SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE, No. 1220
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: JANUARY 25, 2024
The Senate Transportation Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 1220.
As amended and reported, this bill increases the penalties for motor vehicle operators who fail to secure a child in a child passenger restraint system or booster seat pursuant to law.
The current penalty is a fine of between $50 and $75. The bill increases the penalty for a first offense to a fine of $100 and provides that for a first offense, the court is to waive the fine to be imposed if the defendant demonstrates that he or she is in possession of a child passenger restraint system. The fine for second or subsequent offense would be no less than $250 and no more than $500.
The bill establishes a Division of Highway Traffic Safety Child Passenger Restraint System Assistance Fund (fund) to be administered by the State Treasurer. From the moneys collected from each fine, $25 is to be deposited into the fund and used exclusively by the Division of Highway Traffic Safety (division) to purchase child passenger restraint systems for distribution to persons and organizations that establish and maintain child passenger restraint system distribution programs.
This bill was pre-filed for introduction in the 2024-2025 session pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review, which has been performed.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
The committee amendments provide the following changes to the bill:
(1) provide that from the monies collected from each fine, $25 is to be deposited into the fund and used exclusively by the division to purchase child passenger restraint systems for distribution to persons and organizations that establish and maintain child passenger restraint system distribution programs, instead of child passenger restraint system lending programs; and
(2) make a technical change to correct a reference to a section of the bill.