SENATE, No. 2058

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

INTRODUCED MAY 8, 1997

 

 

By Senator CAFIERO

 

 

An Act providing for the issuance of Seafood Promotion license plates 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. The Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles shall, upon proper application therefor, issue seafood promotion 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 seafood promotion license plate shall display a depiction of a lighthouse and trawler. The Secretary of Agriculture shall choose a slogan to display on the license plate. The secretary, in consultation with the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles, shall design the seafood promotion license plate.

 

    2. Application for a seafood promotion license plate shall be made to the Division of Motor Vehicles on forms and in a manner prescribed by the director and shall be accompanied by a fee of $50, which shall be in addition to all fees otherwise required by law for the registration of the motor vehicle. The annual renewal of a registration certificate of a motor vehicle that has been issued a seafood promotion license plate shall be accompanied by an additional fee of $10. The $50 application fee and $10 renewal fee shall be deposited by the division in the Seafood Promotion License Plate Fund created pursuant to section 3 of this act.

 

    3. There is created in the Department of Agriculture a special non-lapsing fund to be known as the "Seafood Promotion License Plate Fund." There shall be deposited into the fund the additional application and renewal fees collected pursuant to section 2 of this act and any interest earned thereon, less the amounts necessary to reimburse the division for administrative costs pursuant to section 4 of this act. The Department of Agriculture shall administer monies deposited in the fund, which shall be dedicated to department programs responsible for seafood promotion.

    4. a. Prior to the deposit of license plate fees collected pursuant to section 2 of this act into the fund, amounts thereof as are necessary shall be used to reimburse the Division of Motor Vehicles for costs reasonably and actually incurred, as stipulated by the director, for producing, issuing, renewing and publicizing the availability of seafood promotion license plates, including the cost of any initial computer programming changes.

    b. The Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles shall annually certify to the Secretary of Agriculture the average cost per license plate incurred in the immediately preceding year by the division in producing, issuing, renewing and publicizing the availability of seafood promotion license plates. The annual certification of the average cost per license plate shall be subject to the approval of 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 additional $50 application fee established in section 2 of this act in two consecutive fiscal years, the director may discontinue the issuance of seafood promotion license plates.

 

    5. The Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles shall notify eligible motorists of the opportunity to obtain seafood promotion 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 of Agriculture. The notices, posters and signs shall be designed by the Secretary of Agriculture, subject to the approval of the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles. The Secretary of Agriculture shall supply the Division of Motor Vehicles with the notices, posters and signs to be circulated or posted by the division.

 

    6. The Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles, the Secretary of Agriculture and the State Treasurer shall develop and enter into an interagency memorandum of agreement setting forth the procedures to be followed by the division and the department in carrying out their respective responsibilities under this act.

 

    7. This act shall take effect on the 180th day after enactment, but the Secretary of Agriculture, 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) in the Department of Transportation to establish a special seafood promotion license plate program. The special plates would depict a lighthouse and trawler. A $50 application 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 Agriculture a special non-lapsing "Seafood Promotion 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 to seafood promotion.

    Costs incurred by the DMV in producing, issuing, renewing and publicizing seafood promotion license plates, as annually certified by the director, would be reimbursed from the fees collected. 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 seafood promotion license plates.

    The bill would require the Joint Budget Oversight Committee to approve the DMV'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 bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles, to design the seafood promotion license plate. The bill also directs the Department of Agriculture to administer the "Seafood Promotion License Plate Fund," and dedicates all monies to department programs responsible for seafood promotion.

 

 

                             

 

Authorizes seafood promotion license plate.