A4256

An Act concerning special “Island Spirit” 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. a. Upon proper application, the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall issue “Island Spirit” 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 license plate shall display appropriate words or a slogan and an emblem honoring “Island Spirit.” The chief administrator shall select the design, including an emblem and color scheme, in consultation with the Caribbean Sports International, Inc. “Island Spirit” 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 an “Island Spirit” 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 “Island Spirit” 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. The additional fees required by this subsection shall be deposited in the “Island Spirit 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 “Island Spirit 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 Caribbean Sports International, Inc. for the purposes of financially supporting New Jersey residents, whose families immigrated from island countries, to attend a New Jersey college. 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 such securities as are approved by the State Treasurer. Interest or other income earned on monies deposited in 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 fund, amounts thereof as are necessary shall be used to reimburse the commission for all costs reasonable and actually incurred, as stipulated by the chief administrator, for:

(1) designing, producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of the “Island Spirit” license plates; and

(2) any computer programming changes that may be initially necessary to implement the “Island Spirit” license plate program established by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), 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 designing, producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of the “Island Spirit” 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 “Island Spirit” license plates.

e. The chief administrator shall notify eligible motorists of the opportunity to obtain “Island Spirit” license plates by publicizing the availability of the license plates on the commission’s website. The Caribbean Sports International, Inc., and any other individual or entity designated, may publicize the availability of “Island Spirit” license plates in any manner that the Caribbean Sports International, Inc. deems appropriate.

f. The chief administrator and the Caribbean Sports International, Inc. shall develop and enter into an interagency 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 Caribbean Sports International, Inc. shall appoint a representative who shall act as a liaison between the organization and the commission. The liaison shall represent the Caribbean Sports International, Inc. in any and all communications with the commission regarding the “Island Spirit” 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 “Island Spirit” license plates; or

(2) any computer programming changes which may be necessary to implement the “Island Spirit” license plate program established by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

b. The Caribbean Sports International, Inc. shall contribute non-public monies in an amount to be determined by the chief administrator, non-public 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 “Island Spirit” license plates, and any computer programming which may be necessary to implement the program. Concerned organizations and individual donors may contribute monies to the Caribbean Sports International, Inc. to be used to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission for the “Island Spirit” license plates authorized by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). Any amount remaining after the payment of the initial costs shall be deposited in the “Island Spirit 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 “Island Spirit” license plates, or making any necessary programming changes, until the following requirements have been met:

(1) The Caribbean Sports International, 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 “Island Spirit” license plate program; and

(2) The liaison appointed by the Caribbean Sports International, 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 “Island Spirit” license plates. These applications shall constitute the initial order for “Island Spirit” 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 plates being ordered by the applicable initial fee for each set of 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 inoperable 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 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 an “Island Spirit” license plate. The design of the license plate would be chosen by the chief administrator in consultation with Caribbean Sports International, Inc.

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 these plates. The additional fees, after the deduction of the cost of designing, producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the plates, will be deposited into a special non-lapsing fund known as the “Island Spirit License Plate Fund.” The proceeds of the fund are to be annually appropriated to the Caribbean Sports International, Inc. for the purpose of financially supporting New Jersey residents, whose families immigrated from island countries, to attend a New Jersey college.

The chief administrator is required to annually certify the average cost of designing, producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the “Island Spirit” license plates. If the average cost per plate exceeds $50 for two consecutive fiscal years, the chief administrator may discontinue the “Island Spirit” license plates.

The bill provides that State or public funds may not be used by the commission for the initial cost of designing, producing issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of “Island Spirit” license plates or any computer programming changes which may be necessary to implement the “Island Spirit” license plate program.

The bill also requires that Caribbean Sports International, Inc. contribute non-public monies in an amount to be determined by the chief administrator, not to exceed a total of $25,000, to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission for designing, producing, issuing, and publicizing the “Island Spirit” license plates, and for any computer programming which may be necessary to implement the program.

The bill prohibits the commission from designing, producing, issuing, or publicizing the “Island Spirit” license plates, or making any necessary computer programming changes, until: (1) the Caribbean Sports International, Inc. has provided the commission with the money necessary to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission in establishing the “Island Spirit” license plate program; and (2) Caribbean Sports International, Inc. has provided the commission with a minimum of 500 completed applications for “Island Spirit” license plates, upon the availability for purchase of those plates.

The chief administrator is responsible for publicizing the availability of the license plates on the commission’s website. The Caribbean Sports International, Inc. may also publicize the availability of “Island Spirit” license plates in any manner the board deems appropriate.

The provisions of the bill will remain inoperative until the appropriate applications and fees required to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission are provided by the board or its designee, and the license plate would be discontinued if sufficient applications and fees to offset the initial costs are not received.