SENATE, No. 3424

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 9, 2021

 


 

Sponsored by:

Senator  KRISTIN M. CORRADO

District 40 (Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic)

Senator  PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.

District 18 (Middlesex)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Requires MVC to allow person to indicate special needs with motor vehicle registration.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  


An Act concerning motor vehicle registrations and persons with special needs 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.  As used in this section, “special needs” means a physical, mental, or developmental disability that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

     b.    The Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall permit a person to designate, as part of the person’s motor vehicle registration and on a voluntary basis, that the person has special needs or that an immediate family member of the person who regularly operates the motor vehicle has special needs. 

     The commission shall permit a person to make this designation upon an application for a motor vehicle registration, upon renewal of a motor vehicle registration, or at any time through the commission’s Internet website.  In addition to the designation, the person may submit any additional information that may assist law enforcement officials in communicating with the person with special needs.  The commission shall allow a person to revise and update the designation and information or remove the designation and information at any time.

     c.     The designation and information submitted pursuant to this section shall only be available to: (1) employees of the commission who are selected by the chief administrator to collect and maintain the designation and information; and (2) law enforcement officials when accessing the person’s motor vehicle records.  The designation and information shall be used only during a motor vehicle stop to assist law enforcement officials in identifying and effectively communicating with a person who has special needs and shall not be used for any other purpose.

     Any designation and information submitted to the commission pursuant to this section shall not be considered a government record pursuant to P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5 et al.), or the common law concerning access to government records and shall not be discoverable as a government record by any person, entity, or governmental agency, except upon a subpoena issued by a grand jury or a court order in a criminal matter.

     d.    The chief administrator may adopt, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), any rules or regulations necessary for the implementation of P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

     2.    This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month following enactment, but the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission may take any administrative action in advance of that date as shall be necessary for the timely implementation of this act.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill requires the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (commission) to permit a person to voluntarily designate as part of the person’s motor vehicle registration that the person has special needs or that an immediate family member of the person who regularly operates the motor vehicle has special needs.  The bill defines “special needs” to mean a physical, mental, or developmental disability that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

     The bill requires the commission to permit a person to make the designation upon an application for a motor vehicle registration, upon renewal of a motor vehicle registration, or at any time through the commission’s Internet website.  A person may also submit any additional information that may assist law enforcement officials in communicating with the person with special needs.  The commission is to allow a person to revise and update the designation and information or remove the designation and information at any time.

     The designation and information is to be available only to certain employees of the commission and law enforcement officials when accessing the person’s motor vehicle records.  The designation and information is to be used only during a motor vehicle stop to assist law enforcement officials in identifying and effectively communicating with a person who has special needs and is not to be used for any other purpose.

     The designation and information submitted to the commission is not to be considered a government record and is not to be discoverable as a government record except upon a subpoena issued by a grand jury or a court order in a criminal matter.