LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
ASSEMBLY, No. 203
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
DATED: MAY 30, 2023
SUMMARY
Synopsis: Authorizes creation of special license plates commemorating horse as
State animal.
Type of Impact: Annual State revenue and expenditure increases.
Agencies Affected: New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission; Department of Agriculture
Office of Legislative Services Estimate
Fiscal Impact Year 1 Thereafter
State Expenditure Increase $65,700 Indeterminate
State Revenue Increase $50,000 At least $15,700
 The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) finds that the bill will produce annual State revenue
and expenditure increases that will largely offset one another. The OLS cannot quantify the
annual increases because it is unclear how many applications the New Jersey Motor Vehicle
Commission will receive for the new State Animal license plate. However, the OLS notes that
the commission is required to receive a minimum of 500 applications for the new specialty
plate to implement the bill.
 The bill establishes the State Animal license plate program in such a manner that the
commission may fully recover the expenses incurred in administering the program. The
commission has identified its initial cost of designing and establishing a new license plate
series as $65,700, which is largely attributable to computer system changes and the initial print
run of 550 plates.
 The commission will receive a $50 State Animal license plate application fee and a $10 annual
renewal fee. Initial fee collections will reimburse the commission for the expenses it incurs in
administering the program. In addition, the commission will have to receive an initial payment
of up to $25,000 and a minimum of 500 license plate applications for a total of $50,000 to
offset initial costs before license plate production begins. The commission will then be
permitted to retain additional fee amounts until its costs are fully reimbursed.
Office of Legislative Services Legislative Budget and Finance Office
State House Annex Phone (609) 847-3105
P.O. Box 068 Fax (609) 777-2442
Trenton, New Jersey 08625 www.njleg.state.nj.us
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 After the commission’s cost recovery, indeterminate excess application renewal fee collections
will be appropriated to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture for horse welfare programs
and to provide therapeutic riding to individuals with special needs.
BILL DESCRIPTION
This bill authorizes the commission to issue special State Animal license plates.
In addition to the required motor vehicle registration fees, there is an application fee of $50
and an annual renewal fee of $10 for the State Animal license plates. After deducting the costs to
implement the license plate program, the additional fees collected will be deposited into the State
Animal License Plate Fund. The proceeds of the fund will be appropriated annually to the
department for any program that supports the health and welfare of horses and to provide
therapeutic riding to individuals with special needs in the State.
The commission is required to certify annually the average cost of producing, issuing,
renewing, and publicizing the availability of the specialty license plates. If the average cost per
plate exceeds $50 in two consecutive fiscal years, the chief administrator may discontinue the State
Animal license plate program. The bill also requires that the department appoint a liaison to
represent the department in all communications with the commission regarding the State Animal
license plates.
The bill prohibits the commission from using State or other public funds to cover the initial
cost of implementing the State Animal license plate program. The bill requires an individual or
entity designated by the department to contribute non-public monies, not to exceed $25,000, to
offset the initial costs to design, produce, issue, and publicize the license plates and for any
computer programming necessary to implement the program. The bill also permits the department
to receive funds from private sources to offset the initial costs.
The commission is not required to design, produce, issue, or publicize the availability of the
State Animal license plates or make any necessary programming changes until: (1) an individual
or entity designated by the department has provided the commission with the money necessary to
offset the initial costs incurred by the commission in establishing the State Animal license plate
program; and (2) the department has provided the commission with a minimum of 500 completed
applications for the State Animal license plates and the accompanying application fees.
The provisions of the bill will remain inoperative until the appropriate applications and fees
required to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission are provided by the department’s
designee. The bill expires on the last day of the 12th month after the bill’s enactment if sufficient
applications and fees to offset the initial costs are not received by that date.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
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OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS finds that the bill will produce annual State revenue and expenditure increases that
will largely offset one another. The OLS cannot quantify the annual increases because it is unclear
how many applications the commission will receive for the new specialty license plate.
The bill establishes the State animal license plate program in such a manner that the
commission may fully recover the expenses it incurs in administering the program. If the number
of license plate applications is below 500 in the first 12 months following the effective date, the
bill will expire without the creation of the license plate program. Conversely, if the number of
applications is equal to or greater than 500, the commission will be able to recover its costs within
no more than three years of the creation of the program.
Before the commission begins designing and producing the license plates, an entity designated
by the department is required to provide up to $25,000 and pre-register 500 applicants for the
license plates. This requirement ensures that the commission will be able to recover its initial costs
of producing the license plates. If enough funds are not provided, the commission will not be
required to produce the license plates. The payment of up to $25,000 is required to come from
private sources, so the amount is not expected to be a State or local cost.
Upon production of the license plates, the commission may still discontinue the program if the
production cost exceeds $50 per license plate, which is the initial fee that the commission will
collect for each plate. This ensures that the commission will not experience any net costs in the
administration of this license plate program. The current cost per plate to the commission is $6.60,
so it is unlikely that the commission will experience any net cost in the administration of the
program.
In response to an FY 2017-2018 OLS Discussion Point, the commission indicated that it faced
an upfront cost of $65,700 to set up a license plate program, which includes computer changes and
the initial print run of 550 license plates. The requirements of the bill would provide the
commission with the first $50,000 of those costs through the initial $25,000 payment and the first
500 license plate sales. The remaining $15,700 would either be recovered through the sale of
additional State Animal license plates or by retaining collections from the $10 annual fee. The
first 500 plate sales will generate $5,000 per year from the $10 annual renewal fee. As a result, in
the event that no other plates are purchased under the program, the commission will largely recover
the remaining costs after three years of collecting the annual fee.
The bill prevents the commission from realizing net revenues in administering the program
because the bill requires the commission to deposit all program fees into a special fund to be
appropriated to the department for certain programs once the commission has subtracted its costs
of administering the program. The combination of guaranteed fee collection for the commission
and the limit on retaining any fees greater than its cost creates a scenario where there is likely to
be no net fiscal impact to the commission for administrating this license plate program.
Section: Authorities, Utilities, Transportation and Communications
Analyst: Michael D. Walker
Assistant Fiscal Analyst
Approved: Thomas Koenig
Legislative Budget and Finance Officer
This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the
failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.
This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).