Authorizes creation of Woman Veteran license plates.

A1906

ASSEMBLY, No. 1906

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman CLEOPATRA G. TUCKER

District 28 (Essex and Union)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Webber and Assemblywoman McCoy

SYNOPSIS

���� Authorizes creation of Woman Veteran license plates.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act

concerning the creation of special Woman Veteran
license plates and 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.��� a.�� Upon proper
application, the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission
shall issue Woman Veteran 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, the license plate shall
display the words �Woman Veteran.� The chief administrator, in consultation
with the Adjutant General of the New Jersey Department of Military and
Veterans� Affairs, shall select the design of the Woman Veteran license
plates.� Woman Veteran license plates shall be subject to the provisions of
chapter 3 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, except as hereinafter otherwise
specifically provided.

���� b.��� Application for issuance
of Woman Veteran license plates shall be made to the chief administrator on
forms and in a manner prescribed by the chief administrator.� The application
shall include proof satisfactory to the chief administrator that the applicant
is a veteran as certified on the applicant's DD-214 form or on a Certificate of
Release or Discharge from Active Duty.� 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 Woman Veteran
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 �Woman Veteran
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 �Woman
Veteran 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.� Monies deposited in the fund shall be appropriated annually to
the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans� Affairs and shall be used
to support programs benefiting female veterans, including grants for the
provision of shelter to homeless female veterans.� 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
section.

���� d.��� Prior to the deposit of
the additional fees collected pursuant to subsection b. of this section into
the "Woman Veteran License Plate Fund," 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 Woman Veteran
license plates; and

���� (2)�� any computer programming
changes that may be initially necessary to implement the Woman Veteran 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 Woman Veteran 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 Woman
Veteran license plates.�

���� e.���� The chief administrator
shall notify eligible motorists of the opportunity to obtain Woman Veteran
license plates by publicizing the availability of the license plates on the
website of the commission. The New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans� Affairs,
and any other individual or entity designated by the department, may publicize
the availability of the license plates in any manner the organization deems
appropriate.

���� f.���� The chief administrator
and the adjutant general 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 adjutant general
shall appoint a representative who shall act as a liaison between the
department and the commission. The liaison shall represent the department in
any and all communications with the commission regarding the license plates
established by P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill).

���� 2.��� a.�� State or public
funds shall not be used by the commission for the initial cost of:

���� (1)�� designing, producing,
issuing, and publicizing the availability of Woman Veteran license plates; or

���� (2)�� any computer programming
changes which may be necessary to implement the Woman Veteran license plate
program established by P.L.��� , c.���� (C.������� ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).

���� b.��� An individual or entity
designated by the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans� Affairs 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 Woman Veteran license plates, and any computer
programming which may be necessary to implement the program.� Concerned
organizations and individual donors may contribute monies to the department to
be used to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission for the Woman
Veteran license plates authorized by P.L.��� , c.���� (C.�������� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill).� Any amount remaining after the payment
of the initial cost shall be deposited in the �Woman Veteran 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
Woman Veteran license plates, or making any necessary programming changes,
until the following requirements have been met:

���� (1)�� The individual or entity
designated by the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans� Affairs has
provided the commission with the 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 Woman Veteran license
plate program; and

���� (2)�� The liaison appointed by
the department 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 Woman Veteran
license plates.� These applications shall constitute the initial order for
Woman Veteran 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 such 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 New
Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (commission) to issue special Woman Veteran
license plates.���������� The license plate is to display the words,
"Woman Veteran," along with the registration number and other
markings or identification otherwise prescribed by law.� An application to
obtain a Woman Veteran license plate is to include satisfactory proof that the
applicant is a veteran as evidenced by the applicant�s DD-214 form or on a
Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty.

���� 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 Woman Veteran license plates.� After
deducting the cost of producing and publicizing the plates, the additional fees
collected will be deposited into the �Woman Veteran License Plate Fund� and the
funds will be appropriated annually to the New Jersey Department of Military
Veterans� Affairs (department) for programs to benefit female veterans,
including providing shelter to homeless female veterans as grants.

���� The Chief Administrator of the
commission is required to annually certify the average cost of producing,
issuing, and publicizing the availability of the specialty license plates. If
the average cost per plate exceeds $50 in two consecutive fiscal years, the
chief administrator may discontinue the Woman Veteran license plate program.�
The bill also requires that the Adjutant General of the department appoint a
liaison to represent the department in all communications with the commission
regarding the Woman Veteran license plates.�

���� The bill provides that State
or other public funds may not be used by the commission for the initial cost to
implement the Woman Veteran license plate program.� The bill requires an
individual or entity designated by the department to contribute non-public
monies, not to exceed $25,000, to offset the initial costs to design, produce,
issue, and publicize the license plates.� The bill authorizes the department to
receive funds from private sources to be used to offset the initial costs.�

���� The chief administrator is not
required to design, produce, issue, or publicize the availability of the Woman
Veteran license plates, until: (1) an individual or entity designated by the
department has provided the commission with the money necessary to offset the
initial costs incurred by the commission in establishing the Woman Veteran
license plate program; and (2) department, or its designee, has provided the
commission with a minimum of 500 completed applications for the Woman Veteran
license plates, upon the availability for purchase of those license plates.

���� The provisions of the bill
will remain inoperative until the appropriate applications and fees required to
offset the initial costs incurred by the commission are provided by the
department�s designee. The bill expires after 12 months if sufficient applications
and fees to offset the initial costs are not received.