SJR90

A Joint Resolution establishing a task force to study the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.

Whereas, COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that has caused a global pandemic leading to unprecedented and overwhelming public health and economic crises; and

Whereas, In response to the devastating effect COVID-19 has had throughout the country, the President declared a National State of Emergency on March 13, 2020 and announced certain measures in an effort to halt the spread of COVID-19; and

Whereas, The State of New Jersey, which has the second highest incidence of COVID-19 cases in the United States, also enacted policies that required residents to remain at home and for non-essential businesses to temporarily close; and

Whereas, The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) was deemed non-essential and has been closed since mid-March; and

Whereas, The MVC re-opened on July 7, 2020 and since that time has faced a number of challenges and difficulties, including technical problems and long customer wait times; and

Whereas, Some of the issues that have plagued the MVC since its re-opening include technical problems with a text messaging system that delayed the MVC’s original opening date, hundreds of customers lining up hours before agencies open, and police officers being called to break up fights between customers; and

Whereas, New rules have been implemented by both the Governor and the Chief Administrator of the MVC in an attempt to ease the burden on the MVC and to quell customer frustrations, but these new rules have been issued and implemented in a piecemeal fashion and reactively, rather than proactively, after negative customer experiences and agency overload; and

Whereas, These new rules include extended expiration dates for license and registration renewals and vehicle inspections, customers barred from lining up on MVC property until an hour before agencies open, increased efforts by the MVC to make sure that customers in line at agencies can be accommodated during the business day, and the Governor’s exemption of MVC employees from state worker furloughs in July; and

Whereas, A task force, dedicated to studying the problems faced by the MVC, including failures that occurred during re-opening, how the agency can improve its response, and the potential of working with third-parties to allay customer frustrations and agency burdens in the event of another catastrophic event such as the COVID-19 outbreak is of paramount importance for both the MVC and all New Jersey drivers; now, therefore,

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

1. a. There is established a task force to be known as the "New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission Pandemic Task Force." The purpose of the task force shall be to study the challenges faced by the commission because of the COVID-19 outbreak and look for methods to improve the commission’s preparedness and mitigate any negative effects in the event of another similar scenario.

b. The task force shall consist of 7 members as follows:

(1) one member appointed by the Governor with relevant expertise, knowledge, or experience;

(2) one member appointed by the President of the Senate with relevant expertise, knowledge, or experience;

(3) one member appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly with relevant expertise, knowledge, or experience;

(4) one member appointed by the minority leader of the Senate with relevant expertise, knowledge, or experience;

(5) one member appointed by the minority leader of the General Assembly with relevant expertise, knowledge, or experience;

(6) the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, or a designee; and

(7) a member of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission appointed by the Chief Administrator.

Any vacancy in the membership of the task force shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made.

c. All appointments to the task force shall be made within 30 days of the effective date of this joint resolution. The task force shall organize as soon as practicable after the appointment of its members and shall select a chairperson from among the members. The chairperson shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the task force. The presence of a majority of the members of the task force shall constitute a quorum.

d. The task force may meet at the call of its chairperson at the times and in the places it may deem appropriate and necessary to fulfill its duties, and may conduct public hearings at the places it shall designate. The members of the task force shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed, within the limits of funds made available to the task force, for necessary travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

e. The task force shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, task force, or agency as it may require and may be available to it for its purpose. The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall provide professional and clerical staff to the task force, as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.

f. The task force shall submit a report summarizing the activities and findings of the task force to the Governor and,

pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature no later than 12 months following the date of the task force’s initial meeting.

2. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately and shall expire upon submission of the task force’s final report to the Governor and Legislature.

STATEMENT

This resolution establishes a task force to study the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. The task force is to consist of five members: one appointed by each of the Governor, Senate President, and Assembly Speaker; the chief administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) or a designee, and a member of the MVC. The task force is required to submit a report to the Governor and Legislature summarizing the activities and findings of the task force within 12 months of the task force’s initial meeting. Once the report is issued, the authorization for the task force expires.

COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that has caused a global pandemic leading to unprecedented and overwhelming public health and economic crises. In response to the devastating effect COVID-19 has had throughout the country, the President declared a National State of Emergency on March 13, 2020 and announced certain measures in an effort to halt the spread of COVID-19. The State of New Jersey, which has the second highest incidence of COVID-19 cases in the United States, also enacted policies that required residents to remain at home and for non-essential businesses to temporarily close.

The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) was deemed non-essential and has been closed since mid-March. The MVC re-opened on July 7, 2020 and since that time has faced a number of challenges and difficulties, including technical problems and long customer wait times.

New rules have been implemented by both the Governor and the MVC in an attempt to ease the burden on the MVC and quell customer frustrations, but have been issued and implemented in a piecemeal fashion and only after negative customer experiences and agency overload. These new rules include extended expiration dates for license and registration renewals and vehicle inspections, customers barred from lining up on MVC property until an hour before agencies open, increased efforts by the MVC to make sure that customers in line at agencies can be accommodated during the business day, and the Governor’s exemption of MVC employees from state worker furloughs in July.

A task force, dedicated to studying the problems faced by the NJ MVC, including what went wrong during re-opening, how the agency can improve its response, and the potential of working with third-parties to allay customer frustrations and agency burdens in the event of another catastrophic event such as the COVID-19 outbreak is of paramount importance for both the MVC and all New Jersey drivers.