ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 2753

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  OCTOBER 22, 2026

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 2753 (1R).

      As reported, this bill directs the Department of Agriculture (department), in consultation with the Director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety in the Department of Law and Public Safety (director) and the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (chief administrator), to create, publish, and update on the department’s Internet website and any official department social media accounts informational materials about motorists approaching farm equipment on public highways.  The informational materials are to include, but are not to be limited to, a video informing motorists of the risks of attempting to pass farm equipment on public highways.  This bill further requires the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to publish on its Internet website and on any official social media accounts, and to post in all physical locations throughout the State, and update as appropriate, the informational materials created by the department.  The department is also required to place additional emphasis on highway safety involving farm equipment during National Farm Safety and Health Week, which is the third week of September of each year.

      This bill also requires the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the director and the chief administrator, to issue a report to the Governor and to the Legislature that includes, at a minimum: an assessment of the safety risks of motorists attempting to pass farm equipment on public highways; a list of potential remedies for the State to pursue to mitigate or eliminate the safety risks identified; and an estimate of the funding required to implement the remedies identified.

      Lastly, this bill amends current law to include safely sharing the roadway with farm equipment in curriculum guidelines for classroom driver education courses and informational brochures provided to the parents and guardians of beginning drivers under the age of 18.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that the bill would result in an indeterminate increase in annual State expenditures incurred primarily by the Department of Agriculture and the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.  The Department of Law and Public Safety may additionally incur additional administrative expenses through the Division of Highway Traffic Safety in consulting with the Department of Agriculture to implement the bill’s provisions.

      The OLS cannot determine the total expenditure increase because the bill does not specify the production standards for the required video and other informational materials, the extent of the annual public information campaign, or the number and type of physical materials that the commission would post at its locations.

      The Department of Agriculture would incur one-time increases to develop informational materials on highway safety, including a video informing motorists of the risks associated with attempting to pass farm equipment on public highways.  The department may also incur recurring costs to update and publicize these materials.

      The commission would incur additional costs to publish the informational materials on its website and social media accounts and post the materials at all commission locations throughout the State.  The magnitude of these costs would depend upon the format, size, quantity, and replacement frequency of the posted materials.

      The division and the commission would also be required to revise certain driver education curriculum guidelines and informational brochures to address the safe sharing of roadways with farm equipment.  Notably, the OLS anticipates that these revisions can be accomplished as part of the agencies’ regular updates to educational materials and therefore may result in a marginal cost increase.