Grants certain emergency privileges to vehicles transporting human organs and associated medical personnel for time-sensitive procedures.

A4929

ASSEMBLY, No. 4929

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 7, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� KENYATTA STEWART

District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)

Assemblywoman� SHANIQUE SPEIGHT

District 29 (Essex and Hudson)

Assemblyman� VINCENT M. "VINNIE" KEARNEY

District 21 (Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union)

SYNOPSIS

���� Grants certain emergency privileges to vehicles
transporting human organs and associated medical personnel for time-sensitive
procedures.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning the transportation of human organs,
amending R.S.39:1-1 and P.L.1985, c.171, and supplementing Title 39 of the
Revised Statutes.

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

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

���� 39:1-1.� As used in this
subtitle, unless other meaning is clearly apparent from the language or
context, or unless inconsistent with the manifest intention of the
Legislature:�

���� �Alley� means a public highway
wherein the roadway does not exceed 12 feet in width.

���� �Authorized emergency
vehicles� means vehicles of the fire department, police vehicles and such
ambulances and other vehicles as are approved by the chief administrator when
operated in response to an emergency call.

���� �Autocycle� means a
three-wheeled motorcycle designed to be controlled with a steering wheel and
pedals in which the operator and passenger may ride in a completely or
partially enclosed seating area that is equipped with a roll cage or roll
hoops, safety seat belts for each occupant, and anti-lock brakes.

���� �Automobile� includes all
motor vehicles except motorcycles.

���� �Berm� means that portion of
the highway exclusive of roadway and shoulder, bordering the shoulder but not
to be used for vehicular travel.

���� �Business district� means that
portion of a highway and the territory contiguous thereto, where within any 600
feet along such highway there are buildings in use for business or industrial
purposes, including but not limited to hotels, banks, office buildings,
railroad stations, and public buildings which occupy at least 300 feet of
frontage on one side or 300 feet collectively on both sides of the roadway.

���� �Car pool� means two or more
persons commuting on a daily basis to and from work by means of a vehicle with
a seating capacity of nine passengers or less.

���� �Chief Administrator� or
�Administrator� means the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle
Commission.

���� �Commercial motor vehicle�
includes every type of motor-driven vehicle used for commercial purposes on the
highways, such as the transportation of goods, wares and merchandise, excepting
such vehicles as are run only upon rails or tracks and vehicles of the
passenger car type used for touring purposes or the carrying of farm products
and milk, as the case may be.

���� �Commission� means the New
Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission established by section 4 of P.L.2003, c.13
(C.39:2A-4).

���� �Commissioner� means the
Commissioner of Transportation of this State.

���� �Commuter van� means a motor
vehicle having a seating capacity of not less than seven nor more than 15 adult
passengers, in which seven or more persons commute on a daily basis to and from
work and which vehicle may also be operated by the driver or other designated
persons for their personal use.

���� �Crosswalk� means that part of
a highway at an intersection, either marked or unmarked existing at each
approach of every roadway intersection, included within the connections of the
lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of the highway measured from
the curbs or, in the absence of curbs, from the edges of the shoulder, or, if
none, from the edges of the roadway; also, any portion of a highway at an
intersection or elsewhere distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by lines
or other marking on the surface.

���� �Curb extension� or �bulbout�
means a horizontal extension of the sidewalk into the street which results in a
narrower roadway section.

���� �Dealer� includes every person
actively engaged in the business of buying, selling or exchanging motor
vehicles or motorcycles and who has an established place of business.

���� �Deputy Chief Administrator�
means the deputy chief administrator of the commission.

���� �Driver� means the rider or
driver of a horse, bicycle or motorcycle or the driver or operator of a motor
vehicle, unless otherwise specified.

���� �Electric vehicle charging
space� means a publicly accessible charging space or set of charging spaces,
with visible signage indicating that the charging space or spaces are available
for use by the public for charging plug-in electric vehicles.

���� �Explosives� means any
chemical compound or mechanical mixture that is commonly used or intended for
the purpose of producing an explosion and which contains any oxidizing and
combustive units or other ingredients in such proportions, quantities or packing
that an ignition by fire, friction, by concussion, by percussion, or by
detonator of any part of the compound or mixture may cause such a sudden
generation of highly heated gases that the resultant gaseous pressures are
capable of producing destructive effects on contiguous objects or of destroying
life or limb.

���� �Farm tractor� means every
motor vehicle designed and used primarily as a farm implement for drawing
plows, mowing machines, and other implements of husbandry.

���� �Flammable liquid� means any
liquid having a flash point below 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and a vapor pressure
not exceeding 40 pounds.

���� �Gross weight� means the
combined weight of a vehicle and a load thereon.

���� �High occupancy vehicle� or
�HOV� means a vehicle which is used to transport two or more persons and shall
include public transportation, car pool, van pool, and other vehicles as
determined by regulation of the Department of Transportation.

���� �Highway� means the entire
width between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained when any part
thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel.

���� �Horse� includes mules and all
other domestic animals used as draught animals or beasts of burden.

���� �Inside lane� means the lane
nearest the center line of the roadway.

���� �Intersection� means the area
embraced within the prolongation of the lateral curb lines or, if none, the
lateral boundary lines of two or more highways which join one another at an
angle, whether or not one such highway crosses another.

���� �Laned roadway� means a
roadway which is divided into two or more clearly marked lanes for vehicular
traffic.

���� �Leased limousine� means any
limousine subject to regulation in the State which:�

���� Is offered for rental or
lease, without a driver, to be operated by a limousine service as the lessee,
for the purpose of carrying passengers for hire; and

���� Is leased or rented for a
period of one year or more following registration.

���� �Leased motor vehicle� means
any motor vehicle subject to registration in this State which:�

���� Is offered for rental or
lease, without a driver, to be operated by the lessee, his agent or servant,
for purposes other than the transportation of passengers for hire; and

���� Is leased or rented for a
period of one year or more following registration.

���� �Limited-access highway� means
every highway, street, or roadway in respect to which owners or occupants of
abutting lands and other persons have no legal right of access to or from the
same except at such points only and in such manner as may be determined by the
public authority having jurisdiction over such highway, street, or roadway; and
includes any highway designated as a �freeway� or �parkway� by authority of
law.

���� �Local authorities� means
every county, municipal
,
and other local board or body having authority
to adopt local police regulations under the Constitution and laws of this
State, including every county governing body with relation to county roads.

���� �Low-speed electric bicycle�
means a two
-
or three-wheeled vehicle with fully operable pedals and an
electric motor of less than 750 watts, that meets the requirements of one of
the following classifications: ��class 1 low-speed electric bicycle
,
�
which means a low-speed electric bicycle equipped with a motor that provides
assistance only when the rider is pedaling, and that ceases to provide
assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 20 miles per hour; or �class 2
low-speed electric bicycle� which means a low-speed electric bicycle equipped
with a motor that may be used exclusively to propel the bicycle, and that is
not capable of providing assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 20
miles per hour.

���� �Low-speed electric scooter�
means a scooter with a floorboard that can be stood upon by the operator, with
handlebars, and an electric motor that is capable of propelling the device with
or without human propulsion at a maximum speed of less than 19 miles per hour.

���� �Low-speed vehicle� means a
four-wheeled low-speed vehicle, as defined in 49 C.F.R. s.571.3(b), whose
attainable speed is more than 20 miles per hour but not more than 25 miles per
hour on a paved level surface and which is not powered by gasoline or diesel
fuel and complies with federal safety standards as set forth in 49 C.F.R.
s.571.500.

���� �Magistrate� means any
municipal court and the Superior Court, and any officer having the powers of a
committing magistrate and the chief administrator.

���� �Manufacturer� means a person
engaged in the business of manufacturing or assembling motor vehicles, who
will, under normal business conditions during the year, manufacture or assemble
at least 10 new motor vehicles.

���� �Metal tire� means every tire
the surface of which in contact with the highway is wholly or partly of metal
or other hard nonresilient material.

���� �Mid-block crosswalk� means a
crosswalk located away from an intersection, distinctly indicated by lines or
markings on the surface.

���� �Motorized bicycle� means a
pedal bicycle having a helper motor characterized in that either the maximum
piston displacement is less than 50 cc. or said motor is rated at no more than
1.5 brake horsepower or is powered by an electric drive motor and said bicycle
is capable of a maximum speed of no more than 25 miles per hour on a flat
surface or a pedal bicycle having an electric motor that is capable of
propelling the bicycle in excess of 20 miles per hour with a maximum
motor-powered speed of no more than 28 miles per hour on a flat surface.� This
term shall not include a low-speed electric bicycle or low-speed electric
scooter as defined in this section.

���� �Motorcycle� includes
motorcycles, autocycles, motor bikes, bicycles with motor attached and all
motor-operated vehicles of the bicycle or tricycle type, except motorized
bicycles, low-speed electric bicycles, and low-speed electric scooters as
defined in this section, whether the motive power be a part thereof or attached
thereto and having a saddle or seat with driver sitting astride or upon it or a
platform on which the driver stands.

���� �Motor-drawn vehicle� includes
trailers, semitrailers, or any other type of vehicle drawn by a motor-driven
vehicle.

���� �Motor vehicle� includes all
vehicles propelled otherwise than by muscular power, excepting such vehicles as
run only upon rails or tracks, low-speed electric bicycles, low-speed electric
scooters, and motorized bicycles.

���� �Motorized scooter� means a
miniature motor vehicle and includes, but is not limited to, pocket bikes,
super pocket bikes, scooters, mini-scooters, sport scooters, mini choppers,
mini motorcycles, motorized skateboards and other vehicles with motors not
manufactured in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and
which have no permanent Federal Safety Certification stickers affixed to the
vehicle by the original manufacturer. �This term shall not include:� electric
personal assistive mobility devices, motorized bicycles, low-speed vehicles,
low-speed electric bicycles, or low-speed electric scooters or motorized
wheelchairs, mobility scooters, or similar mobility assisting devices used by
persons with physical disabilities or persons whose ambulatory mobility has
been impaired by age or illness.

���� �Motorized skateboard� means a
skateboard that is propelled otherwise than by muscular power.

���� �Motorized wheelchair� means
any motor-driven wheelchair utilized to increase the independent mobility, in
the activities of daily living, of an individual who has limited or no
ambulation abilities and includes mobility scooters manufactured specifically
for such purposes and designed primarily for indoor use.

���� �Noncommercial truck� means
every motor vehicle designed primarily for transportation of property and which
is not a �commercial vehicle.�

���� �Official traffic control
devices� means all signs, signals, markings, and devices not inconsistent with
this subtitle placed or erected by authority of a public body or official
having jurisdiction for the purpose of regulating, warning, or guiding traffic.

���� �Omnibus� includes all motor
vehicles used for the transportation of passengers for hire, except commuter
vans and vehicles used in ridesharing arrangements and school buses if the same
are not otherwise used in the transportation of passengers for hire.

���� �Operator� means a person who
is in actual physical control of a vehicle or street car.

����
�Organ procurement
organization� means an entity designated by the United States Secretary of
Health and Human Services as an organ procurement organization or any hospital
or other medical entity designated by the New Jersey Department of Health for human
organ transportation purposes.

���� �Outside lane� means the lane
nearest the curb or outer edge of the roadway.

���� �Owner� means a person who
holds the legal title of a vehicle or if a vehicle is the subject of an
agreement for the conditional sale or lease thereof with the right of purchase
upon performance of the conditions stated in the agreement and with an
immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or lessee, or if
a mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to possession, then the conditional
vendee, lessee, or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this
subtitle.

���� �Parking� means the standing
or waiting on a street, road, or highway of a vehicle not actually engaged in
receiving or discharging passengers or merchandise, unless in obedience to
traffic regulations or traffic signs or signals.

���� �Passenger automobile� means
all automobiles used and designed for the transportation of passengers, other
than omnibuses and school buses.

���� �Pedestrian� means a person
afoot.

���� �Person� includes natural
persons, firms, copartnerships, associations, and corporations.

���� �Plug-in electric vehicle�
means a vehicle that has a battery, or an equivalent energy storage device,
that can be charged from an electricity supply external to the vehicle with an
electric plug.� This term includes a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

���� �Plug-in hybrid electric
vehicle� means a vehicle that can be charged from a source of electricity
external to the vehicle through an electric plug, but is not exclusively
powered by electricity.

���� �Pneumatic tire� means every
tire in which compressed air is designed to support the load.

���� �Pole trailer� means every
vehicle without motive power designed to be drawn by another vehicle and
attached to the towing vehicle by means of a reach, or pole, or by being boomed
or otherwise secured to the towing vehicle and ordinarily used for transporting
long or irregularly shaped loads, such as poles, pipes, or structural members
capable, generally, of sustaining themselves as beams between the supporting
connections.

���� �Private road or driveway�
means every road or driveway not open to the use of the public for purposes of
vehicular travel.

���� �Railroad train� means a steam
engine, electric or other motor, with or without cars coupled thereto, operated
upon rails, except street cars.

���� �REAL ID basic driver�s
license� means a basic driver�s license issued by the commission that complies
with the provisions of the �REAL ID Act of 2005,� Pub.L.109-13, any acts
amendatory or supplementary thereto, and any federal regulations adopted
thereunder.

���� �REAL ID identification card�
means an identification card issued by the commission that complies with the
provisions of the �REAL ID Act of 2005,� Pub.L.109-13, any acts amendatory or
supplementary thereto, and any federal regulations adopted thereunder.

���� �REAL ID license� means any
license to operate a motor vehicle issued by the commission that complies with
the provisions of the �REAL ID Act of 2005,� Pub.L.109-13, any acts amendatory
or supplementary thereto, and any federal regulations adopted thereunder.

���� �REAL ID motorcycle license�
means a motorcycle license issued by the commission that complies with the
provisions of the �REAL ID Act of 2005,� Pub.L.109-13, any acts amendatory or
supplementary thereto, and any federal regulations adopted thereunder.

���� �REAL ID probationary license�
means a probationary license issued by the commission that complies with the
provisions of the �REAL ID Act of 2005,� Pub.L.109-13, any acts amendatory or
supplementary thereto, and any federal regulations adopted thereunder.

���� �Recreation vehicle� means a
self-propelled or towed vehicle equipped to serve as temporary living quarters
for recreational, camping, or travel purposes and used solely as a family or
personal conveyance.

���� �Residence district� means
that portion of a highway and the territory contiguous thereto, not comprising
a business district, where within any 600 feet along such highway there are
buildings in use for business or residential purposes which occupy 300 feet or
more of frontage on at least one side of the highway.

���� �Ridesharing� means the
transportation of persons in a motor vehicle, with a maximum carrying capacity
of not more than 15 passengers, including the driver, where such transportation
is incidental to the purpose of the driver.� The term shall include such
ridesharing arrangements known as car pools and van pools.

���� �Right-of-way� means the
privilege of the immediate use of the highway.

���� �Road tractor� means every
motor vehicle designed and used for drawing other vehicles and not so
constructed as to carry any load thereon either independently or any part of
the weight of a vehicle or load so drawn.

���� �Roadway� means that portion
of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel,
exclusive of the berm or shoulder. In the event a highway includes two or more
separate roadways, the term "roadway" as used herein shall refer to
any such roadway separately, but not to all such roadways, collectively.

���� �Safety zone� means the area
or space officially set aside within a highway for the exclusive use of
pedestrians, which is so plainly marked or indicated by proper signs as to be
plainly visible at all times while set apart as a safety zone.

���� �School bus� means every motor
vehicle operated by, or under contract with, a public or governmental agency,
or religious or other charitable organization or corporation, or privately
operated for the transportation of children to or from school for secular or
religious education, which complies with the regulations of the New Jersey
Motor Vehicle Commission affecting school buses, including �School Vehicle Type
I� and �School Vehicle Type II� as defined below:�

���� �School Vehicle Type I� means
any vehicle designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver,
used to transport enrolled children, and adults only when serving as
chaperones, to or from a school, school-connected activity, day camp, summer
day camp, summer residence camp, nursery school, child care center, preschool
center, or other similar places of education. �Such vehicle shall comply with
the regulations of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and either the
Department of Education or the Department of Human Services, whichever is the
appropriate supervising agency.

���� �School Vehicle Type II� means
any vehicle designed to transport less than 16 passengers, including the
driver, used to transport enrolled children, and adults only when serving as
chaperones, to or from a school, school-connected activity, day camp, summer
day camp, summer residence camp, nursery school, child care center, preschool
center, or other similar places of education. �Such vehicle shall comply with
the regulations of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and either the
Department of Education or the Department of Human Services, whichever is the
appropriate supervising agency.

���� �School zone� means that
portion of a highway which is either contiguous to territory occupied by a
school building or is where school crossings are established in the vicinity of
a school, upon which are maintained appropriate �school signs� in accordance
with specifications adopted by the chief administrator and in accordance with
law.

���� �School crossing� means that
portion of a highway where school children are required to cross the highway in
the vicinity of a school.

���� �Semitrailer� means every
vehicle with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for
carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and so
constructed that some part of its weight and that of its load rests upon or is
carried by another vehicle.

���� �Shipper� means any person who
shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, any commodity, produce, or article for
transportation as the contents or load of a commercial motor vehicle.� In the
case of a sealed ocean container, "shipper" shall not be construed to
include any person whose activities with respect to the shipment are limited to
the solicitation or negotiation of the sale, resale, or exchange of the
commodity, produce, or article within that container.

���� �Shoulder� means that portion
of the highway, exclusive of and bordering the roadway, designed for emergency
use but not ordinarily to be used for vehicular travel.

���� �Sidewalk� means that portion
of a highway intended for the use of pedestrians between the curb line or the
lateral line of a shoulder or, if none, the lateral line of the roadway and the
adjacent right-of-way line.

���� �Sign.� �See �Official traffic
control devices.�

���� �Slow-moving vehicle� means a
vehicle run at a speed less than the maximum speed then and there permissible.

���� �Solid tire� means every tire
of rubber or other resilient material which does not depend upon compressed air
for the support of the load.

���� �Standard� means, when used to
describe any license to operate a motor vehicle or any identification card
issued by the commission under the provisions of this Title, that the issuance
of the license or identification card does not require proof of lawful presence
in the United States.

���� �Street� means the same as
highway.

���� �Street car� means a car other
than a railroad train for transporting persons or property and operated upon
rails principally within a municipality.

���� �Stop,� when required, means
complete cessation from movement.

���� �Stopping or standing,� when
prohibited, means any cessation of movement of a vehicle, whether occupied or
not, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in
compliance with the directions of a police officer or traffic control sign or
signal.

���� �Suburban business or
residential district� means that portion of highway and the territory
contiguous thereto, where within any 1,320 feet along that highway there is
land in use for business or residential purposes and that land occupies more
than 660 feet of frontage on one side or collectively more than 660 feet of
frontage on both sides of that roadway.

���� �Through highway� means every
highway or portion thereof at the entrances to which vehicular traffic from
intersecting highways is required by law to stop before entering or crossing
the same and when stop signs are erected as provided in this chapter.

���� �Trackless trolley� means
every motor vehicle which is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead
trolley wires but not operated upon rails.

���� �Traffic� means pedestrians,
ridden or herded animals, vehicles, street cars, and other conveyances either
singly, or together, while using any highway for purposes of travel.

���� �Traffic control signal� means
a device, whether manually, electrically, mechanically, or otherwise
controlled, by which traffic is alternately directed to stop and to proceed.

���� �Trailer� means every vehicle
with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying
persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and so constructed
that no part of its weight rests upon the towing vehicle.

���� �Truck� means every motor
vehicle designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of
property.

���� �Truck tractor� means every
motor vehicle designed and used primarily for drawing other vehicles and not so
constructed as to carry a load other than a part of the weight of the vehicle
and load so drawn.

���� �Van pooling� means seven or
more persons commuting on a daily basis to and from work by means of a vehicle
with a seating arrangement designed to carry seven to 15 adult passengers.

���� �Vehicle� means every device
in, upon, or by which a person or property is or may be transported upon a
highway, excepting devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon
stationary rails or tracks or low-speed electric bicycles, low-speed electric
scooters, or motorized bicycles.

(cf:� P.L.2025, c.155, s.1)

���� 2.��� Section 1 of P.L.1985,
c.171 (C.39:3-54.15) is amended to read as follows:�

���� 1.���
a.
� A current
chief or first assistant chief of a volunteer fire company, or chief officer of
a first aid or rescue squad, recognized by and rendering service in any
municipality may mount and operate on a motor vehicle owned
[
by him and
registered in his name
]

and operated by the individual
a red emergency warning light or lights,
a siren, or both, as prescribed in P.L.1985, c.171 (C.39:3-54.15 et seq.).� The
size and type of lights and siren, and the location of their controls, shall be
determined by the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle
Commission.

����
b.��� Any vehicle owned and
operated by an organ procurement organization that is used to transport human
organs and any associated medical personnel for time-sensitive procedures may
mount and operate a red emergency warning light or lights, a siren, or both, as
prescribed in P.L.1985, c.171 (C.39:3-54.15 et seq.).� The size and type of
lights and siren, and the location of their controls, shall be determined by
the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.

(cf:� P.L.2005, c.218, s.7)

���� 3.��� Section 2 of P.L.1985,
c.171 (C.39:3-54.16) is amended to read as follows:�

����
2.
��� All red emergency
lights shall be mounted on the exterior of the motor vehicle.� No more than two
red emergency warning lights shall be installed on a vehicle.� If one light is
used it shall be installed in the center of the roof of the vehicle, or on the
left windshield column in a position where a spotlight is normally located.� If
two lights are used they may be placed on the windshield columns on each side
of the vehicle where spotlights are normally mounted, or on either side of the
roof at the front of the vehicle directly back of the top of the windshield.�
Under no circumstances may one light be placed on the roof and one on a
windshield column in the spotlight position.� They shall be operated only while
the vehicle is being used by the
[
registered
owner chief or first assistant chief
]

individual permitted pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1985, c.171 (C.39:3-54.15)

in answering a fire or emergency call
or in transporting human organs and
any associated medical personnel for time-sensitive procedures
.

(cf:� P.L.1985, c.171, s.2)

���� 4.��� Section 3 of P.L.1985,
c.171 (C.39:3-54.17) is amended to read as follows:�

����
3.
��� All sirens shall
be mounted under the hood of the motor vehicle and shall be operated only while
the vehicle is being used by the
[
registered
owner chief or first assistant chief
]

individual permitted pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1985, c.171 (C.39:3-54.15)

in answering a fire or emergency call
or in transporting human organs and
any associated medical personnel for time-sensitive procedures
.

(cf:� P.L.1985, c.171, s.3)

���� 5.��� Section 4 of P.L.1985,
c.171 (C.39:3-54.18) is amended as follows: �

����
4.��� a.
� The
[
Director of
the Division of Motor Vehicles
]

Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission
shall
prepare suitable identification cards
in a form and manner prescribed by and

bearing the signature of the
[
director,
which
]

chief administrator that
, upon the request of the mayor or chief
executive officer of any municipality recognizing and being served by a
volunteer fire company,
[
on
a form and in a manner prescribed by the director,
]
shall be forwarded to the mayor
or chief executive officer
[
,
]
to be
countersigned and issued by the mayor or chief executive officer to the chief
or first assistant chief of the volunteer fire company.� Identification cards
issued pursuant to this
[
section
]

subsection

shall be considered permits to
[
display
]

mount

and operate red emergency warning lights, sirens, or both
[
, as provided
for in this act, and no
]

pursuant to P.L.1985, c.171 (C.39:3-54.15 et seq.).� No
lights or sirens
shall be mounted prior to the issuance of the identification cards.� Each chief
or first assistant chief of a volunteer fire company shall carry the
identification card while red emergency warning lights, sirens, or both, are
[
displayed
]

operated

on
[
his
]

the

vehicle.

����
b.��� The chief administrator
shall prepare suitable identification cards in a form and manner prescribed by
and bearing the signature of the chief administrator that, upon the request of an
organ procurement organization, shall be forwarded to the organ procurement
organization to be countersigned and issued by the organ procurement
organization to any employee of the organization who is authorized to transport
human organs and associated medical personnel for time-sensitive procedures on
behalf of the organization. �Identification cards issued pursuant to this
subsection shall be considered permits to mount and operate red emergency
warning lights, sirens, or both pursuant to P.L.1985, c.171 (C.39:3-54.15 et
seq.).� Red emergency warning lights or sirens shall not be mounted prior to
the issuance of the identification cards.� Each employee of an organ
procurement organization authorized to transport human organs and associated
medical personnel for time-sensitive procedures shall carry the identification
card while red emergency warning lights, sirens, or both are operated on the
vehicle.

(cf: �P.L.1985, c.171, s.4)

���� 6.��� Section 5 of P.L.1985,
c.171 (C.39:3-54.19) is amended to read as follows:�

����
[
This act
]

5.� a.�
The provisions of P.L.1985, c.171 (C.39:3-54.15 et seq.)
shall not grant to
any
[
chief
or first assistant chief of a volunteer fire company
]

individual issued an
identification card pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1985, c.171 (C.39:3-54.18)

any privileges or exemptions denied to the drivers of other vehicles, and
persons displaying red emergency warning lights, sirens, or both
[
,
]
shall drive
with due regard for the safety of all persons and shall obey the traffic laws
of this State
[
;
but
]

.�
However,
drivers of nonemergency vehicles upon any highway shall yield the
[
right of way
]

right-of-way

to the vehicle of
[
any
]

: a
chief
or first assistant chief of a volunteer fire company displaying red emergency
warning lights, sirens, or both, in the same manner as is provided for
authorized emergency vehicles pursuant to R.S.39:4-92
; and an organ
procurement organization that is transporting human organs and any associated
medical personnel for time sensitive procedures, which vehicle is displaying red
emergency warning lights, sirens, or both, in the same manner as is provided
for authorized emergency vehicles pursuant to R.S.39:4-91 and R.S.39:4-92.� In
addition, any vehicle of an organ procurement organization that is transporting
human organs and any associated medical personnel for time sensitive
procedures, which vehicle is displaying red emergency warning lights, sirens,
or both, may operate in the shoulder upon any roadway within the State.

(cf:� P.L.1985, c.171, s.5)

���� 7.��� Section 6 of P.L.1985,
c.171 (C.39:3-54.20) is amended to read as follows:�

����
6.
��� Any person
authorized to display red emergency warning lights, sirens, or both
[
,
]
pursuant to
[
this act,
]

P.L.1985,
c.171 (C.39:3-54.15 et seq.)
who willfully displays or uses the lights or
sirens in violation of the provisions of
[
this
act,
]

P.L.1985,
c.171 (C.39:3-54.15 et seq.)
shall be liable to a penalty of not more than
[
$50.00
]

$50

and
[
his
]

the
person�s
privilege to display the lights or sirens may be suspended or
revoked by the
[
Director
of the Division of Motor Vehicles
]

Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission
.

(cf:� P.L.1985, c.171, s.6)

���� 8.��� (New section) �The
Superintendent of State Police shall, in accordance with the �Administrative
Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and
regulations, as necessary, establishing protocols for coordination between law
enforcement and organ procurement organizations, including real-time
communication protocols, to facilitate the timely transportation of human organs
and any associated medical personnel for time-sensitive procedures.

���� 9.��� a.� The New Jersey Motor
Vehicle Commission may adopt, in accordance with the �Administrative Procedure
Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations as may be
necessary to implement the provisions of sections 1 through 7 of this act,
including, but not limited to, rules and regulations determining what
constitutes a time-sensitive procedure.

���� b.��� The New Jersey
Department of Health may adopt, pursuant to the �Administrative Procedure Act,�
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations as may be necessary
to implement the provisions of sections 1 through 7 of this act, including, but
not limited to, rules and regulations establishing criteria for the designation
of organ procurement organizations.

���� 10.� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill grants certain
emergency privileges to any vehicle owned and operated by an organ procurement
organization (organization) that is transporting human organs and any
associated medical personnel for time-sensitive procedures, including: �(1) the
use of sirens and red emergency warning lights normally reserved for certain volunteer
fire company and first aid or rescue squad personnel under current law; (2) certain
right-of-way privileges normally reserved for authorized emergency vehicles
under current law; and (3) the use of the shoulder on roadways throughout the
State.

���� To mount and operate sirens
and warning lights, an organ procurement organization is required to obtain an
identification card from the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (commission),
through a process outlined in the bill, for any employee of the organization
who is authorized to operate a vehicle on behalf of the organization for the
purpose of transporting human organs and any associated medical personnel for time-sensitive
procedures.� The sirens and warning lights are to be mounted according to
certain specifications found in current law.

���� The bill also amends current
law to clarify that a person operating a vehicle equipped with such sirens and
warning lights is to obey all traffic laws of the State but that drivers of
nonemergency vehicles are to yield the right-of-way to any vehicle displaying
the sirens and warning lights as provided by current law.� Any person operating
a vehicle equipped with such sirens and warning lights in violation of the
bill�s provisions is to be subject to a maximum penalty of $50 and may have
their ability to operate the sirens and warning lights revoked or suspended by
the Chief Administrator of the commission.

���� Finally, the bill requires the
Superintendent of State Police to establish protocols for coordination between
law enforcement and organ procurement organizations to facilitate the timely
transportation of human organs and any associated medical personnel for time-sensitive
procedures.