New Jersey-2024-A4689-Introduced

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 necessary programming changes, until the following requirements have been met:

(1) The individual or entity designated by the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services has provided the commission with the non-public money necessary, as determined by the chief administrator pursuant to subsection b. of this section, to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission in establishing the Mental Health Awareness license plate program; and

(2) The liaison appointed by the division pursuant to subsection g. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) has provided the commission with not less than 500 completed applications for Mental Health Awareness license plates. These applications shall constitute the initial order for Mental Health Awareness license plates and shall be accompanied by a fee representing the total cost of the initial order. The fee shall be determined by multiplying the number of sets of license plates being ordered by the applicable initial fee for each set of license plates as set forth in subsection b. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

3. This act shall take effect immediately, but shall remain inoperative until the first day of the 13th month following the date on which the conditions set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection c. of section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) have been satisfied. The chief administrator may take anticipatory actions in advance of that date as may be necessary for the timely implementation of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall expire if the conditions set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection c. of section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) are not satisfied by the last day of the 12th month following enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill authorizes the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (commission) to create and issue special Mental Health Awareness license plates. The license plate is to display the words, "Mental Health Awareness," along with the registration number and other markings or identification otherwise prescribed by law. The design of the Mental Health Awareness license plate is to be chosen by the chief administrator, in consultation with the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services (division).

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 Mental Health Awareness license plates. After deducting the cost to implement the Mental Health Awareness license plate program, the additional fees collected are required to be deposited into the "Mental Health Awareness License Plate Fund," and the funds are to be appropriated annually to the division to conduct mental health research and provide and support new and existing mental health programs and services throughout New Jersey.

The chief administrator is required to annually certify the average cost per license plate in producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the Mental Health Awareness license plates. If the average cost per plate exceeds $50 in two consecutive fiscal years, the chief administrator may discontinue the Mental Health Awareness license plate program. The bill also requires that the division appoint a liaison to represent the division in all communications with the commission regarding the Mental Health Awareness license plates.

The bill provides that no State or other public funds may be used by the commission for the initial cost of designing, producing, issuing, and publicizing the availability of Mental Health Awareness license plates or any computer programming changes which may be necessary to implement the Mental Health Awareness license plate program.

The bill also requires that an individual or entity designated by the division contribute 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. The bill authorizes the division to receive funds from private sources to be used to offset the initial costs.

The bill prohibits the commission from designing, producing, issuing, or publicizing the availability of Mental Health Awareness license plates, or making any necessary programming changes, until: (1) the individual or entity designated by the division has provided the commission with the non-public money necessary to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission in establishing the Mental Health Awareness license plate program; and (2) the division's liaison has provided the commission with a minimum of 500 completed applications for Mental Health Awareness license plates, upon the availability for purchase of those license plates.

The chief administrator is responsible for publicizing the availability of the license plates on the commission's website. The division, or any individual or entity designated by the division, may also publicize the availability of Mental Health Awareness license plates in any manner the division deems appropriate.

The provisions of the bill will remain inoperative until the first day of the 13th month after the appropriate applications and fees required to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission are provided to the commission. The bill expires on the last day of the 12th month after the date of enactment if sufficient applications and fees to offset the initial costs are not received.