ASSEMBLY, No. 772

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblywoman BUONO

An Act concerning parking offenses and amending P.L.1985, c.14.

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

    1. Section 9 of P.L.1985, c.14 (C.39:4-139.10) is amended to read as follows:

    9. a. If a person has failed to respond to a failure to appear notice or has failed to pay a parking judgment, the municipal court [may] shall give notice of that fact to the division in a manner prescribed by the director. If notice has been given under this section of a person's failure to respond to a failure to appear notice or to pay a parking judgment and if the fines and penalties are paid or if the case is dismissed or otherwise disposed of, the municipal court shall promptly give notice to that effect to the division.

    b. Forty days after the division's receipt of the notice provided by the court pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the judge or the division may suspend the driver's license of an owner, lessee, or operator who has not answered or appeared in response to a failure to appear notice or has not paid or otherwise satisfied outstanding parking fines or penalties.

    c. The division shall keep a record of a suspension ordered by the court pursuant to subsection b. of this section.

    d. Within 10 days of receipt by the division of the failure to respond to the failure to appear notice from the court, the division shall send a notice to the defendant of the following: the date, time and place of the failure to appear, and that the defendant's license may be suspended unless all fines, assessments and penalties have been paid within 30 days of the date of the notice.

(cf: P.L.1985, c.14, s.9)

    2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month following enactment.

STATEMENT

    This bill would amend P.L.1985, c.14 (C.39:4-139.10) to require municipal courts to give notice to the Division of Motor Vehicles when a defendant has failed to respond to the failure to appear notice sent to the defendant by the court.

    When a defendant in a parking offense case fails to answer or appear at a hearing when required to do so, the court sends the defendant a failure to appear notice informing the defendant of the parking offense charged; the date and time of the parking offense; the amount of the fines, penalties and costs due; and that the defendant's driver's license may be suspended; that the defendant's driving privileges may be revoked; and that a warrant may be issued for the defendant's arrest.

Clarifies driver's license suspension procedure for parking offenses.