New Jersey-2012-S702-Introduced

An Act establishing special license plates supporting autism awareness, supplementing chapter 3 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. As used in this act:

"Chief administrator" means the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission;

"Commission" means the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission;

"Fund" means the "Autism Awareness Fund" created pursuant to section 4 of this act.

2. The chief administrator shall, upon proper application therefore, issue autism awareness license plates for any motor vehicle owned or leased and registered in the State. In addition to the registration number and other markings or identification otherwise prescribed by law, an autism awareness license plate shall display words or a slogan and an emblem indicating support for, or an interest in, autism treatment, prevention and research. The details of the design shall be decided by the chief administrator. Issuance of autism awareness license plates in accordance with this section shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 3 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, except as hereinafter otherwise specifically provided.

3. a. Application for issuance of an autism awareness license plate shall be made to the commission in a manner as may be 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 fee shall be in addition to all fees otherwise required by law for the registration of the motor vehicle and shall be collected by the commission and deposited in the Autism Awareness Fund created pursuant to section 4 of this act.

b. The annual fee for the registration of a motor vehicle that has been issued an autism awareness license plate pursuant to this act shall include in each year subsequent to the year of issuance a fee of $10, in addition to all fees otherwise required by law for the renewal of the registration of the motor vehicle, which shall be collected by the commission and deposited in the Autism Awareness Fund created pursuant to section 4 of this act.

4. There is created in the Department of the Treasury a special non-lapsing fund to be known as the "Autism Awareness License Plate Fund." There shall be deposited in the fund the amount collected from all license plate fees collected pursuant to this section, less the amounts necessary to reimburse the commission for administrative costs pursuant to section 5 of this act. Monies deposited in the fund shall be appropriated annually to Autism Speaks, to be expended on autism research and awareness. 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 such securities as are 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 act.

5. a. Prior to the deposit of the additional fees collected pursuant to section 3 of this act into the fund, amounts thereof as are necessary shall be used to reimburse the commission for all costs reasonable and actually incurred, as stipulated by the chief administrator, for:

(1) producing, issuing, renewing and publicizing the availability of the autism awareness license plates; and

(2) any computer programming changes that may be initially necessary to implement the autism awareness license plate program established by this act in an amount certified as necessary by the chief administrator.

b. 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 autism 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.

c. 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 a. of section 3 of this act in two consecutive years, the chief administrator may discontinue the issuance of autism awareness license plates.

6. The chief administrator shall notify eligible motorists of the opportunity to obtain autism awareness license plates by including a notice with all motor vehicle registration renewals, and by posting appropriate posters or signs in all commission facilities and offices, as may be provided by the commission. The notices, posters, and signs shall be designed by the chief administrator.

7. The chief administrator and the State Treasurer shall develop and enter into an interagency memorandum of agreement setting forth the procedures to be followed in carrying out their respective responsibilities under this act.

8. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month after enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill would authorize the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to issue special license plates in support of autism awareness for a motor vehicle owned or leased and registered in this State.

The bill requires a $50 application fee and a $10 annual renewal fee for these license plates, in addition to the fees otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of a motor vehicle.

The additional revenue would be deposited in the Autism Awareness License Plate Fund in the Department of the Treasury, created in this bill. The funds would be appropriated annually to the Autism Speaks, an organization which will expend the funds for global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism as well as to raise public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and society. This research and public awareness brings hope to all who deal with the hardships of this disorder.

The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission would be reimbursed for the costs incurred for producing, issuing, renewing and publicizing the availability of the special plates from the fees collected prior to their deposit into the fund. The Chief Administrator of the Motor Vehicle Commission is to annually certify the average cost per license plate incurred in the immediately preceding year which cost is to be certified by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee, or its successor. If the certified average cost per license plate exceeds the $50 application fee for two consecutive years, the chief administrator may discontinue issuing the autism awareness license plate.