A4233

An Act concerning motor vehicle window tint and amending various parts of the statutory law.

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

1. R.S.39:3-74 is amended to read as follows:

39:3-74. Every motor vehicle having a windshield shall be equipped with at least one device in good working order for cleaning rain, snow, or other moisture from the windshield [so as] to provide clear vision for the driver, and all [such] of these devices shall be so constructed and installed as to be operated or controlled by the driver.

[No] A person shall not drive [any] a motor vehicle with any sign, poster, sticker, or other non-transparent material upon the front windshield, wings, deflectors, side shields, corner lights adjoining windshield, or front side windows of [such] the vehicle other than a certificate or other article required to be [so] displayed by statute or by regulations of the [commissioner] chief administrator.

[No] A person shall not drive [any] a vehicle so constructed, equipped, or loaded as to unduly interfere with the driver’s vision to the front and to the sides.

A person shall not drive a motor vehicle with any tinted material on the windshield or the front side windows to the left and right of the driver, except as applied to the top six inches of the windshield or above the AS-1 marking on the windshield or as authorized pursuant to P.L.1999, c.308 (C.39:3-75.1 et seq.).

(cf: R.S.39:3-74)

2. R.S.39:8-1 is amended to read as follows:

39:8-1. a. Every motor vehicle registered in this State [which] that is used over any public road, street, or highway or over any public or quasi-public property in this State, and every vehicle subject to enhanced inspection and maintenance programs pursuant to 40 C.F.R. s.51.356, except motorcycles, historic motor vehicles registered as such, collector motor vehicles designated as such pursuant to this subsection, and those vehicles over 8,500 pounds gross weight that are under the inspection jurisdiction of the commission pursuant to Titles 27 and 48 of the Revised Statutes, shall be inspected by designated inspectors or at official inspection facilities to be designated by the commission or at licensed private inspection facilities. Passenger automobiles registered in accordance with R.S.39:3-4 or R.S.39:3-27, and noncommercial trucks registered in accordance with section 2 of P.L.1968, c.439 (C.39:3-8.1) or R.S.39:3-27, inspected pursuant to this section shall only be inspected for permissible motor vehicle tint of a motor vehicle’s windshield and front side windows to the left and right of the driver pursuant to R.S.39:3-74 and for emissions and emission-related items such as emission control equipment and on-board diagnostics. The commission shall adopt rules and regulations establishing a procedure for the designation of motor vehicles as collector motor vehicles, which designation shall include consideration by the commission of one or more of the following factors: the age of the vehicle, the number of such vehicles originally manufactured, the number of such vehicles that are currently in use, the total number of miles the vehicle has been driven, the number of miles the vehicle has been driven during the previous year or other period of time determined by the commission, and whether the vehicle has a collector classification for insurance purposes.

b. The commission shall determine the official inspection facility or private inspection facility at which a motor vehicle, depending upon its characteristics, shall be inspected. The commission, with the concurrence of the Department of Environmental Protection, may exclude by regulation from this inspection requirement any category of motor vehicle if good cause for [such] exclusion exists, unless the exclusion is likely to prevent [this] the State from meeting the applicable performance standard established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The commission may determine that a vehicle [is in compliance] complies with the inspection requirements of this section if the vehicle has been inspected and passed under a similar inspection program of another state, district, or territory of the United States.

(cf: P.L.2010, c.29, s.1)

3. R.S.39:8-3 is amended to read as follows:

39:8-3. a. [No] A certificate of approval shall not be issued by an examiner, official inspection facility, or private inspection facility until the motor vehicle inspected successfully passes inspections for emissions and emission-related items such as emission control equipment and on-board diagnostics required by the chief administrator and the mechanism, brakes, and equipment of the motor vehicle inspected have been found to be in a proper and safe condition and complying with the laws of this State. A certificate shall not be issued unless the motor vehicle’s windshield and front side windows to the left and right of the driver comply with permissible motor vehicle window tint requirements pursuant to R.S.39:3-74.

b. Notwithstanding subsection a. of this section, passenger automobiles registered in accordance with R.S.39:3-4 or R.S.39:3-27, and noncommercial trucks registered in accordance with section 2 of P.L.1968, c.439 (C.39:3-8.1) or R.S.39:3-27, that are only inspected for permissible motor vehicle tint of a motor vehicle’s windshield and front side windows to the left and right of the driver pursuant to R.S.39:3-74 and for emissions and emission-related items such as emission control equipment and on-board diagnostics pursuant to R.S.39:8-1 and that successfully pass [such] these inspections shall be issued a certificate of approval.

c. Notwithstanding the issuance or non-issuance of a certificate of approval, the obligation to ensure that a vehicle is in a proper and safe condition rests with the owner, operator, or lessee, as appropriate, of the vehicle.

(cf: P.L.2010, c.29, s.3)

4. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month next following enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill amends current law to clarify that a person is prohibited from operating a vehicle with tinted material applied on the windshield and front side windows to the left and right of the driver (front side windows), except for the top portion of the windshield and as authorized for a person with ophthalmic or dermatologic photosensitivity pursuant to State law.

Additionally, the bill requires a vehicle to comply with permissible window tint requirements for issuance of an inspection certificate. Current law limits the inspection of passenger automobiles and noncommercial trucks to emissions and emission-related items. The bill expands these inspections to include the inspection of windshield and front side windows of passenger automobiles and noncommercial trucks for permissible window tint. Under the bill, an inspection certificate is to be issued to a passenger automobile or noncommercial truck if the vehicle successfully passes the inspection.