Provides one-third of motor vehicle fine moneys generated through State Police issued tickets go to municipality where violation occurred.

A1176

ASSEMBLY, No. 1176

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman JOHN DIMAIO

District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)

Assemblyman CRAIG J. COUGHLIN

District 19 (Middlesex)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Park and Assemblyman Myhre

SYNOPSIS

���� Provides one-third of motor vehicle fine moneys
generated through State Police issued tickets go to municipality where
violation occurred.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning certain motor vehicle fine and penalty
moneys, and amending R.S.39:5-41.

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

����� 1.�� R.S.39:5-41
is amended to read as follows:

����� 39:5-41.
a. All fines, penalties and forfeitures imposed and collected under authority
of law for any violations of R.S.39:4-63 and R.S.39:4-64 shall be forwarded by
the judge to whom the same have been paid to the proper financial officer of a
county, if the violation occurred within the jurisdiction of that county's
central municipal court, established pursuant to N.J.S.2B:12-1 et seq. or the
municipality wherein the violation occurred, to be used by the county or
municipality to help finance litter control activities in addition to or
supplementing existing litter pickup and removal activities in the
municipality.

����� b.�� Except
as otherwise provided by subsection a. of this section, all fines, penalties
and forfeitures imposed and collected under authority of law for any violations
of the provisions of this Title, other than those violations in which the
complaining witness is the chief administrator, a member of his staff,
[
a member of the State Police,
]
a member of a county police department and force, a
county park police system, or a sheriff's office in a county that has
established a central municipal court, an inspector of the Board of Public
Utilities, or a
[
law enforcement officer
]

member
of any other State agency,
including
the State Police
shall be forwarded by the judge to whom the same have been
paid as follows: one-half of the total amount collected to the financial
officer, as designated by the local governing body, of the respective
municipalities wherein the violations occurred, to be used by the municipality
for general municipal use and to defray the cost of operating the municipal
court; and one-half of the total amount collected to the proper financial
officer of the county wherein they were collected, to be used by the county as
a fund for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance and repair of roads
and bridges, snow removal, the acquisition and purchase of rights-of-way, and
the purchase, replacement and repair of equipment for use on said roads and
bridges therein.�

�����
All
fines, penalties and forfeitures imposed and collected under authority of law
for any violations of the provisions of this Title in which the complaining
witness is a member of a State agency, including the State Police shall be
forwarded by the judge to whom the same have been paid as� follows:� one-third
of the total amount collected to the financial officer, as designated by the
local governing body, of the respective municipalities wherein the violations
occurred, to be used by the municipality to defray the cost of operating the
municipal court and two-thirds of the total amount collected to the State
Treasurer for deposit and use in accordance with the provisions for deposit
pursuant to R.S.52:18-32.
Up to
[
25%
]

25 percent
of the money received by a
municipality pursuant to this subsection, but not more than the actual amount
budgeted for the municipal court, whichever is less, may be used to upgrade
case processing.

����� All
fines, penalties and forfeitures imposed and collected under authority of law
for any violations of the provisions of this Title, in which the complaining
witness is a member of a county police department and force, a county park
police system, or a county sheriff's office in a county that has established a
central municipal court, shall be forwarded by the judge to whom the same have
been paid to the financial officer, designated by the governing body of the
county, for all violations occurring within the jurisdiction of that court, to
be used for general county use and to defray the cost of operating the central
municipal court.

����� Whenever
any county has deposited moneys collected pursuant to this section in a special
trust fund in lieu of expending the same for the purposes authorized by this
section, it may withdraw from said special trust fund in any year an amount
which is not in excess of the amount expended by the county over the
immediately preceding three-year period from general county revenues for said
purposes. Such moneys withdrawn from the trust fund shall be accounted for and
used as are other general county revenues.

����� c.�� (Deleted
by amendment, P.L.1993, c.293.)

����� d.�� Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, $1 shall be added to
the amount of each fine and penalty imposed and collected through a court under
authority of any law for any violation of the provisions of Title 39 of the
Revised Statutes or any other motor vehicle or traffic violation in this State
and shall be forwarded by the person to whom the same are paid to the State
Treasurer.� In addition, upon the forfeiture of bail, $1 of that forfeiture
shall be forwarded to the State Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall annually
deposit those moneys so forwarded in the "Body Armor Replacement"
fund established pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1997, c.177 (C.52:17B-4.4).�
Beginning in the fiscal year next following the effective date of this act, the
State Treasurer annually shall allocate from those moneys so forwarded an
amount not to exceed $400,000 to the Department of the Treasury to be expended
exclusively for the purposes of funding the operation of the "Law Enforcement
Officer Crisis Intervention Services" telephone hotline established and
maintained under the provisions of sections 115 and 116 of P.L.2008, c.29
(C.26:2NN-1 and C.26:2NN-2).

����� e.�� Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, $1 shall be added to
the amount of each fine and penalty imposed and collected through a court under
authority of any law for any violation of the provisions of Title 39 of the
Revised Statutes or any other motor vehicle or traffic violation in this State
and shall be forwarded by the person to whom the same are paid to the State
Treasurer.� The State Treasurer shall annually deposit those moneys so
forwarded in the "New Jersey Spinal Cord Research Fund" established
pursuant to section 9 of P.L.1999, c.201 (C.52:9E-9).� In order to comply with
the provisions of Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 5 of the State
Constitution, a municipal or county agency which forwards moneys to the State
Treasurer pursuant to this subsection may retain an amount equal to
[
2%
]

two percent
of the moneys which it collects
pursuant to this subsection as compensation for its administrative costs
associated with implementing the provisions of this subsection.

����� f.��� Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, $1 shall be added to
the amount of each fine and penalty imposed and collected through a court under
authority of any law for any violation of the provisions of Title 39 of the
Revised Statutes or any other motor vehicle or traffic violation in this State
and shall be forwarded by the person to whom the same are paid to the State
Treasurer.� The State Treasurer shall annually deposit those moneys so
forwarded in the "Autism Medical Research and Treatment Fund"
established pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2003, c.144 (C.30:6D-62.2).

����� g.�� Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, $3 shall be added to
the amount of each fine and penalty imposed and collected by a court under
authority of any law for any violation of the provisions of Title 39 of the
Revised Statutes or any other motor vehicle or traffic violation in this State
and shall be forwarded by the person to whom the same are paid to the State
Treasurer.� The State Treasurer shall annually deposit those moneys so
forwarded in the "New Jersey Forensic DNA Laboratory Fund"
established pursuant to P.L.2003, c.183.� Prior to depositing the moneys into
the fund, the State Treasurer shall forward to the Administrative Office of the
Courts an amount not to exceed $475,000 from moneys initially collected pursuant
to this subsection to be used exclusively to establish a collection mechanism
and to provide funding to update the Automated Traffic System Fund created
pursuant to N.J.S.2B:12-30 to implement the provisions of this subsection.

����� h.�� Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, $1 shall be added to
the amount of each fine and penalty imposed and collected under authority of
any law for any violation of the provisions of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes
or any other motor vehicle or traffic violation in this State and shall be
forwarded by the person to whom the same are paid to the State Treasurer.� The
State Treasurer shall annually deposit those moneys so forwarded in the
"New Jersey Brain Injury Research Fund" established pursuant to
section 9 of P.L.2003, c.200 (C.52:9EE-9). The Administrative Office of the
Courts may retain an amount equal to $475,000 from the moneys which it
initially collects pursuant to this subsection, prior to depositing any moneys
in the "New Jersey Brain Injury Research Fund," in order to meet the
expenses associated with utilizing the Automated Traffic System Fund created
pursuant to N.J.S.2B:12-30 to implement the provisions of this subsection and
serve other statutory purposes.

����� i.��� Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, all fines and
penalties imposed and collected under authority of law for any violation
related to the unlawful operation or the sale of a vehicle under section 1 of
P.L.1955, c.53 (C.39:3-17.1) shall be forwarded by the judge to whom the same
have been paid to the State Treasurer, if the complaining witness is the chief
administrator, a member of his staff, a member of the State Police, an
inspector of the Board of Public Utilities, or a law enforcement officer or
other official of any other State agency; or, if the complaining witness is not
one of the foregoing, one-half to the chief financial officer of the county and
one-half to the chief financial officer of the municipality wherein the
violation occurred.

(cf:
P.L.2018, c.47, s.4)

����� 2.�� This
act shall take effect on the first day of the sixth month following enactment.

STATEMENT

����� This bill
revises the way motor vehicle fines
collected for tickets issued by the State Police are distributed.

���� Under current law, all funds
collected from motor vehicle fines, penalties, and forfeitures that are
generated through tickets written by the State Police are paid to the State
Treasurer and available for general State purposes.

����� This bill revises that
distribution to provide two-thirds of the funds would be paid to the State and
the remaining one-third would be paid to the municipality in which the
violation occurred.� The bill authorizes the recipient municipalities to use
the funds to defray the cost of operating their municipal courts.