Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ANGELICA M. JIMENEZ
District 32 (Bergen and Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Permits person with special needs to voluntarily make notation on driver's license and identification card.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning driver's licenses and identification cards for persons with special needs 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. The Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall permit a basic driver's license or non-driver identification card holder to voluntarily indicate on the holder's basic driver's license or non-driver identification card that the person has special needs, which shall include any person has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, extreme or debilitating anxiety, a communication disability, post-traumatic stress disorder, or Tourette syndrome or other neurological tic disorder by a physician, psychologist, or any other health care professional licensed pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes.
The designation shall be used by a law enforcement officer or an emergency medical professional to identify and effectively communicate with or render aid to a person who has special needs and shall not be used for any other purpose by any other person.
b. The voluntary designation permitted pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall be given a restriction code that shall be displayed on the person's driver's license or non-driver identification in accordance with procedures prescribed by the chief administrator.
A holder of a basic driver's license or non-driver identification card who makes a voluntary designation pursuant to this section shall have the opportunity to remove the designation at any time.
c. As used in this section: "communication disability" means a condition involving an impairment in the person's ability to receive, send, process, or comprehend concepts or verbal, nonverbal, or graphic symbol systems, that may result in a primary disability or may be secondary to other disabilities.
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month after enactment, but the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission may take any administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the timely implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill concerns the licenses, identification cards, and law enforcement officer interactions with persons who have special needs.
Under the bill, a person with special needs includes any person who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, extreme or debilitating anxiety, a communication disability, post-traumatic stress disorder, or Tourette syndrome or other neurological tic disorder by a licensed physician, psychologist, or health care professional. The bill defines "communication disability" as a condition involving an impairment in the person's ability to receive, send, process, or comprehend concepts or verbal, nonverbal, or graphic symbol systems, that may result in a primary disability or may be secondary to other disabilities.
The bill permits the holder of a license or identification card to voluntarily designate that the person has special needs. The designation is to be used by law enforcement officers or emergency medical professionals to identify and effectively communicate with or to render aide to a person with special needs.
The designation indicating that a person has special needs is to be given a restriction code that is required to be displayed on the person's driver's license or non-driver identification in accordance with procedures prescribed by the chief administrator. However, the holder of a basic driver's license or non-driver identification card who makes the voluntary designation is required to have the opportunity to remove the designation at any time.