S480

SENATE, No. 480

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED JANUARY 22, 1996

By Senator GIRGENTI

An Act providing for the issuance of certain license plates for the purpose of assisting in the support and funding of State and local projects and programs concerned or associated with the Great Falls of the Passaic River, and supplementing chapter 3 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.

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

1. As used in this act:

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Environmental Protection;

"Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection;

"Director" means the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles in the Department of Law and Public Safety;

"Division" means the Division of Motor Vehicles in the Department of Law and Public Safety;

"Fund" means the "Great Falls of the Passaic River License Plate Fund" created pursuant to section 4 of this act.

2. The Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles shall, upon proper application therefor, issue Great Falls of the Passaic River license plates for any motor vehicle owned or leased and registered in the State. In addition to the registration number and other markings or identification otherwise prescribed by law, a Great Falls of the Passaic River license plate shall display words or a slogan and an emblem indicating support for, or an interest in, protecting, preserving, maintaining, or interpreting the Great Falls of the Passaic River. The words or slogan and emblem shall be chosen by the director; however, the director shall solicit, in conjunction with the Legislature, input from the general public on the design of the plate and shall review the submissions prior to choosing the design. Issuance of Great Falls of the Passaic River license plates in accordance with this section shall be subject to the limitations of section 3 of P.L.1959, c.56 (C.39:3-33.5) and other applicable requirements of chapter 3 of Title 39 of the

Revised Statutes, except as hereinafter otherwise specifically provided.

3. a. Application for issuance of a Great Falls of the Passaic River license plate shall be made to the division on forms and in a manner as may be prescribed by the director. In order to be deemed complete, an application shall be accompanied by a fee of $50 payable to the division, which fee shall be in addition to any fee otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of motor vehicles.

b. The annual fee for the registration certificate of a motor vehicle that has been issued a Great Falls of the Passaic River license plate pursuant to the provisions of this act shall include in each year subsequent to the year of issuance a fee in the amount of $10, which fee shall be in addition to the fee for the renewal of the registration certificate and shall be collected by the division and deposited in the Great Falls of the Passaic River License Plate Fund created pursuant to section 4 of this act.

4. There is created in the Department of Environmental Protection a special non-lapsing fund to be known as the "Great Falls of the Passaic River License Plate Fund." There shall be deposited in the fund the amount collected from all license plate fees collected pursuant to section 3 of this act, less the amounts necessary to reimburse the division for administrative costs pursuant to section 5 of this act. Monies deposited in the fund shall be dedicated for support and funding of State and local projects and programs concerned with protecting, preserving, maintaining, or interpreting the Great Falls of the Passaic River or any designated historic district or national heritage area associated therewith. Monies deposited in the fund shall be held in interest-bearing accounts in public depositories as defined pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1970, c.236 (C.17:9-41), and may be invested or reinvested in such securities as are approved by the State Treasurer. Interest or other income earned on monies deposited in the fund, and any monies which may be appropriated or otherwise become available for the purposes of the fund, shall be credited to and deposited in the fund for use as set forth in this act.

5. a. Prior to the deposit of license plate fees collected pursuant to section 3 of this act into the fund, amounts thereof as are necessary shall be used to reimburse the division for all costs reasonably and actually incurred, as stipulated by the director, for:

(1) producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of Great Falls of the Passaic River license plates; and

(2) any initial fees, in an amount conferred as necessary to the commissioner, collected from the issuance of Great Falls of the Passaic River license plates to be allocated to the division to pay the cost of any computer programming changes that may be necessary to implement the Great Falls of the Passaic River license plate program established by this act.

b. The director shall annually certify to the commissioner the average cost per license plate incurred in the immediately preceding year by the division in producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of Great Falls of the Passaic River license plates. The annual certification of the average cost per license plate shall be approved by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee, or its successor.

c. In the event that the average cost per license plate as certified by the director and approved by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee, or its successor, is greater than the $50 application fee established in subsection a. of section 3 of this act in two consecutive fiscal years, the director may discontinue the issuance of Great Falls of the Passaic River license plates.

6. The director shall notify eligible motorists of the opportunity to obtain Great Falls of the Passaic River license plates by including a notice with all motor vehicle registration renewals, and by posting appropriate posters or signs in all division facilities and offices, as may be provided by the department. The notices, posters, and signs shall be designed by the commissioner. The designs shall be subject to the approval of the director, and the commissioner shall supply the division with the notices, posters, and signs to be circulated or posted by that division.

7. The commissioner, the director, and the State Treasurer shall develop and enter into an interagency memorandum of agreement setting forth the procedures to be followed by the department and the division in carrying out their respective responsibilities under this act.

8. This act shall take effect on the 180th day after enactment, but the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, the State Treasurer, and the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles may take such anticipatory acts in advance of that date as may be necessary for the timely implementation of this act upon the effective date thereof.

STATEMENT

This bill would direct the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to establish a special Great Falls of the Passaic River license plate program. The special plates would contain markings or identification expressing the vehicle owner's support for, or interest in, protecting, preserving, maintaining, or interpreting the Great Falls of the Passaic River. The Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles would select the design of the license plate, after soliciting, in conjunction with the Legislature, input from the general public and reviewing those submissions. A $50 fee would be charged for the issuance of the plates, and an additional $10 fee would be collected for each annual renewal.

The bill would create in the Department of Environmental Protection a special non-lapsing "Great Falls of the Passaic River License Plate Fund." All license plate fees collected pursuant to the bill, less the amounts necessary to reimburse the DMV for administrative costs as provided in the bill, would be deposited in the fund. Monies deposited in the fund would be dedicated for support and funding of State and local projects and programs concerned with protecting, preserving, maintaining, or interpreting the Great Falls of the Passaic River or any designated historic district or national heritage area associated therewith. Interest or other income earned on monies deposited in the fund, and any monies which may be appropriated or otherwise become available for the purposes of the fund, would be credited to and deposited in the fund.

Costs incurred by the DMV in producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing Great Falls of the Passaic River license plates, as annually certified by the director, would be reimbursed from the fees collected. The DMV would also be authorized to use a portion of the fees collected to pay for the cost of any computer programming changes that may be necessary to implement the license plate program.

The bill would direct the DMV to include in all mailings of motor vehicle registration renewals a notice of the availability of Great Falls of the Passaic River license plates.

The bill would require the Joint Budget Oversight Committee to approve the Division of Motor Vehicle's annual certification of the average cost to produce, issue, renew, and publicize the availability of a license plate. If the average annual cost exceeds $50 for two consecutive fiscal years, the division would be authorized to discontinue the issuance of these license plates.

The Great Falls of the Passaic River is a unique natural wonder in the State. Funding sources are needed to ensure that this great resource is properly protected, preserved, maintained, and interpreted. This bill provides one such funding source by drawing on the good will of those citizens of the State who are willing to purchase special Great Falls of the Passaic River license plates to express their support for this very important urban natural resource.

Establishes Great Falls of the Passaic River license plate; dedicates fees therefrom to support projects and programs concerned with Great Falls.