S3435 Senate 12/22/25

These floor amendments:

(1) specify that for any contract renewal or award of a new contract involving the operation of an official inspection facility within the State, existing qualified employees, rather than existing employees, covered by a collective bargaining agreement are to be the first to be offered employment to meet the staffing requirements, as determined by the employer, to meet the requirements of the contract;

(2) provide that offers of employment to both existing and new qualified employees are to include compensation and economic benefits, including health benefits and paid time off, which benefits may be specified by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (commission) in its solicitation, that are the same as or comparable to the benefits contained in any collective bargaining agreement then in effect under an existing contract. As introduced, the bill required offers of employment made to existing and new employees to include compensation and benefits that met the requirements of any collective bargaining agreement that may have been in place for the existing contract;

(3) remove a provision that would have made the compensation and economic benefits under an existing collective bargaining agreement binding on the corporations, partnerships, organizations, and sole proprietorships affiliated with or related to doing business under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement;

(4) clarify that a vendor is to be considered a contractor and the inspection employees hired by the vendor are to remain the employees of the vendor and not of the commission;

(5) provide that if the commission, or a designee of the commission, determines that it is necessary to alter the terms, conditions, or requirements of any solicitation issued on or before the effective date of the bill, or within six months thereafter, involving the operation of an official inspection facility within the State, to conform to the requirements of the bill, such alterations may be set forth in addenda to the solicitation or made pursuant to any other applicable method not otherwise inconsistent with State law or regulation;

(6) clarify that the commission, or the commission’s designee, is not required to reissue the solicitation;

(7) provide that, for the purpose of expediting the procurement, the State Comptroller is to review, if applicable, the addendum or clarification to assess compliance with applicable contracting laws, rules, and regulations, pursuant to current law, within 10 business days or less, if practicable, as determined by the State Comptroller;

(8) provide that an existing bidder is to be afforded the opportunity to amend the bidder’s bid to conform to the applicable requirements or to withdraw the bidder’s proposal from consideration for an award; and

(9) make technical corrections.