Sponsored by:
Senator BRIAN P. STACK
District 33 (Hudson)
Senator JOSEPH A. LAGANA
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Authorizes issuance of Operation Desert Storm license plates.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act authorizing the issuance of Operation Desert Storm 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 Operation Desert Storm license plates 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 and images that honor the members of the military that served in Operation Desert Storm. The chief administrator, in consultation with the Adjutant General of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, shall select the design of the Operation Desert Storm license plates. The Operation Desert Storm license plates shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 3 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, except as hereinafter otherwise specifically provided.
b. Application for issuance of Operation Desert Storm license plates shall be made to the chief administrator on forms and in a manner prescribed by the chief administrator. The application shall include proof satisfactory to the chief administrator that the applicant served in Operation Desert Storm as certified on the applicant's DD-214 form or on a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. In order to be deemed complete, an application shall be accompanied by a fee of $50, payable to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, which shall be in addition to the fee otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of motor vehicles. The chief administrator shall collect annually, subsequent to the year of issuance of the Operation Desert Storm license plate, a $10 fee for the license plate in addition to the fee otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of a motor vehicle. The additional fees required by this subsection shall be deposited in the Operation Desert Storm 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 "Operation Desert Storm 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 appropriated annually to the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and shall be used to support programs benefiting combat veterans. 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 into 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 P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
d. Prior to the deposit of the additional fees collected pursuant to subsection b. of this section into the "Operation Desert Storm License Plate Fund," 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 Operation Desert Storm license plates; and
(2) any computer programming changes that may be initially necessary to implement the Operation Desert Storm license plate program established by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), 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 Operation Desert Storm 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 Operation Desert Storm license plates.
e. The chief administrator shall notify eligible motorists of the opportunity to obtain Operation Desert Storm license plates by publicizing the availability of the license plates on the website of the commission. The New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, and any other individual or entity designated by the department, may publicize the availability of the Operation Desert Storm license plates in any manner that the department deems appropriate.
f. The chief administrator and adjutant general shall develop and enter into an interdepartmental 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 adjutant general shall appoint a representative who shall act as a liaison between the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the commission. The liaison shall represent the department in any and all communications with the commission regarding the Operation Desert Storm license plates established by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
2. a. State or public funds shall not be used by the commission for the initial cost of:
(1) designing, producing, issuing, and publicizing the availability of Operation Desert Storm license plates; or
(2) any computer programming changes which may be necessary to implement the Operation Desert Storm license