STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 2381

with Senate Floor Amendments

(Proposed by Senator DIEGNAN)

ADOPTED: MARCH 20, 2023

      These floor amendments provide that it is not a violation of law, and not the basis for a lawful stop, if the following are concealed or otherwise obscured but can still be reasonably identified or discerned: (1) part of the name of the State or registration number on a vehicle’s registration plate; (2) part of an insert issued by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (commission) inserted in or attached to the registration plate; or (3) part of the name of the State, the registration number, or the expiration date on a temporary registration certificate or temporary registration plate.

      Prior to this amendment, the bill provided that it was not a violation of law if the following could be reasonably identified or discerned: (1) the name of the State and any identification marks on a vehicle’s registration plate; or (2) the name of the State, any identification marks, and the expiration date on a temporary registration certificate or temporary registration plate.

      These floor amendments also require the Attorney General to issue guidance as the Attorney General deems necessary for law enforcement officers to properly interpret and enforce the provisions of the bill. 

      The amendments remove references to the term “identification mark,” “marker,” and “license plate” in N.J.S.A.39:3-33 and replace those references with the term “registration plate.”  Under the bill, the term “registration plate” refers to the physical plate that is issued to drivers by the commission.