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S3818
SENATE, No. 3818
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 5, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
Senator� NILSA I. CRUZ-PEREZ
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblywoman� YVONNE LOPEZ
District 19 (Middlesex)
Assemblywoman� CARMEN THERESA MORALES
District 34 (Essex)
Assemblywoman� ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
���� Authorizes creation of Borinqueneers license plates.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
authorizing the creation and issuance of Borinqueneers
license plates and supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.
����
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 Borinqueneers 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 the words �The Borinqueneers� along with an image or other
pictorial designation of the 65th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army.�
The chief administrator shall, in consultation with the Commissioner of the
Department of Veterans Affairs, select the design and color scheme of the Borinqueneers
license plates.� The Borinqueneers 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 Borinqueneers license plates shall be made to the chief administrator on
forms and in a manner prescribed by the chief administrator.� 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
Borinqueneers 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 �Borinqueneers
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 �Borinqueneers
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 Department of
Veterans Affairs and shall be used to support programs benefiting veterans of
the United States Army.
���� 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 that may be
appropriated or otherwise become available for purposes of the fund, shall be
credited to and deposited in the fund for use as set forth in P.L. ,
c. (C. )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill).
���� d.��� Prior to the deposit of
the additional fees collected pursuant to subsection b. of this section into
the �Borinqueneers 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 Borinqueneers
license plates; and
���� (2)�� any computer programming
changes that may be initially necessary to implement the Borinqueneers 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 Borinqueneers
license plates.� The annual certification of the average cost per license plate
shall be approved by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee or its successor.
���� If 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 Borinqueneers
license plates.
���� e.���� The chief administrator
shall notify eligible motorists of the opportunity to obtain Borinqueneers
license plates by publicizing the availability of the license plates on the
commission�s website.� The Department of Veterans Affairs, and any other
individual or entity designated by the department, may publicize the
availability of the Borinqueneers license plates in any manner that the
department deems appropriate.
���� f.���� The chief administrator
and the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall develop and
enter into an inter-departmental 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 Commissioner of the
Department of Veterans Affairs shall appoint a representative who shall act as
a liaison between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the commission.� The
liaison shall represent the department in any and all communications with the
commission regarding the Borinqueneers license plate program 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 Borinqueneers license plates; or
���� (2)�� any computer programming
changes which may be necessary to implement the Borinqueneers license plate
program established by P.L. , c.
(C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).
���� b.��� An individual or entity
designated by the Department of Veterans Affairs 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 the Borinqueneers license plates and for any computer programming that may
be necessary to implement the program.� Concerned organizations and individual
donors may contribute monies to the department to be used to offset the initial
costs incurred by the commission for the Borinqueneers 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 �Borinqueneers 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 Borinqueneers
license plates, or making any necessary programming changes, until the
following requirements have been met:�
���� (1)�� an individual or entity
designated by the Department of Veterans Affairs has provided the commission
with the non-public monies 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 Borinqueneers license plate program; and
���� (2)�� the liaison appointed by
the department 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 Borinqueneers license plates.� These
applications shall constitute the initial order for the Borinqueneers 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.��� This act shall take
effect immediately but shall remain inoperative until the first day of the 13th
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 department
may take anticipatory acts in advance of that date as may be necessary for the
timely implementation of this act.� This act shall expire if the conditions set
forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection c. of section 2 of this act are
not satisfied by the last day of the 12th month following enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill authorizes the Chief
Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (commission) to issue
special Borinqueneers license plates to honor the 65th Infantry Regiment of the
United States Army, nicknamed �the Borinqueneers.�
���� The bill provides that the
design of the Borinqueneers license plate is to display the words �The
Borinqueneers� along with an image or other pictorial designation of the 65th
Infantry Regiment of the United States Army.� The chief administrator, in
consultation with the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Affairs
(department), is to select the design and color scheme of the Borinqueneers
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 Borinqueneers 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, additional fees will
be deposited into a special non-lapsing fund known as the �Borinqueneers License
Plate Fund.�� The proceeds of the fund are to be annually appropriated to the
department and are to be used to support programs benefiting veterans of the
United States Army.
���� 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 license plate program.� The bill also
requires that the commissioner appoint a liaison to represent the department in
all communications with the commission regarding the Borinqueneers license
plates.
���� The bill provides that State
or other public funds are not to be used by the commission for the initial cost
to implement the Borinqueneers license plate program.� The bill requires an
individual or entity designated by the department to contribute non-public
monies, not to exceed $25,000, to offset the initial costs to design, produce,
issue, and publicize the license plates and for computer programming changes that
may be necessary to implement the program.� The bill authorizes the department
to receive funds from private sources to be used to offset the initial costs.
���� The commission is not required
to design, produce, issue, or publicize the availability of the license plates,
until: �(1) the individual or entity designated by the department has provided
the commission with the money necessary to offset the initial costs incurred by
the commission in establishing the license plate program; and (2) the
department liaison has provided the commission with a minimum of 500 completed
applications for the license plates.
���� The provisions of the bill
will remain inoperative until the first day of the 13th 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.