SENATE LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 1739

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JANUARY 23, 1997

      The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 1739.

      This bill addresses the growing use of phony insurance identification cards by persons without the required motor vehicle liability insurance coverage. The cards are sold on the street for between $50 and $600. They are used to obtain other required motor vehicle documents and presented to police officers during routine traffic stops. This practice undermines the State's insurance laws and permits uninsured motorists to drive with impunity.

      The bill would make it a disorderly persons offense to knowingly possess an insurance identification card that is false, forged, altered or counterfeited with the intent to use it unlawfully or to exhibit one of these cards to a police officer or judge. The bill would also make it a disorderly persons offense to produce, sell, offer or expose for sale a document, printed form or other writing which simulates an insurance identification card. A disorderly persons offense is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, a term of imprisonment of up to six months, or both. In addition, a person convicted of an offense involving a phony driver's license, certificate of registration or insurance identification card would be required to perform 30 days community service and assessed two motor vehicle points.

      The bill also increases the fines imposed for the offense of operating a motor vehicle without the mandatory liability insurance coverage. The fine for a first offense would increase from the current $300 to $500. The fine for a subsequent offense would increase from the current $500 to $1,000.