A4673

An Act concerning the tint of motor vehicle windshields and windows and amending various sections of the Revised Statutes.

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] which device or devices shall be so constructed and installed as to be operated or controlled by the driver.

No person shall drive any 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 person shall drive any vehicle so constructed, equipped, or loaded as to unduly interfere with the driver's vision to the front and to the sides.

No person shall drive a motor vehicle with 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 is used over any public road, street, or highway or 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 with a gross weight of 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 compliance with the motor vehicle window tint requirements, 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] designating motor vehicles as collector motor vehicles, which [designation] procedure 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 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 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 [certificate of approval shall be issued by an] examiner, official inspection facility, or private inspection facility shall issue a certificate of approval for a motor vehicle until:

(1) the motor vehicle inspected successfully passes inspections for:

(a) emissions and emission-related items, such as emission control equipment and on-board diagnostics required by the chief administrator; and

(b) compliance with the motor vehicle window tint requirements pursuant to R.S.39:3-74; and

(2) the mechanism, brakes, and equipment of the motor vehicle inspected have been found to be in a proper and safe condition and [complying] in compliance with the laws of this State.

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 compliance with the motor vehicle window tint requirements, 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 prohibits a person from driving a motor vehicle with 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 by State law.

The bill requires the windshield and front side windows of passenger automobiles and noncommercial trucks to be inspected for statutorily permissible window tint, in addition to the existing inspection requirements under State law. Under the bill, a certificate of approval is only to be issued to passenger automobiles and noncommercial trucks that successfully pass the inspection.

Under current law, a certificate of approval may be issued to a passenger automobile or a noncommercial truck if: (1) the vehicle passes an inspection for emissions and emission-related items; and (2) the vehicle’s mechanism, brakes, and equipment are found to be in safe and proper condition and in compliance with State law.