Amends definition of "commercial motor vehicle" to revise minimum passenger capacity threshold.

S4293

SENATE, No. 4293

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 14, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� BENJIE E. WIMBERLY

District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Amends definition of �commercial motor vehicle� to
revise minimum passenger capacity threshold.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning commercial driver licenses and amending
P.L.1990,
c.103.

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

���� 1.��� Section 3 of P.L.1990,
c.103 (C.39:3-10.11) is amended to read as follows:�

���� 3.��� For purposes of this
act, a term shall have the meaning set forth in R.S.39:1-1 unless another
meaning for the term is set forth in this act, or unless another meaning is
clearly apparent from the language or context of this act, or unless the
meaning for the term set forth in R.S.39:1-1 is inconsistent with the manifest
intent of the Legislature in this act.�

���� For purposes of this act:

���� "Alcohol
concentration" means:

���� The number of grams of alcohol
per 100 milliliters of blood; or

���� The number of grams of alcohol
per 210 liters of breath.

���� "Commercial driver
license" or "CDL" means a license issued in accordance with this
act to a person authorizing the person to operate a certain class of commercial
motor vehicle.

���� "Commercial Driver
License Information System" or "CDLIS" means the information
system established pursuant to Pub.L.103-272 (49 U.S.C. s.31309) to serve as a
clearinghouse for locating information related to the licensing and identification
of commercial motor vehicle drivers.

���� "Commercial learner's
permit" or "CLP" means a permit issued in accordance with
P.L.1990, c.103 (C.39:3-10.9 et seq.) to a person which, when carried with a
valid driver license issued by the same state or jurisdiction, authorizes the
person to operate a certain class of commercial motor vehicle when accompanied
by a holder of a valid CDL for purposes of behind-the-wheel training.

���� "Commercial motor
vehicle" or "CMV" means a motor vehicle or combination of motor
vehicles used or designed to transport passengers or property:

���� If the vehicle has a gross
vehicle weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds or displays a gross vehicle
weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds;

���� If the vehicle has a gross
combination weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds inclusive of a towed unit
with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds;

���� If the vehicle is designed to
transport
[
16
]

15
or
more passengers
[
including
the driver
]

, in addition to the driver
;

����
[
If the vehicle is designed to
transport eight or more but less than 16 persons, including the driver, and is
used to transport such persons for hire on a daily basis to and from places of
employment;
]

���� If the vehicle is transporting
or used in the transportation of hazardous materials and is required to be
placarded in accordance with Subpart F. of 49 C.F.R. s.172, or the vehicle
displays a hazardous material placard; or

���� If the vehicle is operated by,
or under contract with, a public or governmental agency, or religious or other
charitable organization or corporation, or is privately operated, and is used
for the transportation of children 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.

���� The chief administrator may,
by regulation, include within this definition such other motor vehicles or
combination of motor vehicles as the chief administrator deems appropriate
,
except that a vehicle designed to transport eight or more, but less than 16
persons, including the driver, shall not be included within this definition
.

���� This term shall not include
recreation vehicles.

���� This term shall not include
motor vehicles designed to transport eight or more but less than sixteen
persons, including the driver, which are owned and operated directly by
businesses engaged in the practice of mortuary science when those vehicles are
used exclusively for providing transportation related to the provision of
funeral services and which shall not be used in that capacity at any time to
pick up or discharge passengers to any airline terminal, train station or other
transportation center, or for any purpose not directly related to the provision
of funeral services.

���� "Controlled
substance" means any substance so classified under subsection (6) of
section 102 of the "Controlled Substances Act" (21 U.S.C. s.802), and
includes all substances listed on Schedules I through V of 21 C.F.R. s.1308, or
under P.L.1970, c.226 (C.24:21-1 et seq.) as they may be revised from time to
time.� The term, wherever it appears in this act or administrative regulation
promulgated pursuant to this act, shall include controlled substance analogs.

���� "Controlled substance
analog" means a substance that has a chemical structure substantially
similar to that of a controlled dangerous substance and that was specifically
designed to produce an effect substantially similar to that of a controlled
dangerous substance.� The term shall not include a substance manufactured or
distributed in conformance with the provisions of an approved new drug
application or an exemption for investigational use within the meaning of
section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. s.355).

���� "Conviction" means a
final adjudication that a violation has occurred, a final judgment on a
verdict, a finding of guilt in a tribunal of original jurisdiction, or a
conviction following a plea of guilty, non vult or nolo contendere accepted by
a court.� It also includes an unvacated forfeiture of bail, bond or collateral
deposited to secure the person's appearance in court, or the payment of a fine
or court costs, or violation of a condition of release without bail, regardless
of whether the penalty is rebated, suspended, or probated.

���� "Disqualification"
means either:

���� The suspension, revocation,
cancellation, or any other withdrawal by a state of a person's privilege to
operate a commercial motor vehicle;

���� A determination by the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration under the rules of practice for motor
carrier safety contained in 49 C.F.R. s.386, that a person is no longer
qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle under 49 C.F.R. s.391; or

���� The loss of qualification
which automatically follows conviction of an offense listed in 49 C.F.R.
s.383.51.

���� "Domicile" means
that state where a person has a true, fixed, and permanent home and principal
residence and to which the person intends to return whenever the person is
absent.

���� "Downgrade" means:

���� to change a driver's
self-certification to interstate, but operating exclusively in transportation
or operations excepted from 49 C.F.R. Part 391, as provided in 49 C.F.R.
s.390.3T(f), 49 C.F.R.� s.391.2, 49 C.F.R. s.391.68, or 49 C.F.R. s.398.3;

���� to change a driver's
self-certification to intrastate only, if the driver qualifies under the
department's physical qualification requirements for intrastate only;

���� to change a driver's
self-certification to intrastate, but operating exclusively in transportation
or operations excepted from all or part of the driver qualification
requirements; or

���� to remove a CLP or CDL
privilege from a driver license.

���� "Driver license"
means a license issued by this State or any other jurisdiction to a person
authorizing the person to operate a motor vehicle.

���� "Drug and alcohol
clearinghouse" means the drug and alcohol clearinghouse maintained by the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

���� "Endorsement" means
an authorization to a commercial driver license required to permit the holder
of the license to operate certain types of commercial motor vehicles.

���� "Felony" means any
offense under any federal law or the law of a state, including this State, that
is punishable by death or imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.� The term
includes, but is not limited to, "crimes" as that term is defined in
N.J.S.2C:1-1 et seq.

���� "Foreign
jurisdiction" means any jurisdiction other than a state of the United
States.

���� "Gross vehicle weight
rating" or "GVWR" means the value specified by a manufacturer as
the loaded weight of a single or a combination (articulated) vehicle, or the
registered gross weight, whichever is greater.� The GVWR of a combination
(articulated) vehicle, commonly referred to as the "gross combination
weight rating" or "GCWR," is the GVWR of the power unit plus the
GVWR of the towed unit or units.� In the absence of a value specified for the
towed unit or units by the manufacturer, the GVWR of a combination
(articulated) vehicle is the GVWR of the power unit plus the total weight of
the towed unit, including the loads on them.

���� "Hazardous material"
means a substance or material determined by the Secretary of the United States
Department of Transportation to be capable of posing an unreasonable risk to
health, safety, and property when transported in commerce and so designated
pursuant to the provisions of 49 U.S.C. s.5101 et seq.

���� "Motor vehicle"
includes all vehicles propelled otherwise than by muscular power, except such
vehicles as run only upon rails or tracks. �The term "motor vehicle"
includes motorized bicycles.

���� "Non-commercial motor
vehicle" means a motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles other than
a "commercial motor vehicle" as defined in this section.�

���� "Out-of-service
order" means a declaration by an authorized enforcement officer of a
federal, state, Canadian, Mexican, or local jurisdiction that a driver, a
commercial motor vehicle, or a motor carrier operation is out-of-service
pursuant to 49 C.F.R. s.386.72, 49 C.F.R. s.392.5, 49 C.F.R. s.395.13, 49
C.F.R. s.396.9, or any compatible law or the North American Uniform
Out-of-Service Criteria.

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

���� "Representative
vehicle" means a motor vehicle which represents the type of motor vehicle
that a commercial driver license applicant operates or expects to operate.

���� "Safety-sensitive
function" means all time from the time a driver begins to work or is
required to be in readiness to work until the time the driver is relieved from
work and all responsibility for performing work.� "Safety-sensitive functions"
shall include, but not be limited to:

���� all time at an employer or
shipper plant, terminal, facility, or other property or on any public property
waiting to be dispatched, unless the driver has been relieved from duty by the
employer;

���� all time inspecting equipment
as required by 49 C.F.R. s.392.7 and 49 C.F.R. s.392.8 or otherwise inspecting,
servicing, or conditioning any commercial motor vehicle at any time;

���� all time spent at the driving
controls of a commercial motor vehicle in operation;

���� all time, other than driving
time, in or upon any commercial motor vehicle except time spent resting in a
sleeper berth, which is a berth conforming to the requirements of 49 C.F.R.
s.393.76;

���� all time loading or unloading
a vehicle, supervising, or assisting in the loading or unloading, attending a
vehicle being loaded or unloaded, remaining in readiness to operate the
vehicle, or in giving or receiving receipts for shipments loaded or unloaded;
and

���� all time repairing, obtaining
assistance, or remaining in attendance upon a disabled vehicle.

���� "Self-certification"
means the certification made by a person applying for a CDL pursuant to 49
C.F.R. s.383.71, certifying that the person:

���� operates or expects to operate
in interstate commerce, is both subject to and meets the qualification
requirements under 49 C.F.R. Part 391, and is required to obtain a medical
examiner's certificate by 49 C.F.R. s.391.45;

���� operates or expects to operate
in interstate commerce, but engages exclusively in transportation or operations
excepted under 49 C.F.R. s.390.3T(f), 49 C.F.R. s.391.2, 49 C.F.R. s.391.68, or
49 C.F.R. s.398.3 from all or parts of the qualification requirements under 49
C.F.R. Part 391, and is therefore not required to obtain a medical examiner's
certificate by 49 C.F.R. s.391.45;

���� operates only in intrastate
commerce and therefore is subject to State driver qualification requirements;
or

���� operates in intrastate
commerce, but engages exclusively in transportation or operations excepted from
all or parts of the State driver qualification requirements.

���� "Serious traffic
violation" means conviction for one of the following offenses committed
while operating a commercial motor vehicle:

���� Excessive speeding, involving
any single offense for a speed of 15 miles per hour or more above the speed
limit;

���� Reckless driving, as defined
by state or local law or regulation, including, but not limited to, offenses of
driving a commercial motor vehicle in willful or wanton disregard of the safety
of persons or property, including violations of R.S.39:4-96;

���� Improper or erratic traffic
lane changes;

���� Following a vehicle ahead too
closely, including violations of R.S.39:4-89;

���� A violation, arising in
connection with a fatal accident, of state or local law relating to motor
vehicle traffic control other than a parking violation;

���� Any other violation of a state
or local law relating to motor vehicle traffic control determined by the
Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation in 49 C.F.R.
s.383.51 to be a serious traffic violation;

���� Driving a commercial motor
vehicle without a commercial driver license in the driver's possession; or

���� Driving a commercial motor
vehicle without the proper class of commercial driver license or endorsements
for the specific vehicle group being operated or for the passengers or type of
cargo being transported.

���� This term shall not include
vehicle weight or defect violations.

���� "State" means a
state of the United States or the District of Columbia.

���� "Tank vehicle" means
any commercial motor vehicle that is designed to transport any liquid or
gaseous material within a tank that is either permanently or temporarily
attached to the vehicle or the chassis.� Such vehicles include, but are not limited
to, cargo tanks and portable tanks as defined by the chief administrator.�
However, this definition does not include portable tanks having a rated
capacity under 1,000 gallons.

���� "Vehicle group"
means a class or type of vehicle with certain operating characteristics.

(cf:� P.L.2024, c.72, s.1)

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill amends the
definition of �commercial motor vehicle� under the �New Jersey Commercial
Driver License Act� to revise the minimum passenger capacity threshold.�

���� Under current law, a person is
prohibited from operating a commercial motor vehicle in this State without
possession of a commercial driver license (CDL).� A commercial motor vehicle is
currently defined in statute as a vehicle that:� (1) is designed to transport
eight or more but less than 16 persons, including the driver, which is used to
transport such persons for hire on a daily basis to and from places of
employment; (2) is designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the
driver; (3) has a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 26,001 or more pounds
or displays a GVWR rating of 26,001 or more pounds; (4) has a gross combination
weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds inclusive of a towed unit with a GVWR of
more than 10,000 pounds; (5) is transporting, or is used to transport,
hazardous materials and is required to be placarded in accordance with federal
regulations or displays a hazardous material placard; or (6) is operated by, or
under contract with, a public or governmental agency or a religious or other
charitable organization or corporation, or is privately operated, and is used
to transport children to and from certain locations.

���� The bill, while maintaining
all other provisions of the definition of commercial motor vehicle:� (1) makes
a technical change to clarify that a vehicle is to be designated as a
commercial motor vehicle if the vehicle is designed to transport 15 or more passengers,
in addition to the driver; and (2) removes a provision designating a vehicle as
a commercial motor vehicle if the vehicle is designed to transport eight or
more but less than 16 persons, including the driver, and is used to transport
such persons for hire on a daily basis to and from places of employment.� Under
this revised definition, a person is no longer required to possess a CDL to
operate a vehicle designed to transport less than 16 passengers, including the
driver.