Authorizes creation of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. license plates.

S3233

SENATE, No. 3233

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 2, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� SHIRLEY K. TURNER

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

Senator� RENEE C. BURGESS

District 28 (Essex and Union)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators Timberlake, Wimberly and McKnight

SYNOPSIS

���� Authorizes creation of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority,
Inc. license plates.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

authorizing the creation and issuance of Delta
Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. license plates, supplementing Title 39 of the
Revised Statutes, and repealing P.L.2018, c.109.

����
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 Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. license plates for any motor
vehicle owned or leased and registered in this State.� In addition to the
registration number and other markings or identification otherwise prescribed
by law, the license plates shall display appropriate words or a slogan and
emblem honoring the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.� The chief administrator
shall, in consultation with the Eastern Regional Director of Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Inc., select the design and color scheme of the Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Inc. license plates.� The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. license
plates shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 3 of Title 39 of the
Revised Statutes, except as hereinafter otherwise provided.�

���� b.��� Application for issuance
of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. license plates shall be made to the chief
administrator on forms and in a manner prescribed by the chief administrator.�
In order to be deemed complete, an application shall be accompanied by a fee of
$50, payable to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle 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 Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 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 �Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
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 �Delta
Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 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, less the amounts necessary to reimburse the
commission for administrative costs pursuant to subsection d. of this section.�
The monies deposited in the fund shall be appropriated annually to the Delta
Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and shall be used to provide grant funding to
support the organization�s mission and programs, which include educational
development programs for youth and economic development, social action, and
health initiatives for disadvantaged communities.�

���� 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 securities approved by the State Treasurer.� Interest or other
income earned on monies deposited into 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 "Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 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 Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Inc. license plates; and

���� (2)�� any computer programming
changes that may be initially necessary to implement the Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Inc. 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 Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Inc. 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 Delta
Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. license plates.�

���� e.���� The chief administrator
shall notify eligible motorists of the opportunity to obtain Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Inc. license plates by publicizing the availability of the license
plates on the commission�s website.� The Eastern Region of Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Inc., and any other individual or entity designated by the Eastern
Region of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., may publicize the availability of
the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. license plates in any manner that the
Eastern Region of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. deems appropriate.�

���� f.���� The chief administrator
and the Eastern Regional Director of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 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 Eastern Regional
Director of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. shall appoint a representative who
shall act as a liaison between the Eastern Region of Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Inc. and the commission.� The liaison shall represent the Eastern
Region of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. in any and all communications with
the commission regarding the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 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 Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
license plates; or

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

���� b.��� The Eastern Region of
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. or an individual or entity designated by the
Eastern Region of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., 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 Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. license plates, and any computer
programming which may be necessary to implement the program. Concerned
organizations and individual donors may contribute monies to the Eastern Region
of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. to be used to offset the initial costs
incurred by the commission for the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 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 �Delta Sigma
Theta Sorority, Inc. 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
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. license plates, or making any necessary
programming changes, until the following requirements have been met:

���� (1)�� the Eastern Region of
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. or an individual or entity designated by the
Eastern Region of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., 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 Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. license plate
program; and

���� (2)�� the liaison appointed by
the Eastern Regional Director of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 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 Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Inc. license plates.� These applications shall constitute the initial
order for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 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.��� P.L.2018, c.109
(C.39:3-27.152 et seq.) is repealed.

���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect immediately, but shall remain inoperative until the first day of the
seventh month following the date on which the conditions set forth in
paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection c. of section 2 of this act have been
satisfied.� The chief administrator may take anticipatory acts 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)
.� This act 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 Chief
Administrator (chief administrator) of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission
(commission) to issue special Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (Delta Sigma
Theta) license plates.

���� The bill provides that the
design of the Delta Sigma Theta license plate is to display appropriate words
or a slogan and an emblem honoring the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.� The
chief administrator is to, in consultation with the Eastern Regional Director
of Delta Sigma Theta, select the design and color scheme of the Delta Sigma
Theta license plates.

���� In addition to all fees
otherwise required by law for the registration of a motor vehicle, there is an
application fee of $50 and an annual renewal fee of $10 for the Delta Sigma
Theta license plates.� After the deduction of the cost of designing, producing,
issuing, renewing, and publicizing the plates and of any computer programming
changes that are necessary to implement the license plate program, in an amount
not to exceed $150,000, the additional fees will be deposited into a special
non-lapsing fund known as the �Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. License Plate
Fund.�� The proceeds of the fund are to be annually appropriated to Delta Sigma
Theta to be used to support the organization's mission and programs.

���� The chief administrator is
required to annually certify the average cost of producing, issuing, renewing,
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 Delta Sigma Theta license plate program.� The
bill also requires that the Eastern Regional Director of Delta Sigma Theta
appoint a liaison to represent the Eastern Region of Delta Sigma Theta (Eastern
Region) in all communications with the commission regarding the Delta Sigma
Theta license plates.

���� The chief administrator is
responsible for publicizing the availability of the license plates on the
website of the commission.� The Eastern Region, or an individual or entity
designated by the Eastern Region, may also publicize the availability of the license
plates in any manner the Eastern Region deems appropriate.

���� The bill provides that State
or other public funds are not to be used by the commission for the initial cost
to implement the Delta Sigma Theta license plate program.� The bill requires
the Eastern Region or an individual or entity designated by the Eastern Region
to contribute non-public monies in an amount to be determined by the chief
administrator, not to exceed $25,000, to offset the initial costs to design,
produce, issue, and publicize the license plates and for computer programming
changes which may be necessary to implement the program.� The bill authorizes
the Eastern Region 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 Delta
Sigma Theta license plates or make any necessary programming changes, until:
(1) the Eastern Region or the individual or entity designated by the Eastern
Region has provided the commission with the money necessary to offset the
initial costs incurred by the commission in establishing the Delta Sigma Theta
license plate program; and (2) the Eastern Region liaison has provided the
commission with a minimum of 500 completed applications for the Delta Sigma
Theta license plates.

���� This bill repeals an expired
section of law authorizing the creation and issuance of Delta Sigma Theta
license plates.

���� The provisions of the bill
will remain inoperative until the first day of the seventh month after the
appropriate applications and fees required to offset the initial costs incurred
by the commission are provided to the commission.� The bill expires on the last
day of the 12th month after enactment if sufficient applications and fees to
offset the initial costs are not received by that date.