STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator JON M. BRAMNICK
District 21 (Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Authorizes creation of Mental Health Awareness license plates.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act authorizing the creation and issuance of special Mental Health Awareness license plates and supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Upon proper application, the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall issue special license plates supporting Mental Health Awareness for any motor vehicle owned or leased and registered in this State. In addition to the registration number and other markings or identification otherwise prescribed by law, the license plate shall display the words Mental Health Awareness. The chief administrator shall, in consultation with the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services, select the design and color scheme of the Mental Health Awareness license plates. The Mental Health Awareness license plates shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 3 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, except as hereinafter otherwise provided.
b. Application for issuance of Mental Health Awareness license plates shall be made to the chief administrator in a form and manner prescribed by the chief administrator. In order to be deemed complete, an application shall be accompanied by a fee of $50, payable to the commission, which shall be in addition to the fees otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of a motor vehicle. The chief administrator shall collect annually, subsequent to the year of issuance of the Mental Health Awareness license plates, a $10 fee for the license plates in addition to the fees otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of a motor vehicle. The additional fees required by this subsection shall be deposited in the Mental Health Awareness License Plate Fund created pursuant to subsection c. of this section.
c. There is created in the Department of the Treasury a special non-lapsing fund to be known as the Mental Health Awareness License Plate Fund. There shall be deposited in the fund the amount collected from all license plate fees collected pursuant to subsection b. of this section, less the amounts necessary to reimburse the commission for administrative costs pursuant to subsection d. of this section. Monies deposited in the fund shall be annually appropriated to the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services and shall be used to conduct mental health research and provide and support new and existing mental health programs and services throughout New Jersey. Monies deposited in the fund shall be held in interest-bearing accounts in public depositories, as defined pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1970, c.236 (C.17:9-41), and may be invested or reinvested in securities approved by the State Treasurer. Interest or other income earned on monies deposited in the fund, and any monies which may be appropriated or otherwise become available for the purposes of the fund, shall be credited to and deposited in the fund for use as set forth in this section.
d. Prior to the deposit into the fund of the additional fees collected pursuant to subsection b. of this section, amounts thereof as are necessary shall be used to reimburse the commission for all costs reasonably and actually incurred, as stipulated by the chief administrator, for:
(1) designing, producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of the Mental Health Awareness license plates; and
(2) any computer programming changes that may be initially necessary to implement the Mental Health Awareness license plate program in an amount not to exceed $150,000.
The chief administrator shall annually certify to the State Treasurer the average cost per license plate incurred in the immediately preceding year by the commission in producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of the Mental Health Awareness license plates. The annual certification of the average cost per license plate shall be approved by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee, or its successor.
In the event that the average cost per license plate as certified by the chief administrator and approved by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee, or its successor, is greater than the $50 application fee established in subsection b. of this section in two consecutive fiscal years, the chief administrator may discontinue the issuance of Mental Health Awareness license plates.
e. The chief administrator shall notify eligible motorists of the opportunity to obtain Mental Health Awareness license plates by publicizing the availability of the license plates on the website of the commission. The Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services, and any other individual or entity designated by the division, may publicize the availability of Mental Health Awareness license plates in any manner the division deems appropriate.
f. The chief administrator and the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services shall develop and enter into a memorandum of agreement setting forth the procedures to be followed in carrying out their respective responsibilities under P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
g. The Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services shall appoint a representative who shall act as a liaison between the division and the commission. The liaison shall represent the division in any and all communications with the commission regarding the Mental Health Awareness license plates established by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
2. a. State or other public funds shall not be used by the commission for the initial cost of:
(1) designing, producing, issuing, and publicizing the availability of Mental Health Awareness license plates; or
(2) any computer programming changes which may be necessary to implement the Mental Health Awareness license plate program established by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. An individual or entity designated by the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services shall contribute non-public monies in an amount to be determined by the chief administrator, not to exceed a total of $25,000, to be used to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission for designing, producing, issuing, and publicizing the availability of Mental Health Awareness license plates, and any computer programming which may be necessary to implement the program. To further offset the initial costs incurred by the commission for the Mental Health Awareness license plates authorized by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), other concerned organizations and individual donors may contribute monies to the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services, or the individual or entity designated by the division, for this purpose. Any amount remaining after the payment of the initial costs shall be deposited in the Mental Health Awareness License Plate Fund established pursuant to subsection c. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
c. The commission shall not begin designing, producing, issuing, or publicizing the availability of Mental Health Awareness license plates, or making any necess