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AJR129
ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION
No. 129
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes task force on cannabis related traffic
fatalities.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
A Joint
Resolution
establishing a task force on
cannabis related traffic fatalities.
����
Be It
Resolved
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� a.� There is hereby
created a task force to be known as the �Task Force on Cannabis Related Traffic
Fatalities.�
���� b.��� The task force shall
consist of the following 21 members:
���� (1)�� seven ex officio members
or their designees, who shall include the: Commissioner of Transportation;
Attorney General; Commissioner of Human Services; Chief Administrator of the
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission; Executive Director of the Governor�s Council
on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse; Director of the Division of Highway Traffic
Safety in the Department of Law and Public Safety; and Superintendent of State
Police; and
���� (2)�� six public members
appointed by the Governor, who shall include a researcher from a college or
university that engages in the study of issues related to cannabis
legalization; a representative from the Fraternal Order of Police having
expertise on the effects of cannabis on the operation of a motor vehicle; a
representative from the Police Benevolent Association; and three members of the
public who shall have education or experience in highway traffic safety;
���� (3)�� four public members
appointed by the President of the Senate, who shall include three members of
the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, to include a member from
each of the southern, central, and northern regions of the State; and a member
of the public who shall have education or experience in highway traffic safety;
���� (4)�� four public members
appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, who shall include a
representative from the State Troopers Fraternal Association having expertise
on the effects of cannabis on the operation of a motor vehicle; and three
members of the public who shall have education or experience in highway traffic
safety.
���� 2.��� a.� The task force shall
study all aspects of the issue of cannabis related traffic fatalities and
examine methods to prevent the incidence of cannabis related traffic
fatalities.� The task force shall make recommendations to enhance government
services, enforcement, education, and interventions to prevent cannabis related
traffic fatalities.� The issues to be studied by the task force shall include,
but not be limited to:
���� (1)�� the impact of cannabis
use on the ability to operate a motor vehicle and traffic safety;
���� (2)�� motor vehicle crash
statistics before and after cannabis legalization;
���� (3)�� public perception
regarding the dangers of driving while under the influence of cannabis, to
include the perspectives of a wide range of individuals;
���� (4)�� reasons why a person
would choose to drive under the influence of cannabis;
���� (5) effective strategies to
inform the public of the danger of driving while under the influence of
cannabis;
���� (6)�� the effectiveness of
past public awareness campaigns to reduce incidents of driving while
intoxicated; and
���� (7)�� any other pertinent
information needed to assure the safety of the public, including persons
operating motor vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
���� b.��� The task force shall
propose a new public awareness campaign and make recommendations regarding any
action that it deems necessary to prevent persons from operating a motor
vehicle under the influence of cannabis and cannabis related traffic
fatalities.�
���� 3.��� a.� The task force shall
organize within nine months of the enactment into law of legislation legalizing
for recreational use or decriminalizing certain amounts of cannabis and shall
select a chairperson and vice-chairperson from among its members.� The chairperson
shall appoint a secretary, who need not be a member of the task force.
���� b.��� The task force shall
regularly meet and hold hearings at the places it designates, and the presence
of eleven members of the task force shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of
the task force.
���� c.���� The task force may
request at these hearings the appearance of officials of any State agency or
political subdivision of the State and may solicit testimony or interested
groups and the general public, including but not limited to law enforcement
agencies, civic organizations, and advocacy groups with an interest in the
prevention of drunk or impaired driving or roadway safety.
���� 4.��� The task force shall be
entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the
employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau,
commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for its
purposes, and to employ stenographic and clerical assistance and incur
traveling and other miscellaneous expenses necessary to perform its duties,
within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it for
its purposes.
���� 5.��� Members of the task
force shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary
expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the
task force.
���� 6.��� The task force shall report its findings and recommendations,
including legislative proposals, to the Governor, and to the Legislature
pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), annually for a period
of five years beginning no later than 24 months following the organization of
the task force.� Upon the filing of its final report the task force shall
expire.
���� 7.��� This joint resolution
shall take effect immediately upon the enactment into law of legislation
legalizing or decriminalizing certain amounts of cannabis and shall expire upon
the submission of the task force�s final report required pursuant to section 6 of
this act.
STATEMENT
���� This joint resolution
establishes a 21-member �Task Force on Cannabis Related Traffic Fatalities� to
study the issue of cannabis related traffic fatalities and examine methods to
prevent the incidence of cannabis related traffic fatalities.� In addition, the
task force is to make recommendations to enhance government services,
enforcement, education, and interventions to prevent cannabis related traffic
fatalities.
���� The task force is to be
comprised of the following 21 members: the Commissioner of Transportation, ex
officio, or a designee; Attorney General, ex officio, or a designee; Chief
Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, ex officio, or a
designee; a researcher from a college or university that engages in the study
of issues related to cannabis legalization; Executive Director of the
Governor�s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, ex officio, or a designee; the
Director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety in the Department of Law and
Public Safety, ex officio, or a designee; the Superintendent of State Police,
ex officio, or a designee; a representative from the Fraternal Order of Police
having expertise on the effects of cannabis on the operation of a motor
vehicle; a representative from the Police Benevolent Association; Commissioner
of Human Services, ex officio, or a designee; three members of the New Jersey
State Association of Chiefs of Police, to include a member from each of the
southern, central, and northern regions of the State; a representative from the
State Troopers Fraternal Association having expertise on the effects of
cannabis on the operation of a motor vehicle; and seven member of the public
whom shall have education or experience in highway traffic safety.
���� At a minimum, the task force
is to consider the following:
���� (1)�� the impact of cannabis
use on driving ability and traffic safety;
���� (2)�� motor vehicle crash
statistics before and after cannabis legalization;
���� (3)�� public perception
regarding the dangers of driving while under the influence of cannabis, to
include the perspectives of a wide range of individuals;
���� (4)�� reasons why a person
would choose to drive under the influence of cannabis;
���� (5) effective strategies to
inform the public concerning the danger of driving while under the influence of
cannabis;
���� (6)�� the effectiveness of
past public awareness campaigns to reduce incidents of driving while
intoxicated;
���� (7)�� any other pertinent
information needed to assure the safety of the public, including persons
operating motor vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
���� The task force is to propose a
new public awareness campaign and make recommendations regarding any action
that it deems necessary to prevent cannabis related traffic fatalities and
driving while under the influence of cannabis.
���� The task force is to organize
within nine months of the enactment into law of legislation legalizing
recreational use or decriminalizing certain amounts of cannabis.� The task
force is to report its findings and recommendations, including legislative proposals,
to the Governor, and to the Legislature annually for a period of five years
beginning no later than 24 months following the organization of the task
force.� Upon the filing of its final report the task force is to expire.