ASSEMBLY, No. 1423

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 5, 1996

 

 

By Assemblymen ROMANO and GARCIA

 

 

An Act concerning certain motor vehicle fines, penalties, and forfeitures, and amending R.S.39:5-41.

 

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

 

    1. R.S.39:5-41 is amended to read as follows:

    39:5-41. a. All fines, penalties and forfeitures imposed and collected under authority of law for any violations of R.S.39:4-63 and R.S.39:4-64 shall be forwarded by the judge to whom the same have been paid to the proper financial officer of the municipality wherein the violation occurred, to be used by the municipality to help finance litter control activities in addition to or supplementing existing litter pickup and removal activities in the municipality.

    b. Except as otherwise provided by subsection a. of this section, all fines, penalties and forfeitures imposed and collected under authority of law for any violations of the provisions of this Title, other than those violations in which the complainant is the director, a member of his staff, a member of the State Police, an inspector of the Board of Public Utilities, or a law enforcement officer of any other State agency, shall be forwarded by the judge to whom the same have been paid as follows: one-half of the total amount collected to the financial officer, as designated by the local governing body, of the respective municipalities wherein the violations occurred, to be used by the municipality for general municipal use and to defray the cost of operating the municipal court; and one-half of the total amount collected to the proper financial officer of the county wherein they were collected, to be used by the county as a fund for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance and repair of roads and bridges, snow removal, the acquisition and purchase of rights-of-way, and the purchase, replacement and repair of equipment for use on said roads and bridges therein; provided, however, that the total amount of all fines, penalties and forfeitures imposed and collected by the Special Civil Part in municipal court actions in which the complainant is a law enforcement officer of the county, shall be forwarded by the judge to the proper financial officer of the county wherein they were collected. Up to 25% of the money received by a municipality pursuant to this subsection, but not more than the actual amount budgeted for the municipal court, whichever is less, may be used to upgrade case processing.

    Whenever any county has deposited moneys collected pursuant to this section in a special trust fund in lieu of expending the same for the purposes authorized by this section, it may withdraw from said special trust fund in any year an amount which is not in excess of the amount expended by the county over the immediately preceding three-year period from general county revenues for said purposes. Such moneys withdrawn from the trust fund shall be accounted for and used as are other general county revenues.

(cf: P.L.1993, c.293, s.5)

 

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

    Except in situations where the complainant is a State Police officer or a law enforcement officer of another State agency, R.S.39:5-41 provides that motor vehicle fine revenues be divided equally between the county and municipality wherein the violation occurred.

    The statute specifies that the municipal share is to be used for general municipal use and to defray the cost of operating the municipal court. The municipal share is intended to compensate the municipality for having its law enforcement officers issue the violations and its municipal court process and dispose of the violations.

    In certain counties like Bergen and Hudson, court rules permit municipal court actions in the Special Civil Part of the Superior Court. If the county is using its law enforcement officers to issue the violations and the Special Civil Part is serving the function of a municipal court, it is only fair that the county should receive the municipal share of fines imposed.

    The purpose of the bill is to address this situation. Under the provisions of the bill, whenever county officers are issuing the violations and the court actions take place in the Special Civil Part, the county is to receive all the fines, penalties and forfeitures.

 

                              

Authorizes alternative distribution of motor vehicle fines in certain cases.