A2947

An Act authorizing the creation of 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates and supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. Upon proper application, the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall issue special 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates denoting the 25th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks for any motor vehicle owned or leased and registered in this State. In addition to the registration number and other markings or identification otherwise prescribed by law, the license plates shall display appropriate words or a slogan and emblem paying tribute to the victims and heroes of the September 11th terrorist attacks. The chief administrator shall, select the design and color scheme of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates, in consultation with an organization selected by the commission that is dedicated to supporting the victims and families affected by September11th terrorist attacks. The 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 3 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, except as hereinafter otherwise provided.

b. Applications for the issuance of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates shall be made to the chief administrator on forms and in a manner prescribed by the chief administrator. In order to be deemed complete, an application shall be accompanied by a fee of $50, payable to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, which shall be in addition to the fees otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of a motor vehicle. The chief administrator shall collect annually, subsequent to the year of issuance of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates, a $10 fee for the license plates in addition to the fees otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of a motor vehicle. The additional fees required by this subsection shall be deposited in the “25th Anniversary of 9/11 License Plate Fund” created pursuant to subsection c. of this section.

c. There is created in the Department of the Treasury a special non-lapsing fund to be known as the “25th Anniversary of 9/11 License Plate Fund.” There shall be deposited in the fund the amount collected from all license plate fees collected pursuant to subsection b. of this section, less the amounts necessary to reimburse the commission for administrative costs pursuant to subsection d. of this section. The monies deposited in the fund shall be appropriated annually to an organization dedicated to supporting the victims and families affected by the September 11th terrorist attacks, and shall be used to support the organization’s mission and programs.

Monies deposited in the fund shall be held in interest-bearing accounts in public depositories as defined pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1970, c.236 (C.17:9-41), and may be invested or reinvested in securities approved by the State Treasurer. Interest or other income earned on monies deposited into the fund, and any monies which may be appropriated or otherwise become available for the purposes of the fund, shall be credited to and deposited in the fund for use as set forth in this section.

d. Prior to the deposit of the additional fees collected pursuant to subsection b. of this section into the "25th Anniversary of 9/11 License Plate Fund," amounts thereof as are necessary shall be used to reimburse the commission for all costs reasonably and actually incurred, as stipulated by the chief administrator, for:

(1) designing, producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates; and

(2) any computer programming changes that may be initially necessary to implement the 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plate program in an amount not to exceed $150,000.

The chief administrator shall annually certify to the State Treasurer the average cost per license plate incurred in the immediately preceding year by the commission in producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates. The annual certification of the average cost per license plate shall be approved by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee, or its successor.

In the event that the average cost per license plate as certified by the chief administrator and approved by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee, or its successor, is greater than the $50 application fee established in subsection b. of this section in two consecutive fiscal years, the chief administrator may discontinue the issuance of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates.

e. The chief administrator shall notify eligible motorists of the opportunity to obtain the 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates by publicizing the availability of the license plates on the commission’s website. The organization selected pursuant to subsection a. of this section, and any other individual or entity designated by that organization, may publicize the availability of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates in any manner that the organization deems appropriate.

f. The chief administrator and the organization selected pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall develop and enter into a memorandum of agreement setting forth the procedures to be followed in carrying out their respective responsibilities under P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

g. The organization selected pursuant to subsection a. of this section, shall appoint a representative who shall act as a liaison between the organization and the commission. The liaison shall represent the organization in any and all communications with the commission regarding the 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates established by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

2. a. State or public funds shall not be used by the commission for the initial cost of:

(1) designing, producing, issuing, and publicizing the availability of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates; or

(2) any computer programming changes which may be necessary to implement the 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plate program established by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

b. The organization selected pursuant to subsection a. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) or an individual or entity designated by the organization, shall contribute non-public monies in an amount to be determined by the chief administrator, not to exceed a total of $25,000, to be used to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission for designing, producing, issuing, and publicizing the availability of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates, and any computer programming which may be necessary to implement the program. Concerned organizations and individual donors may contribute monies to the organization to be used to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission for the 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates authorized by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). Any amount remaining after the payment of the initial cost shall be deposited in the “25th Anniversary of 9/11 License Plate Fund” established pursuant to subsection c. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

c. The commission shall not begin designing, producing, issuing, or publicizing the availability of 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates, or making any necessary programming changes, until the following requirements have been met:

(1) the organization selected pursuant to subsection a. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) or an individual or entity designated by the organization, has provided the commission with the money necessary, as determined by the chief administrator pursuant to subsection b. of this section, to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission in establishing the 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plate program; and

(2) the liaison appointed by the organization, pursuant to subsection g. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) has provided the commission with not less than 500 completed applications for the 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates. These applications shall constitute the initial order for the 25th anniversary of 9/11 license plates and shall be accompanied by a fee representing the total cost of the initial order. The fee shall be determined by multiplying the number of sets of license plates being ordered by the applicable initial fee for each set of license plates as set forth in subsection b. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

3. This act shall take effect immediately, but shall remain inoperative until the first day of the seventh month following the date on which the conditions set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection c. of section 2 of this act have been satisfied. The chief administrator may take anticipatory acts in advance of that date as may be necessary for the timely implementation of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). This act shall expire if the conditions set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection c. of section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) are not satisfied by the last day of the 12th month following enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill authorizes the Chief Administrator (chief administrator) of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (commission) to create special 25th anniversary of 9/11 (9/11) license plates.

The bill provides that the design of the 9/11 license plate is to display appropriate words or a slogan and an emblem paying tribute to the victims and heroes of the September 11th terrorist attacks. The chief administrator is to, in consultation with an organization dedicated to supporting the victims and families affected by the September 11th terrorist attacks (organization), select the design and color scheme of the 9/11 license plates. Under the bill, the commission is required to select the organization.

In addition to all fees otherwise required by law for the registration of a motor vehicle, there is an application fee of $50 and an annual renewal fee of $10 for the 9/11 license plates. After the deduction of the cost of designing, producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the plates and of any computer programming changes that are necessary to implement the license plate program, in an amount not to exceed $150,000, the additional fees will be deposited into a special non-lapsing fund known as the “25th Anniversary of 9/11 License Plate Fund.” The proceeds of the fund are to be appropriated annually to an organization dedicated to supporting the victims and families affected by the September11th terrorist attacks, and used to support the organization’s mission and programs.

The chief administrator is required to annually certify the average cost of producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of the specialty license plates. If the average cost per plate exceeds $50 in two consecutive fiscal years, the chief administrator may discontinue the 9/11 license plate program. The bill also requires that the organization appoint a liaison to represent the organization in all communications with the commission regarding the 9/11 license plates.

The chief administrator is responsible for publicizing the availability of the license plates on the website of the commission. The organization, or an individual or entity designated by the organization, may also publicize the availability of the license plates in any manner the organization deems appropriate.

The bill provides that State or other public funds are not to be used by the commission for the initial cost to implement the 9/11 license plate program. The bill requires the organization or an individual or entity designated by the organization to contribute non-public monies in an amount to be determined by the chief administrator, not to exceed $25,000, to offset the initial costs to design, produce, issue, and publicize the license plates and for computer programming changes which may be necessary to implement the program. The bill authorizes the organization to receive funds from private sources to be used to offset the initial costs.

The commission is not required to design, produce, issue, or publicize the availability of the 9/11 license plates or make any necessary programming changes, until: (1) the organization or the individual or entity designated by the organization has provided the commission with the money necessary to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission in establishing the 9/11 license plate program; and (2) the organization’s liaison has provided the commission with a minimum of 500 completed applications for the 9/11 license plates.

The provisions of the bill will remain inoperative until the first day of the seventh month after the appropriate applications and fees required to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission are provided to the commission. The bill expires on the last day of the 12th month if sufficient applications and fees to offset the initial costs are not received by that date.