Bill Text: NJ A2012 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes "Automobile Accident Injury Fund."
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee [A2012 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A2012-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes "Automobile Accident Injury Fund."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act establishing the "Automobile Accident Injury Fund" and supplementing Title 17B of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Department of Banking and Insurance shall establish by regulation a procedure for the payment of medical costs to eligible individuals injured as a result of an automobile accident in which:
(1) the automobile was stolen at the time of the accident; and
(2) the medical costs to treat the injuries of the eligible individual are not covered by the eligible individual's health insurance policy or automobile insurance policy, if any.
b. The procedures established by the department shall include, but not be limited to, the process for eligible individuals to apply for payment pursuant to this act and the criteria by which the commissioner shall determine the value of the payment provided to each eligible applicant.
c. The department shall issue payments from the "Automobile Accident Injury Fund" pursuant to this act without regard to whether the stolen automobile was adequately insured pursuant to the laws of this State.
2. There is established a non-lapsing, revolving fund in the Department of Banking and Insurance to be known as the "Automobile Accident Injury Fund." This fund shall be the repository for moneys otherwise appropriated or directed to be remitted to this fund as are necessary to implement this act. The purpose of the fund shall be to cover the medical costs of an eligible individual injured as a result of an automobile accident in which the automobile was stolen at the time of the accident and the medical costs of the injured individual are not covered by the individual's health insurance policy or automobile insurance policy, if any, pursuant to section 1 of this act.
3. This act shall take effect on the 180th day next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the "Automobile Accident Injury Fund" in the Department of Banking and Insurance.
Over the past several years, there has been a rise in automobile thefts in the State, with 14,320 vehicles reported stolen in 2021, a 22 percent increase compared to 2020. In a number of these thefts, unsuspecting individuals have sustained physical injury from being hit by a stolen automobile. With almost 700,000 residents without health insurance, and with one in every eight drivers in the State without automobile insurance, there are individuals in this State who, if injured by a stolen automobile may incur the full cost of a medical bill. The purpose of the "Automobile Accident Injury Fund" is to cover the medical costs of eligible individuals injured in an automobile accident in which the automobile was stolen at the time of the accident and the medical costs of the eligible individual are not covered by the individual's health insurance policy or automobile insurance policy, if any.
The bill requires the department to establish by regulation a procedure for payments from the fund. In addition, the department is required to establish regulations that provide for the process for eligible individuals to apply for payment pursuant to the bill and the criteria by which the commissioner shall determine the value of the payment provided to each eligible applicant. Finally, the department will be required to issue payments pursuant to the bill without regard to whether the stolen automobile was adequately insured pursuant to State law.
