A 5240

ASSEMBLY, No. 5240
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED JUNE 8, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman� CLINTON CALABRESE
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman� WILLIAM B. SAMPSON, IV
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
���� Prohibits purposeful obstruction of license plate and
possession or transfer of merchandise that obstructs license plate.�
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act concerning obstructed license plates,
supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, amending R.S.39:1-1, and
repealing section 1 of P.L.2015, c.49.
���� Be It
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� (New section) a. A
person shall not operate a motor vehicle with an obstructed license plate.
���� b.��� A person shall not sell,
offer for sale, distribute, transfer, purchase, receive, or possess any
merchandise knowing that the merchandise is designed or intended to create an
obstructed license plate.� Merchandise designed or intended to create an
obstructed license plate includes, but is not limited to, a retractable license
plate holder; reflective spray; a tinted or blackout license plate cover that
prevents the identification of the plate�s registration number; and a license
plate flipping device that enables a registration plate to be manually or
electronically changed to another registration plate with different
identification marks or that is capable of changing the appearance of the
registration plate so that it appears to be a different registration plate.� Nothing
in this section shall be construed to impose liability on a newspaper that
accepts or publishes classified advertising for merchandise that is designed or
intended to create an obstructed license plate.
���� c.��� (1) A person violating a
provision of this section shall be subject to a fine not exceeding $500 for a
first offense and a fine not exceeding $750 for a second or subsequent
offense.� In addition, a person shall be assessed two motor vehicle penalty
points pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1982, c.43 (C.39:5-30.5) and two automobile
insurance eligibility points pursuant to section 26 of P.L.1990, c.8
(C.17:33B-14) for a third or subsequent violation of subsection a. of this
section.
���� (2)� A person fined for
violating this section shall not be subject to a fine or penalty under
R.S.39:3-33 for having a registration plate that is not plainly visible due to
blurring matter or a registration plate, temporary registration certificate,
temporary registration plate, or registration plate insert issued by the
commission that is concealed or otherwise obscured by a registration plate
frame or holder.
���� 2.��� R.S.39:1-1 is amended to
read as follows:
���� 39:1-1.������� As used in this
subtitle, unless other meaning is clearly apparent from the language or
context, or unless inconsistent with the manifest intention of the Legislature:
���� "Alley" means a
public highway wherein the roadway does not exceed 12 feet in width.
���� "Authorized emergency
vehicles" means vehicles of the fire department, police vehicles and [such] ambulances
and other vehicles as are approved by the chief administrator when operated in
response to an emergency call.
���� "Autocycle" means a
three-wheeled motorcycle designed to be controlled with a steering wheel and
pedals in which the operator and passenger may ride in a completely or
partially enclosed seating area that is equipped with a roll cage or roll hoops,
safety seat belts for each occupant, and anti-lock brakes.
���� "Automobile"
includes all motor vehicles except motorcycles.
���� "Berm" means that
portion of the highway, exclusive of the roadway and shoulder, that borders the
shoulder but is not to be used for vehicular travel.
���� "Business district"
means that portion of a highway and the territory contiguous thereto, where
within any 600 feet along [such] the
highway there are buildings in use for business or industrial purposes,
including, but not limited to, hotels, banks, office buildings, railroad
stations, and public buildings which occupy at least 300 feet of frontage on
one side or 300 feet collectively on both sides of the roadway.
���� "Car pool" means two
or more persons commuting on a daily basis to and from work by means of a
vehicle with a seating capacity of nine passengers or less.
���� "Chief
Administrator" or "Administrator" means the Chief Administrator
of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.
���� "Commercial motor
vehicle" includes every type of motor-driven vehicle used for commercial
purposes on the highways, such as the transportation of goods, wares, and
merchandise, [excepting
such] except
vehicles [as] that
are run only upon rails or tracks and vehicles of the passenger car type used
for touring purposes or the carrying of farm products and milk, as the case may
be.
���� "Commission" means
the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission established by section 4 of P.L.2003,
c.13 (C.39:2A-4).
���� "Commissioner" means
the Commissioner of Transportation of this State.
���� "Commuter van" means
a motor vehicle having a seating capacity of not less than seven nor more than
15 adult passengers, in which seven or more persons commute on a daily basis to
and from work and which vehicle may also be operated by the driver or other
designated persons for their personal use.
���� "Crosswalk" means
that part of a highway at an intersection, either marked or unmarked, existing
at each approach of every roadway intersection, included within the connections
of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of the highway measured
from the curbs or, in the absence of curbs, from the edges of the shoulder, or,
if none, from the edges of the roadway, and any portion of a highway at an
intersection or elsewhere distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by lines
or other marking on the surface.
���� "Curb extension" or
"bulbout" means a horizontal extension of the sidewalk into the
street which results in a narrower roadway section.
���� "Dealer" includes
every person actively engaged in the business of buying, selling, or exchanging
motor vehicles or motorcycles and who has an established place of business.
���� "Deputy Chief
Administrator" means the deputy chief administrator of the commission.
���� "Driver" means the
rider or driver of a horse, bicycle, or motorcycle or the driver or operator of
a motor vehicle, unless otherwise specified.
���� �Electric motorized bicycle�
means any two-wheeled vehicle with fully operable pedals and an electric motor
capable of greater than 750 watts that is capable of reaching a speed greater
than 28 miles per hour.
���� �Electric vehicle charging
space� means a publicly accessible charging space or set of charging spaces,
with visible signage indicating that the charging space or spaces are available
for use by the public for charging plug-in electric vehicles.
���� "Explosives" means
any chemical compound or mechanical mixture that is commonly used or intended
for the purpose of producing an explosion and which contains any oxidizing and
combustive units or other ingredients in such proportions, quantities or
packing that an ignition by fire, friction, concussion, percussion, or
detonator of any part of the compound or mixture may cause such a sudden
generation of highly heated gases that the resultant gaseous pressures are
capable of producing destructive effects on contiguous objects or of destroying
life or limb.
���� "Farm tractor" means
every motor vehicle designed and used primarily as a farm implement for drawing
plows, mowing machines, and other implements of husbandry.
���� "Flammable liquid"
means any liquid having a flash point below 200 degrees Fahrenheit and a vapor
pressure not exceeding 40 pounds.
���� "Gross weight" means
the combined weight of a vehicle and a load thereon.
���� "High occupancy
vehicle" or "HOV" means a vehicle which is used to transport two
or more persons, including public transportation, car pool, van pool, and other
vehicles, as determined by regulation of the Department of Transportation.
���� "Highway" means the
entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained when
any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular
travel.
���� "Horse" includes
mules and all other domestic animals used as draught animals or beasts of
burden.
���� "Inside lane" means
the lane nearest the center line of the roadway.
���� "Intersection" means
the area embraced within the prolongation of the lateral curb lines or, if
none, the lateral boundary lines of two or more highways which join one another
at an angle, whether or not [one
such highway crosses] the
highways cross one another.
���� "Laned roadway"
means a roadway which is divided into two or more clearly marked lanes for
vehicular traffic.
���� "Leased limousine"
means any limousine subject to regulation in the State which: �
���� is offered for rental or
lease, without a driver, to be operated by a limousine service as the lessee,
for the purpose of carrying passengers for hire; and
���� is leased or rented for a
period of one year or more following registration.
���� "Leased motor
vehicle" means any motor vehicle subject to registration in this State
which:
���� is offered for rental or
lease, without a driver, to be operated by the lessee, the lessee�s agent or
servant, for purposes other than the transportation of passengers for hire; and
���� is leased or rented for a
period of one year or more following registration.
���� "Limited-access
highway" means every highway, street, or roadway in respect to which
owners or occupants of abutting lands and other persons have no legal right of
access to or from, except at such points only and in [such] a manner as may be
determined by the public authority having jurisdiction over [such] the
highway, street, or roadway; and includes any highway designated as a
"freeway" or "parkway" by authority of law.
���� "Local authorities"
means every county, municipal, and other local board or body having authority
to adopt local police regulations under the Constitution and laws of this
State, including every county governing body with relation to county roads.
���� "Low-speed electric
bicycle" means a two-wheeled vehicle with fully operable pedals and an
electric motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling, and
that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 20
miles per hour.
���� "Low-speed electric
scooter" means a scooter with a floorboard that can be stood upon by the
operator, with handlebars, and an electric motor that is capable of propelling
the device, with or without human propulsion, at a maximum speed of less than
19 miles per hour.
���� "Low-speed vehicle"
means a four-wheeled low-speed vehicle, as defined in 49 C.F.R. s.571.3(b),
whose attainable speed is more than 20 miles per hour but not more than 25
miles per hour on a paved level surface and which is not powered by gasoline or
diesel fuel and complies with federal safety standards as set forth in 49
C.F.R. s.571.500.
���� "Magistrate" means
any municipal court and the Superior Court, and any officer having the powers
of a committing magistrate and the chief administrator.
���� "Manufacturer" means
a person engaged in the business of manufacturing or assembling motor vehicles,
who will, under normal business conditions during the year, manufacture or
assemble at least 10 new motor vehicles.
���� "Metal tire" means
every tire, the surface of which in contact with the highway is wholly or
partly made of metal or other hard nonresilient material.
���� "Mid-block
crosswalk" means a crosswalk located away from an intersection, distinctly
indicated by lines or markings on the surface.
���� "Motorized bicycle"
means a pedal bicycle that is equipped with:� (1) a helper motor characterized
in that either the maximum piston displacement is less than 50 cubic
centimeters or the helper motor is rated at no more than 1.5 brake horsepower;
(2) an electric motor that can provide assistance when the rider is pedaling or
that, through the use of a throttle, can be used to exclusively propel the
bicycle to a speed of not more than 15 miles per hour; (3) a helper motor that
is powered by an electric drive motor that provides assistance when the rider
is pedaling and has a maximum speed between 21 miles per hour and 28 miles per
hour on a flat surface; or (4) an electric motor that is capable of propelling
the bicycle in excess of 15 miles per hour through the use of a throttle with a
maximum motor-powered speed of no more than 28 miles per hour on a flat
surface.� This term shall not include a low-speed electric bicycle or low-speed
electric scooter, as those terms are defined in this section.
���� "Motorcycle"
includes motorcycles, autocycles, motor bikes, electric motorized bicycles, all
motor-operated vehicles of the bicycle or tricycle type, and bicycles with a
motor attached, except motorized bicycles, low-speed electric bicycles, and
low-speed electric scooters, as defined in this section, whether the motive
power be a part thereof or attached thereto and having a saddle or seat with
driver sitting astride or upon it or a platform on which the driver stands.
���� "Motor-drawn
vehicle" includes trailers, semitrailers, or any other type of vehicle
drawn by a motor-driven vehicle.
���� "Motor vehicle"
includes all vehicles propelled otherwise than by muscular power, [excepting such] except
vehicles [as] that are
run only upon rails or tracks, low-speed electric bicycles, low-speed electric
scooters, and motorized bicycles.
���� "Motorized scooter"
means a miniature motor vehicle and includes, but is not limited to, pocket
bikes, super pocket bikes, scooters, mini-scooters, sport scooters, mini
choppers, mini motorcycles, motorized skateboards, and other vehicles with
motors not manufactured in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and which have no permanent Federal Safety Certification stickers
affixed to the vehicle by the original manufacturer. �This term shall not
include:� electric personal assistive mobility devices, motorized bicycles,
low-speed vehicles, low-speed electric bicycles, or low-speed electric scooters
or motorized wheelchairs, mobility scooters, or similar mobility assisting devices
used by persons with physical disabilities or persons whose ambulatory mobility
has been impaired by age or illness.
���� "Motorized
skateboard" means a skateboard that is propelled otherwise than by
muscular power.
���� "Motorized
wheelchair" means any motor-driven wheelchair utilized to increase the
independent mobility in the activities of daily living of an individual who has
limited or no ambulation abilities and includes mobility scooters manufactured
specifically for [such] these
purposes and designed primarily for indoor use.
���� "Noncommercial
truck" means every motor vehicle designed primarily for transportation of
property and which is not a "commercial vehicle."
���� "Obstructed license
plate" means a registration plate, temporary registration certificate,
temporary registration plate, or registration plate insert issued by the
commission that a person has purposely concealed or obfuscated in any way to
evade law enforcement or a toll issued pursuant to Title 27 or Title 32 of the
Revised Statutes.
���� "Official traffic control
devices" means all signs, signals, markings, and devices not inconsistent
with this subtitle placed or erected by authority of a public body or official
having jurisdiction for the purpose of regulating, warning, or guiding traffic.
���� "Omnibus" includes
all motor vehicles used for the transportation of passengers for hire, except
commuter vans and vehicles used in ridesharing arrangements and school buses if
the same are not otherwise used in the transportation of passengers for hire.
���� "Operator" means a
person who is in actual physical control of a vehicle or street car.
���� "Outside lane" means
the lane nearest the curb or outer edge of the roadway.
���� "Owner" means a
person who holds the legal title of a vehicle or if a vehicle is the subject of
an agreement for the conditional sale or lease thereof with the right of
purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the agreement and with an
immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or lessee or if
a mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to possession, then the conditional
vendee, lessee, or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this
subtitle.
���� "Parking" means the
standing or waiting on a street, road, or highway of a vehicle not actually
engaged in receiving or discharging passengers or merchandise, unless in
obedience to traffic regulations or traffic signs or signals.
���� "Passenger
automobile" means all automobiles used and designed for the transportation
of passengers, other than omnibuses and school buses.
���� "Pedestrian" means a
person afoot.
���� "Person" includes
natural persons, firms, copartnerships, associations, and corporations.
���� �Plug-in electric vehicle�
means a vehicle that has a battery, or an equivalent energy storage device,
that can be charged from an electricity supply external to the vehicle with an
electric plug.� This term includes a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
���� �Plug-in hybrid electric
vehicle� means a vehicle that can be charged from a source of electricity
external to the vehicle through an electric plug, but is not exclusively
powered by electricity.
���� "Pneumatic tire"
means every tire in which compressed air is designed to support the load.
���� "Pole trailer" means
every vehicle without motive power designed to be drawn by another vehicle and
attached to the towing vehicle by means of a reach, or pole, or by being boomed
or otherwise secured to the towing vehicle and ordinarily used for transporting
long or irregularly shaped loads, such as poles, pipes, or structural members
capable, generally, of sustaining themselves as beams between the supporting
connections.
���� "Private road or
driveway" means every road or driveway not open to the use of the public
for purposes of vehicular travel.
���� "Railroad train"
means a steam engine, electric or other motor, with or without cars coupled
thereto, operated upon rails, except street cars.
���� "REAL ID basic driver's
license" means a basic driver's license issued by the commission that
complies with the provisions of the "REAL ID Act of 2005,"
Pub.L.109-13, any acts amendatory or supplementary thereto, and any federal
regulations adopted thereunder.
���� "REAL ID identification
card" means an identification card issued by the commission that complies
with the provisions of the "REAL ID Act of 2005," Pub.L.109-13, any
acts amendatory or supplementary thereto, and any federal regulations adopted
thereunder.
���� "REAL ID license"
means any license to operate a motor vehicle issued by the commission that
complies with the provisions of the "REAL ID Act of 2005,"
Pub.L.109-13, any acts amendatory or supplementary thereto, and any federal
regulations adopted thereunder.
���� "REAL ID motorcycle
license" means a motorcycle license issued by the commission that complies
with the provisions of the "REAL ID Act of 2005," Pub.L.109-13, any
acts amendatory or supplementary thereto, and any federal regulations adopted
thereunder.
���� "REAL ID probationary
license" means a probationary license issued by the commission that
complies with the provisions of the "REAL ID Act of 2005,"
Pub.L.109-13, any acts amendatory or supplementary thereto, and any federal
regulations adopted thereunder.
���� "Recreation vehicle"
means a self-propelled or towed vehicle equipped to serve as temporary living
quarters for recreational, camping, or travel purposes and used solely as a
family or personal conveyance.
���� "Residence district"
means that portion of a highway and the territory contiguous thereto, not
comprising a business district, where within any 600 feet along [such] the
highway there are buildings in use for business or residential purposes which
occupy 300 feet or more of frontage on at least one side of the highway.
���� "Ridesharing" means
the transportation of persons in a motor vehicle, with a maximum carrying
capacity of not more than 15 passengers, including the driver, where [such] the
transportation is incidental to the purpose of the driver.� The term shall
include [such] ridesharing
arrangements known as car pools and van pools.
���� "Right-of-way" means
the privilege of the immediate use of the highway.
���� "Road tractor" means
every motor vehicle designed and used for drawing other vehicles and not so
constructed as to carry any load thereon either independently or any part of
the weight of a vehicle or load so drawn.
���� "Roadway" means that
portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular
travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder. In the event a highway includes two
or more separate roadways, the term "roadway" as used herein shall
refer to [any
such roadway]
the roadways separately, but not to all [such] the roadways,
collectively.
���� "Safety zone" means
the area or space officially set aside within a highway for the exclusive use
of pedestrians, which is so plainly marked or indicated by proper signs as to
be plainly visible at all times while set apart as a safety zone.
���� "School bus" means
every motor vehicle operated by, or under contract with, a public or
governmental agency, or religious or other charitable organization or
corporation, or privately operated for the transportation of children to or
from school for secular or religious education, which complies with the
regulations of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission affecting school buses,
including "School Vehicle Type I" and "School Vehicle Type
II" as defined below: �
���� "School Vehicle Type
I" means any vehicle designed to transport 16 or more passengers,
including the driver, used to transport enrolled children, and adults only when
serving as chaperones, to or from a school, school-connected activity, day camp,
summer day camp, summer residence camp, nursery school, child care center,
preschool center, or other similar places of education. �[Such] The
vehicle shall comply with the regulations of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle
Commission and either the Department of Education or the Department of Human
Services, whichever is the appropriate supervising agency.
���� "School Vehicle Type
II" means any vehicle designed to transport less than 16 passengers,
including the driver, used to transport enrolled children, and adults only when
serving as chaperones, to or from a school, school-connected activity, day
camp, summer day camp, summer residence camp, nursery school, child care
center, preschool center, or other similar places of education. �[Such] The
vehicle shall comply with the regulations of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle
Commission and either the Department of Education or the Department of Human
Services, whichever is the appropriate supervising agency.
���� "School zone" means
that portion of a highway which is either contiguous to territory occupied by a
school building or is where school crossings are established in the vicinity of
a school, upon which are maintained appropriate "school signs" in
accordance with specifications adopted by the chief administrator and in
accordance with law.
���� "School crossing"
means that portion of a highway where school children are required to cross the
highway in the vicinity of a school.
���� "Semitrailer" means
every vehicle with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed
for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and so
constructed that some part of its weight and that of its load rests upon or is
carried by another vehicle.
���� "Shipper" means any
person who shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, any commodity, produce, or
article for transportation as the contents or load of a commercial motor
vehicle.� In the case of a sealed ocean container, "shipper" shall
not be construed to include any person whose activities with respect to the
shipment are limited to the solicitation or negotiation of the sale, resale, or
exchange of the commodity, produce, or article within that container.
���� "Shoulder" means
that portion of the highway, exclusive of and bordering the roadway, which is designed
for emergency use but not ordinarily to be used for vehicular travel.
���� "Sidewalk" means
that portion of a highway intended for the use of pedestrians between the curb
line or the lateral line of a shoulder or, if none, the lateral line of the
roadway and the adjacent right-of-way line.
���� "Sign." See
"Official traffic control devices."
���� "Slow-moving
vehicle" means a vehicle run at a speed less than the maximum speed then
and there permissible.
���� "Solid tire" means
every tire of rubber or other resilient material which does not depend upon
compressed air for the support of the load.
���� "Standard" means,
when used to describe any license to operate a motor vehicle or any
identification card issued by the commission under the provisions of this
Title, that the issuance of the license or identification card does not require
proof of lawful presence in the United States.
���� "Street" means the
same as highway.
���� "Street car" means a
car, other than a railroad train, used for transporting persons or property and
operated upon rails principally within a municipality.
���� "Stop," when
required, means complete cessation from movement.
���� "Stopping or
standing," when prohibited, means any cessation of movement of a vehicle,
whether occupied or not, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other
traffic or in compliance with the directions of a police officer or traffic
control sign or signal.
���� "Suburban business or
residential district" means that portion of highway and the territory
contiguous thereto, where within any 1,320 feet along that highway there is
land in use for business or residential purposes and that land occupies more
than 660 feet of frontage on one side or collectively more than 660 feet of
frontage on both sides of that roadway.
���� "Through highway"
means every highway or portion thereof at the entrances to which vehicular
traffic from intersecting highways is required by law to stop before entering
or crossing the same and when stop signs are erected as provided in this chapter.
���� "Trackless trolley"
means every motor vehicle which is propelled by electric power obtained from
overhead trolley wires but not operated upon rails.
���� "Traffic" means
pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, street cars, and other
conveyances either singly, or together, while using any highway for purposes of
travel.
���� "Traffic control
signal" means a device, whether manually, electrically, mechanically, or
otherwise controlled, by which traffic is alternately directed to stop and to
proceed.
���� "Trailer" means
every vehicle with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed
for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and so
constructed that no part of its weight rests upon the towing vehicle.
���� "Truck" means every
motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of
property.
���� "Truck tractor"
means every motor vehicle designed and used primarily for drawing other
vehicles and not so constructed as to carry a load other than a part of the
weight of the vehicle and load so drawn.
���� "Van pooling" means
seven or more persons commuting on a daily basis to and from work by means of a
vehicle with a seating arrangement designed to carry seven to 15 adult
passengers.
���� "Vehicle" means
every device in, upon, or by which a person or property is or may be
transported upon a highway, [excepting] except
devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or
tracks or low-speed electric bicycles, low-speed electric scooters, and motorized
bicycles.
(cf: P.L.2025, c.285, s.1)
���� 3.��� Section 1 of P.L.2015,
c.49 (C.39:3-33c) is repealed.
���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill prohibits operating
a motor vehicle with an obstructed license plate and the sale, distribution,
transfer, purchase, receipt, or possession of merchandise that a person knows
is designed or intended to obstruct a license plate.� Merchandise that is
designed or intended to obstruct a license plate includes retractable license
plate holders, reflective spray, tinted or blackout license plate covers, and
license plate flipping devices.� An �obstructed license plate� means a
registration plate, temporary registration certificate, temporary registration
plate, or registration plate insert issued by the commission that a person has purposely
concealed or obfuscated in any way to evade law enforcement or a toll issued
pursuant to Title 27 of the Revised Statutes, Highways, or Title 32 of the
Revised Statutes, Interstate Port Authorities and Commissions.
���� A person is subject to a fine
not exceeding $500 for a first offense and a fine not exceeding $750 for a
second or subsequent offense.� In addition, a person who operates a motor
vehicle with an obstructed license plate three or more times is subject to two
motor vehicle and two automobile insurance eligibility points.� If fined
pursuant to the provisions of this bill, a person is not subject to the fines
issued pursuant to R.S.39:3-33 for driving with an unintentionally obstructed
license plate.�
���� This bill repeals section 1 of
P.L.2015, c.49, which concerns merchandise that a person knows is designed or
intended to obstruct a license plate.� This bill condenses the statutory
provisions related to intentional obstruction of a license plate by repealing
section 1 of the law and reimplementing the provision in a new section with the
prohibition against operating a motor vehicle with an obstructed license plate.