SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 3335

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  FEBRUARY 13, 2023

      The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 3335 (1R).

      This bill requires crash reports to be transmitted electronically and requires the Department of Transportation (department) to adopt rules and regulations to require the electronic transmission of crash reports.  This bill implements a recommendation made in an audit report issued by the Office of the State Auditor to provide the department with statutory authority to implement new regulations requiring the electronic transmission of crash reports.

      As reported by the committee, Senate Bill No. 3335 (1R) is identical to Assembly Bill No. 4935 (1R), which was also reported by the committee on this date.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that the bill would reduce annual State expenditures associated with the processing of motor vehicle accident reports by approximately $2.2 million.  These cost savings would be realized from the elimination of certain contracted labor, which is currently needed to convert handwritten accident reports into electronic form.

      By requiring local law enforcement agencies to electronically transmit accident reports, the bill may result in marginal, short-term cost increases for law enforcement agencies that currently do not submit electronic accident reports.  However, the OLS notes that the adoption of electronic reporting by law enforcement agencies may also reduce annual expenditures through the elimination of certain labor costs.

      The Department of Transportation is not expected to incur increased expenditures associated with the development of an electronic platform because the department has already developed a platform (i.e., the New Jersey Crash Records Portal) to effectuate the electronic transmittal of these reports.