ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 1739

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: NOVEMBER 17, 1997

      The Assembly Judiciary Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 1739.

      The bill makes 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. 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 under the provisions of N.J.S.A.39: 3-38.1 involving a phony driver's license, certificate of registration or insurance identification card would be assessed two motor vehicle points.

      The bill would have made it a disorderly persons offense to produce, sell, offer or expose for sale a document, printed form or other writing which simulates a motor vehicle insurance identification card. The committee amended the bill to upgrade this offense from a disorderly persons offense to a crime of the fourth degree to distinguish the forging or production of the phony cards from the mere possession or display, believing the actual forging of the document to be more serious. The requirement of community service would apply to this crime. The assessment of the motor vehicle points would apply to the disorderly persons offense.

      The bill in section 2 would have increased the fines imposed for the offense of operating a motor vehicle without the mandatory liability insurance coverage. Those fines were recently increased by the provisions of section 12 of P.L.1997, c.151. Therefore, the committee amended the bill to omit section 2 in its entirety since higher fines may be imposed at this time.

      This bill is identical to Assembly Bill No. 2708 (1R).