LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE

SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE, No. 192

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

 

DATED: MAY 27, 2026

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Synopsis:

Establishes certain protections for drivers and holders of non-driver identification cards diagnosed with certain disabilities. 

Type of Impact:

Annual increase in State and local expenditures.  

Agencies Affected:

New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission; Office of Information Technology; Department of Health; Department of Human Services; Department of Community Affairs; Department of Law and Public Safety; local law enforcement agencies and fire departments.  

 

 

Office of Legislative Services Estimate

Fiscal Impact

Annual

 

State Expenditure Increase

Indeterminate

 

Local Expenditure Increase

Indeterminate

 

 

·       The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) projects that implementing the bill will result in indeterminate initial development costs and ongoing administrative expenditures for the State.  There will also be additional training costs for local law enforcement agencies and fire departments to meet the requirements of the bill.   

·       The cost to add a restriction code on a driver’s license or non-driver identification card is unknown.  However, programming or design changes of this type can largely be completed with the assistance of the Office of Information Technology, and the change orders are expected to be comparable to other change orders that the commission has issued to its vendors in the past.  The bill’s requirements are not expected to significantly alter the existing contract with the commission’s document vendors. 

·       The OLS finds the bill’s required revisions to current training curricula will result in indeterminate State and local cost increases.  Decisions about the design and scope of the training will directly impact the amount of staff time and materials needed to develop the training and the subsequent costs to administer the training.

BILL DESCRIPTION

 

      The bill requires the commission to allow the holder of a driver’s license or non-identification card to voluntarily indicate on the license or identification card that the holder has been diagnosed with an acquired brain injury.  It further requires the commission to establish a confidential, automated Statewide registry containing license plate and registration information, emergency contacts, and communication aids for individuals with autism spectrum disorder, communication disorders, or acquired brain injuries.   

      The bill provides that the information in the registry is only to be made available to: (1) certain designated commission employees; and (2) law enforcement officers when accessing the person’s motor vehicle records.  The information may only be used during a motor vehicle stop or other law enforcement action to assist law enforcement officers in identifying and effectively communicating with a person who has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, a communication disorder, or an acquired brain injury.

      Finally, the bill requires the training curriculum developed by the Department of Health and the Department of Human Services, in consultation with the New Jersey Fire and Emergency Medical Services Institute and the New Jersey State First Aid Council, and adopted by the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs and the Police Training Commission in the Department of Law and Public Safety, be revised to include information on safety considerations and the proper recognition and response techniques to employ when interacting with persons diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, deafness or hearing loss, blindness or vision loss, communication disorders, and acquired brain injuries.

 

 

FISCAL ANALYSIS

 

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

 

      None received. 

 

OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES

 

      The OLS projects that implementing the bill will result in indeterminate initial development costs and ongoing administrative expenditures for the State.  There will also be additional training costs for local law enforcement agencies and fire departments to meet the requirements of the bill.  

      The commission will be responsible for adding a restriction code designating that a person has been diagnosed with an acquired brain injury on the person’s driver’s license or non-driver identification card.  The designation is intended to assist law enforcement officers or emergency medical personnel with interacting with a person diagnosed with an acquired brain injury.  The commission has existing staff capable of registration design work, but the changes will consume commission staff hours.  It may be necessary, potentially assisted by the Office of Information Technology, to redesign the software that produces driver’s licenses and non-driver identification cards to incorporate the restriction code.  While the commission periodically makes change orders of this type, the OLS does not have access to the cost or nature of these change orders.  Thus, it is not possible to determine an estimate from a comparable change order for the various types of alterations that the commission may undertake.  Once the changes have taken effect, it will also likely be necessary for the commission to train staff on the new driver’s license and non-driver identification card restriction code to enable commission employees to properly assist members of the public that may seek this designation.  Additionally, the input of the required data of an emergency contact and other individualized information of each driver with an acquired brain injury may result in additional staff hours for data entry.  The commission will also be required to assign resources to create and maintain the registry of information required by the bill. 

      The training curriculum developed by the Department of Health and the Department of Human Services, in consultation with the New Jersey Fire and Emergency Medical Services Institute and the New Jersey State First Aid Council, and adopted by the Department of Community Affairs and the Department of Law and Public Safety, will need to be revised to include information on safety considerations and the proper recognition and response techniques to employ when interacting with persons diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, deafness or hearing loss, blindness or vision loss, communication disorders, and acquired brain injuries.  Decisions about the design and scope of the training will directly impact the amount of staff time and materials needed to develop the training and the subsequent costs to administer the training.  

 

 

Section:

Authorities, Utilities, Transportation and Communications

Analyst:

Michael D. Walker Jr.

Associate Fiscal Analyst

Approved:

Thomas Koenig

Legislative Budget and Finance Officer

 

 

This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.

 

This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).