SENATE LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 822

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JANUARY 23, 1997

      The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 822.

      This bill would authorize special motor vehicle registration plates for volunteer members of county and municipal Offices of Emergency Management.

      This bill states that an applicant for the special plates must be certified by the State Director of Emergency Management as a volunteer member of a county or municipal Office of Emergency Management. The plates would display the words "Emergency Management" and may include an emergency management insignia. The cost of the plates would be $25, which is in addition to the fees otherwise charged by the Division of Motor Vehicles for vehicle registration. Only one set of plates may be issued to an applicant and they must be displayed only on the vehicle for which they were issued. The bill requires the special plates to be returned if the person no longer qualifies for them.

      The committee amended the bill to reflect current procedure for the issuance of certificates to volunteers, which is done by the municipal Office of Emergency Management, not the State Director of Emergency Management.

       The committee also amended the bill to allow for the abbreviated version of the words "emergency management." According to the Division of Motor Vehicles, the maximum number of characters that can be placed on a die cut license plate is fourteen.