LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
ASSEMBLY, No. 2402
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
DATED: JUNE 28, 2024
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 $46,423 Indeterminate
Potential State Revenue Increase $50,000 At least $5,000
 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 $46,423, which is largely attributable to computer system changes and an initial print
run of 900 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.
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 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
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.
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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
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 the first year 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 $6.88,
so it is unlikely that the commission will experience any net cost in the administration of the
program.
Motor Vehicle Commission: Computer Programming Costs for New Plate Design
Description of Work Hours Total
Scope of Work Specifications 85 $11,197.41
Development 145 $16,255.45
System Testing 89.5 $10,033.54
Production Implementation 24 $2,705.47
Total Computer Programming Costs 343.5 $40,191.87
Plate Costs
Sample Plates (10 plates @3.90 each) $39.00
Initial Acquisition Plates (900 plates @ $6.88 each) $6,192.00
Total Specialty License Plate Costs $46,422.87
In response to an FY 2025 OLS Discussion Point, the commission indicated that it faced an
upfront cost of $46,423 to set up a license plate program, which includes computer changes and
an initial print run of 900 license plates. The requirements of the bill would provide the
commission with $50,000 through the initial $25,000 payment and the first 500 license plate sales.
Additionally, the first 500 plate sales will generate $5,000 per year from the $10 annual renewal
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
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there is likely to be no net fiscal impact to the commission for administrating this license plate
program.
Plate Type Number in Circulation Plate Type Number in
Circulation
Air Force Reserve 188 National Guard 2,192
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority 548 Navy Cross 200
Amateur Radio 3,520 Navy Reserve 160
Animal Welfare 56,389 New Jersey Press 111
Army Reserve 565 New York Press 1,646
Assembly 225 Olympic 7,805
Battleship 25,275 Omega Psi Phi Fraternity 318
Chiropractor 317 Organ Donor 14,381
Coast Guard Reserve 61 Organizational (Alumni)* 6,425
Combat Infantry Badge 1,264 Organizational 31,223
Congressional Medal of Honor 5 (Community)**
Organizational (Service)*** 18,006
Conquer Cancer 48,313 Pinelands Preservation 10,189
County Officer 908 Podiatrist 56
Courtesy 22,642 Prisoner of War 314
Deborah Hospital Plates 7,820 Promote Agriculture 21,736
Dentist 392 Senate 308
Disabled Veterans 3,003 Shade Tree (Forestry) 13,916
EMT Ambulance 1,836 Shore Protection 6,321
Fallen Officer 82,490 Silver Star 229
Firefighter 28,202 Sports Plates - MLB 5,093
First Aider 1,366 Sports Plates - NASCAR 2,282
Former Assembly 27 Sports Plates - NBA 746
Former Mayor 371 Sports Plates - NFL 6,530
Former Senator 27 Sports Plates - NHL 3,594
Gold Star 523 Statue of Liberty 9,645
Governor 55 Street Rod 200
Historic Preservation 6,904 United We Stand 31,362
Maritime (Baymens) 14,587 US Congress 9
Marine Reserve 117 US Senate 27
Mayors 357 Veterans of Foreign Wars 143
Meadowlands 4,562 Wildlife Conservation 53,146
Medical Doctor 5,631 Total 566,803
Organizational (Alumni)*: Organizational (Service)***:
NJ Institute of Technology Stevens Technical Institute Air Force Retired Merchant Marines
Notre Dame Temple University Airborne Merchant Marines Academy
Penn State University of Delaware American Legion Navy League
Rutgers University of Michigan AMVETS Pearl Harbor Survivors
Seton Hall Army Retired Purple Heart
Civil Air Patrol Submarine Veterans
Organizational (Community)**: Coast Guard Auxiliary Tin Can Sailors
Childrens First Newark Firefighters Disabled American Veterans Veterans of Foreign Wars
Firemen's Mutual Ben. Assoc. Operating Engineers Lakehurst Navy Vietnam Veterans
Fraternal Order of Police Police Benevolent Assoc. Marine Corp League West Point
International Brotherhood of Teamsters Police Dept. Honor Legion
International Firefighter Professional Engineers
Kiwanis International Rotary International
Knights of Columbus Square Dancers
Masons Telephone Pioneers
National Police Defense Foundation United Bowhunters of NJ
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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.).