications shall constitute the initial order for Ramapo College alumni 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. This act shall take effect immediately but shall remain inoperative until the first day of the 13th 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 acts 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 15th month following enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill authorizes the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (commission) to issue special Ramapo College alumni license plates.

The license plate is to display appropriate words or a slogan and an emblem honoring Ramapo College. In consultation with the Ramapo College Alumni Association, the chief administrator will select the design and color scheme of the Ramapo College alumni license plates.

In addition to the required motor vehicle registration fees, there is a $50 application fee and an annual $10 renewal fee for the Ramapo College alumni license plates. After deducting the cost to implement the Ramapo College alumni license plate program, additional fees will be deposited into a special non-lapsing fund known as the “Ramapo College License Plate Fund.” The proceeds of the fund will be annually appropriated to the Ramapo College Alumni Association to support the organization’s mission and programs.

The chief administrator is required to annually certify the average cost of producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of the Ramapo College alumni license plates. If the average cost per plate exceeds $50 in two consecutive fiscal years, the chief administrator may discontinue the license plate program. The bill also requires the Ramapo College Alumni Association President to appoint a liaison to represent the Ramapo College Alumni Association in all communications with the commission regarding the Ramapo College alumni license plates.

The bill prohibits the commission from using State or other public funds to cover the initial cost of implementing the Ramapo College alumni license plate program. The bill requires the Ramapo College Alumni Association, or an individual or entity designated by the Ramapo College Alumni Association, to contribute non-public monies, not to exceed $25,000, to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission to design, produce, issue, and publicize the license plates and for computer programming changes that may be necessary to implement the program. The bill authorizes the Ramapo College Alumni Association to receive funds from private sources to offset the initial costs.

The bill prohibits the commission from designing, producing, issuing, or publicizing the availability of Ramapo College alumni license plates or making any necessary programming changes until: (1) the Ramapo College Alumni Association, or the individual or entity designated by the Ramapo College Alumni Association, has provided the commission with the money necessary to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission in establishing the license plate program; and (2) the Ramapo College Alumni Association liaison has provided the commission with a minimum of 500 completed applications for the license plates.

The provisions of the bill will remain inoperative until the first day of the 13th month after the commission receives the appropriate number of applications and amount in fees required to offset the initial cost to implement the program. The bill expires on the last day of the 15th month after the date of enactment if the sufficient number of applications and amount in fees to offset the initial costs are not received.