Requires disclosure of data recording devices in motor vehicles; limits access to recorded data.

A2420

ASSEMBLY, No. 2420

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman TENNILLE R. MCCOY

District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Morales

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires disclosure of data recording devices in
motor vehicles; limits access to recorded data.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act
concerning
motor vehicle data recording devices
and supplementing 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:

���� �Owner� means a person having
all the incidents of ownership, including the legal title of a vehicle whether
or not such person lends, rents, or creates a security interest in the vehicle;
a person entitled to the possession of a vehicle as the purchaser under a
security agreement; or a person entitled to possession of the vehicle as the
lessee pursuant to a written lease agreement, provided such agreement at
inception is for a period in excess of three months.

���� �Recorded data� means the data
stored or preserved electronically in a recording device identifying
performance or operation information about the motor vehicle including, but not
limited to the: �speed of the motor vehicle or the direction in which the
vehicle is traveling, or both; vehicle location data; vehicle steering
performance; vehicle brake performance including, but not limited to, whether
brakes were applied before a crash; driver's seatbelt status; and information
concerning a crash in which the motor vehicle has been involved, including the
ability to transmit such information to a central communications system.

���� �Recording device� means an
electronic system, and the physical device or mechanism containing the
electronic system, that primarily, or incidental to its primary function,
preserves or records, in electronic form, data collected by sensors or provided
by other systems within the vehicle. A recording device includes event data
recorders, sensing and diagnostic modules, electronic control modules,
automatic crash notification systems, geographic information systems, and any
other device that records and preserves data that can be accessed related to
that vehicle.

���� 2.��� A manufacturer of a new
motor vehicle that is equipped with a recording device, installed by the
manufacturer and sold or leased in this State, shall disclose that fact in or
along with the owner�s manual for the vehicle.

���� 3.��� a.�� Recorded data shall
only be accessed by the motor vehicle owner, or with the consent of the motor
vehicle owner or the owner�s agent or legal representative, except as provided
pursuant to subsection b. of this section.

���� b.��� Recorded data may be
downloaded or otherwise retrieved by a person other than the owner of the motor
vehicle:

���� (1)�� if the owner of the
motor vehicle or the owner's agent or legal representative has a contract with
a third-party subscription �service that requires access to a recording device
or recorded data in order to perform the contract, so long as the subscription
service contract includes a disclosure pursuant to section 4 of
P.L. , c. � (C. �
) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and the
recorded data is only accessed and used in accordance with the contract;

���� (2)�� upon order by a court of
competent jurisdiction or another administrative authority having jurisdiction
to issue such an order;

���� (3)�� if the recorded data is
accessed by an emergency response provider and is used for the sole purpose of
determining the need for or facilitating an emergency medical response in the
event of a motor vehicle crash and assisting them in performing their duties as
emergency response providers;

���� (4)�� if a motor vehicle
repair or servicing facility, including a licensed new motor vehicle dealer, or
a technician or mechanic at such a facility, requires access to recorded data
in order to carry out normal and ordinary diagnosing, servicing, and repair
duties and the recorded data is used for the sole purpose of performing such
duties; or

���� (5)�� for the purpose of
improving motor vehicle safety, security, or traffic management, including for
medical research of the human body�s reaction to motor vehicle crashes,
provided that the identity of the registered owner or driver is not disclosed
in connection with that retrieved data. For purposes of this paragraph, the
disclosure of the vehicle identification number with the last four digits
deleted does not constitute the disclosure of the identity of the registered owner
or driver.

���� c.���� A person, including a
service or data processor operating on behalf of an emergency response provider
authorized to download or otherwise retrieve data from a recording device
pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection b. of this section, may not release
that data, except for the purposes of motor vehicle safety and medical research
communities to advance motor vehicle safety, security or traffic management, or
to a data processor solely for the purpose permitted by this subsection, and
only if the identity of the owner or driver is not disclosed.

���� d.��� The consent of the motor
vehicle owner, or the owner�s agent or legal representative, for use of
recorded data for purposes of investigating a motor vehicle accident or
insurance claim shall not be requested or obtained until after the event giving
rise to the claim has occurred, and shall not be made a condition of the
defense, payment or settlement of an obligation or claim. For underwriting and
rating purposes, the motor vehicle owner may provide consent either directly to
the insurer or through and as certified by a named insured.

���� e.���� No person or facility,
allowed to retrieve recorded data pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection b. of
this section, may transmit or otherwise convey the recorded data to a third
party unless necessary to carry out their duties thereunder.

���� 4.��� Any subscription service
for a motor vehicle equipped with a recording device that is capable of recording
vehicle location data, or information concerning a crash in which the motor
vehicle has been involved that is transmitted to a central communications
system, shall disclose, in the subscription service agreement or contract for
the service, that such information may be recorded or transmitted.

���� 5.��� After a crash event that
resulted in bodily injury or death, no person shall knowingly alter or delete
data on a recording device, or knowingly destroy a recording device, unless a
reasonable amount of time sufficient for a law enforcement officer to obtain a
search warrant has transpired.

���� 6.��� a.�� No insurer shall
refuse to renew a motor vehicle insurance policy solely because of the refusal
of a motor vehicle owner to provide consent or access to recorded data from a
recording device, pursuant to section 3 of P.L.���� , c.��� (C.���� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill).

���� b.��� No insurer or agent
shall reduce coverage, increase the insured�s premium, apply a surcharge,
refuse to apply a discount other than a discount that is based on data recorded
by a recording device, place in a less favorable tier, refuse to place in the
company�s best tier, or when there are multiple companies available within a
group of insurers, fail to place in the most favorably priced company solely
because a motor vehicle owner refuses to allow an insurer access to recorded
data from a recording device. However, nothing in this section shall prohibit
an insurer from charging an actuarially sound rate in accordance with any
existing law, rule, or regulation.

���� 7.��� This act shall take
effect immediately, except section 2 shall take effect on the first day of the
month in which the manufacturer introduces the new model year motor vehicle
that occurs at least six months after the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

���� This bill would require the
disclosure of data recording devices, such as event data recorders, in motor
vehicles, and further limit access to recorded data.

���� Specifically, at least six
months after the bill�s effective date and upon introduction of a new model
year motor vehicle, a manufacturer of a new motor vehicle that is equipped with
a recording device must disclose that fact in or along with the owner�s manual
for the vehicle.� Any subscription service for a motor vehicle equipped with a
recording device that is capable of recording vehicle location data, or
information concerning a crash in which the motor vehicle has been involved that
is transmitted to a central communications system, must also disclose that such
information may be recorded or transmitted.

���� Section 3 of the bill provides
that recorded data may only be accessed by the motor vehicle owner, or with the
consent of the motor vehicle owner or the owner�s agent or legal
representative, except:

���� (1)�� if the owner of the
motor vehicle or the owner's agent or legal representative has a contract with
a third-party subscription service that requires access to a recording device
or recorded data in order to perform the contract, so long as the subscription
service contract includes a disclosure and the recorded data is only accessed
and used in accordance with the contract;

���� (2)�� upon order by a court of
competent jurisdiction or another administrative authority having jurisdiction
to issue such an order;

���� (3)�� if the recorded data is
accessed by an emergency response provider and is used for the sole purpose of
determining the need for or facilitating an emergency medical response in the
event of a motor vehicle crash and assisting them in performing their duties as
emergency response providers;

���� (4)�� if a motor vehicle
repair or servicing facility, including a licensed new motor vehicle dealer, or
a technician or mechanic at such a facility, requires access to recorded data
in order to carry out normal and ordinary diagnosing, servicing, and repair
duties and the recorded data is used for the sole purpose of performing such
duties; or

���� (5)�� for the purpose of
improving motor vehicle safety, security, or traffic management, including for
medical research of the human body�s reaction to motor vehicle crashes,
provided that the identity of the registered owner or driver is not disclosed
in connection with that retrieved data.

���� The bill prohibits a person
from knowingly altering or deleting data on a recording device, or knowingly
destroying a recording device, after a crash event that resulted in bodily
injury or death, within a reasonable amount of time sufficient for a law
enforcement officer to obtain a search warrant.

���� Furthermore, no insurer could
refuse to renew a motor vehicle insurance policy solely because of the refusal
of a motor vehicle owner to provide consent or access to recorded data from a
recording device.� No insurer or agent could reduce coverage, increase the
insured�s premium, apply a surcharge, refuse to apply a discount other than a
discount that is based on data recorded by a recording device, place in a less
favorable tier, or refuse to place in the company�s best tier. When there are
multiple companies available within a group of insurers, the bill prohibits
insurers from failing to place in the most favorably priced company solely
because a motor vehicle owner refuses to allow an insurer access to recorded
data from a recording device.