LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
[First Reprint]
ASSEMBLY, No. 4391
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
DATED: SEPTEMBER 12, 2023
SUMMARY
Synopsis: Authorizes special license plates for members of the United States
Coast Guard.
Type of Impact: Potential annual State revenue and expenditure increases.
Agencies Affected: New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.
Office of Legislative Services Estimate
Fiscal Impact Year 1 Thereafter
Potential State Expenditure Increase $65,700 Indeterminate
Potential State Revenue Increase $50,000 At least $15,700
 The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) finds that the bill will potentially 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 United States Coast Guard 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 United States Coast Guard 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 an initial print
run of 550 plates.
 The commission will receive a $50 application fee and a $10 annual renewal fee for the United
States Coast Guard license plate. Initial fee collections will reimburse the commission for the
expenses incurred in administering the program. In addition, the commission is required to
receive an initial payment of up to $25,000 and a minimum of 500 license plate applications,
for a total collection of $50,000 to offset initial costs before license plate production begins.
The commission will then be permitted to retain additional fee collections 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 United States Coast Guard.
BILL DESCRIPTION
This bill authorizes the commission to issue special United States Coast Guard license plates,
with proceeds dedicated to the United States Coast Guard.
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 United States Coast Guard license plates. After deducting
the costs to implement the license plate program, the additional fees collected will be deposited
into the United States Coast Guard License Plate Fund established by this bill. The proceeds of
the fund will be appropriated annually to the United States Coast Guard.
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 commission may discontinue the United
States Coast Guard license plate program. The bill also specifies that the United States Coast
Guard will appoint a liaison to represent the Coast Guard in all communications with the
commission regarding the United States Coast Guard license plates.
The bill prohibits the commission from using State or other public funds to cover the initial
cost of implementing the United States Coast Guard license plate program. The bill requires an
individual or entity designated by the Coast Guard 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
Coast Guard 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
United States Coast Guard license plates or make any necessary programming changes until: (1)
an individual or entity designated by the Coast Guard has provided the commission with the money
necessary to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission in establishing the United States
Coast Guard license plate program; and (2) the Coast Guard has provided the commission with a
minimum of 500 completed applications for the United States Coast Guard 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 United States
Coast Guard’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.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS finds that the bill will potentially produce annual State revenue and expenditure
increases that will largely offset one another. The OLS cannot quantify the annual increases
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because it is unclear how many applications the commission will receive for the new specialty
license plate.
The bill establishes the United States Coast Guard 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 United States Coast Guard 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.
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
an 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 United States Coast Guard license plates or by retaining collections from the $10 annual
renewal 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 United States Coast Guard 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.).