[Second Reprint]
ASSEMBLY, No. 4651
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED SEPTEMBER 14, 2020
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman YVONNE LOPEZ
District 19 (Middlesex)
Assemblywoman AURA K. DUNN
District 25 (Morris and Somerset)
Assemblyman THOMAS P. GIBLIN
District 34 (Essex and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman McKeon
SYNOPSIS
Requires MVC to provide notation on driver’s license or identification card, upon request, of persons diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or other communication disorder.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on January 6, 2022, with amendments.
An Act concerning protections for drivers with certain medical conditions and supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission 2[, in consultation with the Commissioner of Human Services, the Superintendent of the Division of State Police within the Department of Law and Public Safety, and at least one organization that advocates on behalf of persons who have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, shall design 1[and make available blue envelopes that] a special driver’s license and non-driver identification card bearing a digital imprint visible to law enforcement, which1 may be utilized by 1[a person who has] persons who have1] shall allow the holder of a driver’s license or non-driver identification card to indicate that the person has2 been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder 2or communication disorder2.
b. 1[The blue envelopes developed pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall: (1) be of a color shade easily recognizable to law enforcement officers; (2) be capable of holding a person’s driver’s license, motor vehicle registration card, and insurance identification card; (3) provide written information on the outside of the envelope identifying the envelope holder as a person who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder; and (4) provide written guidance to assist law enforcement officers in effectively communicating with a person who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder] Upon 2[application] request2 by any person who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder 2or communication disorder and submission of any documentation required pursuant to subsection c. of this section2, the chief administrator shall 2[issue to the applicant the special driver's license or non-driver identification card bearing the digital imprint designed in accordance with subsection a. of this section. No fee over and above the required fee for a driver's license or non-driver identification card shall be imposed for the special driver's license or special non-driver identification card1] indicate the autism spectrum disorder or communication disorder diagnosis by notating such information on the person’s driver’s license or non-driver identification card under the column designated for restrictions2.
c. The chief administrator shall, in consultation with the Commissioner of Human Services, establish the documentation required to be produced by a person who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder 2or communication disorder2, or by the parent, guardian, or caregiver of the person, in order to receive 1[an envelope issued pursuant to subsection a.] a 2[special]2 driver’s license or non-driver identification card 2[issued] with the notation authorized2 pursuant to subsection b.1 of this section.
1d. The 2[commission, in consultation with the]2 Commissioner of Human Services, 2in consultation with2 the Superintendent of the Division of State Police within the Department of Law and Public Safety 2[,]2 and at least one organization that advocates on behalf of persons who have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder 2or communication disorder2, shall provide written guidance to assist law enforcement officers in effectively communicating with a person who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder 2or communication disorder2. The 2[commission] commissioner2 shall distribute a copy of the written guidance to each police department in the State.1
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the thirteenth month following enactment.