A3149 1R

An Act providing for the issuance of special license plates to Bronze Star recipients and supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.

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

¹[1. a. Upon application of any person who is the holder of a Bronze Star medal as certified on the applicant's DD-214 form or on a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, the chief administrator shall issue, for the motor vehicle owned or leased by the person, distinctive plates bearing a design approved by the chief administrator, in addition to the registration number and other markings or identification prescribed by law. The plates shall bear the words "Bronze Star" and depict the Bronze Star emblem.

b. The fee for these special plates shall be $15 in addition to the fees otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of motor vehicles. The chief administrator shall retain the $15 fee to reimburse the commission for costs incurred in producing the license plates.

c. The surviving spouse of a former holder of the Bronze Star who is licensed to operate a motor vehicle in this State under the provisions of R.S.39:3-10 may retain the special license plates obtained by the deceased spouse pursuant to this section for display on a motor vehicle registered to the surviving spouse under the provisions of R.S.39:3-4.

d. The chief administrator may promulgate rules and regulations governing the issuance and use of these registration plates.]¹

¹1. a. Upon proper application, the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall issue Bronze Star Medal 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 plate shall display the words “Bronze Star” and depict the Bronze Star emblem. The chief administrator, in consultation with the Adjutant General of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs, shall select the design of the Bronze Star Medal license plates. The Bronze Star Medal license plates shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 3 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, except as hereinafter otherwise specifically provided.

b. Application for issuance of a Bronze Star Medal license plate shall be made to the chief administrator on forms and in a
manner prescribed by the chief administrator. The application shall include proof satisfactory to the chief administrator that the applicant is a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal as certified on the applicant's DD‑214 form or on a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. 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 a motor vehicle. The chief administrator shall collect annually, subsequent to the year of issuance of the Bronze Star Medal license plate, a $10 fee for the license plate in addition to the fee otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of a motor vehicle. The additional fees required by this subsection shall be deposited in the “Bronze Star Medal License Plate Fund” created pursuant to subsection c. of this section.

The surviving spouse of a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal who is eligible to operate a motor vehicle in this State under the provisions of R.S.39:3-10 may retain the special license plates obtained by the deceased spouse pursuant to this section for display on a motor vehicle owned or leased by the surviving spouse.

c. There is created in the Department of the Treasury a special non-lapsing fund to be known as the "Bronze Star Medal 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. Monies deposited in the fund shall be appropriated annually to the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs and shall be used to support programs benefiting recipients of the Bronze Star Medal. 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 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 "Bronze Star Medal 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 Bronze Star Medal license plates; and

(2) any computer programming changes that may be initially necessary to implement the Bronze Star Medal 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 Bronze Star Medal 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 Bronze Star Medal license plates.

e. The chief administrator shall notify eligible motorists of the opportunity to obtain Bronze Star Medal license plates by publicizing the availability of the license plates on the commission’s website. The New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs, and any other individual or entity designated by the department, may publicize the availability of the Bronze Star Medal license plates in any manner that the department deems appropriate.

f. The chief administrator and adjutant general 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 adjutant general shall appoint a representative who shall act as a liaison between the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs and the commission. The liaison shall represent the department in any and all communications with the commission regarding the Bronze Star Medal license plates established by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).¹

¹[2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month after enactment.]¹

¹2. a. No State or public funds shall be used by the commission for the initial cost of:

(1) designing, producing, issuing, and publicizing the availability of Bronze Star Medal license plates; or

(2) any computer programming changes which may be necessary to implement the Bronze Star Medal license plate program.

b. An individual or entity designated by the New Jersey Department of Military and 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 Bronze Star Medal license plates, and any computer programming which 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 Bronze Star Medal license plates. Any amount remaining after the payment of the initial cost shall be deposited in the “Bronze Star Medal 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 Bronze Star Medal license plates, or making any necessary programming changes, until the following requirements have been met:

(1) The individual or entity designated by the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs 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 Bronze Star Medal 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 Bronze Star Medal license plates. These applications shall constitute the initial order for Bronze Star Medal 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).¹

¹3. 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 chief administrator may take anticipatory acts in advance of that date as may be necessary for the timely implementation 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.¹