LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 1000

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

221st LEGISLATURE

 

DATED: NOVEMBER 20, 2024

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Synopsis:

Requires MVC to place designation on motor vehicle’s registration information indicating registrant is hard of hearing.

Type of Impact:

Annual State expenditure increase.

Agencies Affected:

New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.

 

 

Office of Legislative Services Estimate

Fiscal Impact

Annual

 

State Expenditure Increase

Indeterminate

 

 

 

 

·       The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) projects that the bill will result in indeterminate initial development costs and ongoing administrative expenditures for the State.  The magnitude of any State cost increase will depend on implementation decisions made by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, which the OLS is unable to anticipate. 

·        It is not known what type of changes will be made to registration information or the cost to make those changes; however, programming or design changes of this type can largely be completed with the assistance of the Office of Information Technology, and the change orders are expected to be comparable to other change orders that the commission has issued to its vendors in the past.  The bill’s requirements are not expected to significantly alter the existing contract with document vendors. 

 

BILL DESCRIPTION

 

      This bill requires the Motor Vehicle Commission to add a designation on a motor vehicle’s registration information indicating the registrant is deaf or hard of hearing if the person applies for the designation.  The designation would only appear when a law enforcement officer accesses the motor vehicle’s license plate information through the commission’s online interface with law enforcement agencies and is only to be used to alert the law enforcement officer that the person is deaf or hard of hearing.  The designation would be added to the applicant’s motor vehicle registration information provided the applicant has a hearing loss as demonstrated by the pure tone average of 500, 1,000, and 2,000 Hertz, of 41 decibels or greater, in the better ear, aided or unaided. As part of the application process, an otorhinolaryngologist (ENT) or an audiologist clinically certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association or licensed by the State of New Jersey is required to verify the applicant’s hearing ability.

 

 

FISCAL ANALYSIS

 

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

 

      None received.

 

OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES

 

      The OLS projects that implementing the bill will result in indeterminate initial development costs and ongoing administrative expenditures for the State to develop and implement a motor vehicle registration designation.  The magnitude of any State cost increase will depend on implementation decisions made by the commission, which the OLS is unable to anticipate.

      Initial State Development Expenditures:  The commission will be responsible for determining how to designate hard of hearing on the driver’s registration information.  The designation is intended to assist a driver with a hearing impairment with law enforcement interactions.  The commission has existing staff capable of registration design work, but the changes will consume commission staff hours.  Once the manner of designation is decided, it may be necessary, potentially assisted by the Office of Information Technology, to redesign the software that produces driver’s registration information to incorporate those changes.  The commission periodically makes change orders of this type, but the OLS does not have access to the cost or nature of these change orders, so it is not possible to determine an estimate from a comparable change order for the various types of alterations that the commission may undertake.  Once the changes have taken effect, it will also likely be necessary for the commission to train staff on the new registration designation, so that staff can provide proper assistance to members of the public that may seek this designation.  

      Annual State Expenditures:  The bill’s registration designation may add to annual commission operating expenditures by an indeterminate amount and will depend on the commission’s implementation decisions.  Ongoing costs to the commission will be higher if incorporation of the special registration designation requires notable additional data entry or additional customer service time or the production of additional documents.  Given the size of the State population, small increases in back office data work or in-person customer service time can multiply rapidly, especially if those changes apply to the entire registration system, rather than just the individual registration information noting hearing impairment.

 

Section:

Authorities, Utilities, Transportation and Communications.

Analyst:

Michael D. Walker

Associate Fiscal Analyst

Approved:

Thomas Koenig

Legislative Budget and Finance Officer

 

This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.

 

This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).