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S3488
SENATE, No. 3488
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 12, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� JAMES BEACH
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Senator� ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Diegnan
SYNOPSIS
���� Authorizes special "We Support the Arts"
license plates with proceeds to New Jersey State Council on Arts.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning 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.��� Upon proper application,
the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall issue
support the arts 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 support the arts license
plate shall display the slogan �We Support the Arts.�� The chief administrator
shall choose the design, including an emblem and color scheme, based upon the
results of a Statewide contest for the design of the plates.
���� 2.��� Application for issuance
of a support the arts license plate 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
fee otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of motor vehicles.� The
chief administrator shall collect annually, subsequent to the year of issuance
of the support the arts license plate, a $10 fee for the license plate in
addition to the fees otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of a
motor vehicle.
���� 3.��� a. There shall be
deposited into a special non-lapsing account to be known as the �Support the
Arts Fund� the additional application and renewal fees collected pursuant to
section 2 of
P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and
any interest earned thereon, less the amounts necessary to reimburse the New
Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission for administrative costs pursuant to this
section.� The monies in the fund shall be distributed to the New Jersey State
Council on the Arts in the Department of State, established pursuant to section
1 of P.L.1966 c.214 (C.52:16A-25) to support the arts in New Jersey.
���� b.��� Prior to the deposit of
license plate fees collected pursuant to section 2 of P.L.��� , c.���
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) into the fund,
amounts thereof as are necessary shall be used to reimburse the commission for
costs reasonably and actually incurred, as stipulated by the chief
administrator, for producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the
availability of support the arts license plates, including the cost of any
initial computer programming changes.
���� c.��� The chief administrator
annually shall 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 support the
arts license plates.� The annual certification of the average cost per license
plate shall be approved by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee, or its
successor.
���� d.��� 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 section 2 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.�������
) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) in two consecutive fiscal
years, the chief administrator may discontinue the issuance of support the arts
license plates.
���� 4.��� The chief administrator
shall notify eligible motorists of the opportunity to obtain support the arts
license plates by including a notice with all motor vehicle registration
renewals and by posting appropriate posters or signs in all commission facilities
and offices.� The notices, posters, and signs shall be designed by the
commission, after consultation with the artist who submitted the winning
design.
���� 5.��� a. �State or public
funds shall not be used by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission for the
initial cost of:
���� (1) designing, producing,
issuing, and publicizing the availability of support the arts license plates;
or
���� (2) any computer programming
changes which may be necessary to implement the support the arts license plate
program established by P.L. ���, c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).
���� b.��� The New Jersey State
Council on the Arts, or an individual or entity designated by the New Jersey
State Council on the Arts, 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 support the arts
license plates, and any computer programming which may be necessary to
implement the program.� Concerned organizations and individual donors may
contribute monies to the New Jersey State Council on the Arts to be used to
offset the initial costs incurred by the commission for the support the arts
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 �Support the Arts Fund� established
pursuant to section 3 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 support
the arts license plates, or making any necessary programming changes, until the
following requirements have been met:
���� (1)� the New Jersey State
Council on the Arts, or an individual or entity designated by the New Jersey
State Council on the Arts, 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 support the arts license plate program; and
���� (2)� the New Jersey State
Council on the Arts, or an individual or entity designated by the New Jersey
State Council on the Arts, has provided the commission with not less than 500
completed applications for support the arts license plates.� These applications
shall constitute the initial order for support the arts 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 section 2 of P.L.� ��, c.��� (C.������� )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill).
���� 6.��� 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 5 of this act have been
satisfied.� The chief administrator may take anticipatory actions in advance of
that date as may be necessary for the timely implementation of this act.� This
act shall expire on the last day of the 12th month following enactment if the
conditions set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection c. of section 5 of
this act are not satisfied by that date.
STATEMENT
���� This bill
authorizes the issuance of special
�We Support the Arts� license plates, with proceeds dedicated to the New Jersey
State Council on the Arts (council).� The design of the license plate would be
chosen by the Chief Administrator (chief administrator) of the New Jersey Motor
Vehicle Commission (commission) after conducting a Statewide contest.� The
license plate design is required to include the slogan �We Support the Arts.�
����� There is a $50 initial fee for the license plate, in
addition to the registration fees required by law, and a $10 annual fee, in
addition to the renewal fees required by law.� The monies raised, after
reimbursement to the commission, are to be deposited into the �Support the Arts
Fund,� as established by this bill.
����� Under the bill, the commission is prohibited from
using State or public funds for the initial cost of designing, producing,
issuing, and publicizing the availability of support the arts license plates,
or for any computer programming changes which may be necessary to implement the
support the arts license plate program.� The council, or an individual or
entity designated by the council, is required to contribute non-public monies
in an amount to be determined by the chief administrator, not to exceed $25,000,
to be used to offset these initial costs and computer programing changes. The
council, or designated individual or entity, is also required to provide the
commission with not less than 500 completed applications for support the arts
license plates, along with the initial fee for each application, constituting
the initial order for support the arts license plates.
����� The bill would take effect immediately, but would
remain inoperative until the first day of the seventh month following the date
on which the specified non-public moneys and initial applications are delivered
to the commission.� The bill would expire if these requirements are not met by
the last day of the 12th month following the date of enactment.