New Jersey A 390: Establishes motor vehicle insurance compliance programs; allows law enforcement agencies to utilize license plate readers to enforce motor vehicle insurance requirements.

Bill Text

ASSEMBLY, No. 390

STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION

Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOE DANIELSEN
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)

SYNOPSIS
Establishes motor vehicle insurance compliance programs; allows law
enforcement agencies to utilize license plate readers to enforce motor vehicle
insurance requirements.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

A390 DANIELSEN
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EXPLANATION – Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is
not enacted and is intended to be omitted in the law.

Matter underlined thus is new matter.

AN ACT concerning motor vehicle insurance and automated license 1
plate readers, supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, 2
and amending P.L.1990, c.8. 3
4
BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State 5
of New Jersey: 6
7
1. (New section) a. There is established an Uninsured Vehicle 8
Enforcement and Compliance Program, which may be administered 9
by each county and municipality in the State. To implement this 10
program, county and municipal governing bodies and law 11
enforcement agencies shall have the authority to enter into 12
contractual agreements with automated license plate reader 13
providers to provide the necessary technology, equipment and 14
maintenance thereof. 15
b. Under the program, each county and municipal prosecutor 16
and participating law enforcement agencies may utilize individual 17
automatic license plate reader systems to access and collect data for 18
the investigation, detection, analysis, or enforcement of the 19
compulsory motor vehicle insurance law, P.L.1972, c.197 (C.39:6B-20
1 et seq.). A law enforcement agency that utilizes automated 21
license plate readers pursuant to this section shall access the 22
insurance information within the database established pursuant to 23
subsection j. of section 50 of P.L.1990, c.8 (C.17:33B-41). 24
Access to the database shall be restricted to authorized prosecutors 25
and law enforcement agencies. Any entity with which a contract has 26
been executed to provide or maintain the technology or equipment 27
necessary to utilize automated license plate readers or the database 28
shall be entitled to access the data collected exclusively for the 29
purposes enforcing this act. 30
c. A law enforcement officer may verify by sworn affidavit that a 31
photograph generated by an automatic license plate reader system unit 32
identifies a particular vehicle operating on the public roads or 33
highways of this State and that the database confirms that the vehicle 34
was uninsured at the time such vehicle was being operated. The 35
affidavit shall constitute probable cause for prosecution under t h e 36
compulsory motor vehicle insurance law. 37
d. Any data collected or retained through the use of an automated 38
license plate reader system pursuant to the program shall be retained 39
by the prosecuting authority and law enforcement agency when the 40
data is being used as evidence of a violation of the compulsory motor 41
vehicle insurance law; provided, when the data is no longer needed as 42
evidence of a violation, the data shall be deleted or destroyed. 43
e. Any data collected or retained through the use of an automated 44
license plate reader system shall not be used by an individual or 45

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agency for purposes other than enforcement of compulsory motor 1
vehicle insurance law or as otherwise permitted by law. Images of 2
the driver or motor vehicle occupants shall not be used or 3
maintained as evidence by any prosecuting authority or law 4
enforcement agency. 5
f. Any recorded image or information produced in connection 6
with the automated license plate reader shall not be deemed a public 7
record under P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), P.L.2001, c.404 8
(C.47:1A-5 et al.), or the common law concerning access to public 9
records. 10
g. The provisions of this section shall not take effect until the 11
Motor Vehicle Commission verifies that: 12
(1) at least 90 percent of the personal lines auto insurance 13
market in the State submits insurance information to the database; 14
and 15
(2) the database is updated in a manner that allows the 16
provisions of this section to be implemented. 17
h. As used in this act, “automated license plate reader” means a 18
system consisting of one or more cameras and related equipment 19
that automatically and without direct human control locates, focuses 20
on, and photographs license plates and vehicles that come into 21
range of the device; that automatically converts digital photographic 22
images of scanned license plates into electronic text documents; 23
that is capable of comparing scanned license plate text data with 24
data files for vehicles on a list programmed into the device’s 25
electronic memory; and that notifies law enforcement, whether by 26
an audible alert or by other means, when a scanned license plate 27
matches the