ASSEMBLY TRANSPORTATION AND INDEPENDENT AUTHORITIES COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 5446

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  OCTOBER 15, 2026

      The Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 5446.

      As amended and reported, this bill amends current law to require motor vehicle accident reporting forms to include fields to report whether the motor vehicle accident resulted in a fire and, if so, whether the motor vehicles involved were propelled by gasoline, electricity, or a combination thereof, or any other alternative fuel, in addition to other information required by law.  Additionally, the bill requires the Commissioner of Transportation (commissioner) to report such information to the Director of the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs on an annual basis.

      Under current law, the Department of Transportation is required to prepare and supply to police departments and other suitable agencies forms for accident reports calling for sufficiently detailed information with reference to a motor vehicle accident, including the cause, the conditions then existing, the persons and vehicles involved, the operators’ and passengers’ compliance with the seatbelt requirements established by current law, whether the operator of the vehicle was using a cellular telephone when the accident occurred, and any other information the commissioner may require.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to: 

      (1)  require the commissioner to report information concerning whether a motor vehicle accident resulted in a fire and, if so, whether the motor vehicles involved were propelled by gasoline, electricity, or a combination thereof, or any alternative fuel, to the Director of the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs on an annual basis; and

      (2)  change the bill’s effective date so that the bill’s provisions take effect on the first day of the sixth month after the bill’s enactment, provided that the commissioner may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as may be necessary to implement the bill.  As introduced, the bill’s provisions would have taken effect immediately.