SENATE, No. 2154

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

208th LEGISLATURE

INTRODUCED OCTOBER 18, 1999

Sponsored by:

Senator BERNARD F. KENNY

District 33 (Hudson)

Senator WILLIAM E. SCHLUTER

District 23 (Warren, Hunterdon and Mercer)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senator Turner

SYNOPSIS

Grants roadside diesel bus and truck emissions inspection authority to certain municipal police; grants authority to certain police for random inspections for size and weight.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As introduced.

An Act concerning inspections of certain vehicles by certain municipal police in certain cities and amending P.L.1950, c.142, P.L.1995, c.157 and R.S.39:5-1.

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

1. Section 5 of P.L.1950, c.142 (C.39:3-84.3) is amended to read as follows:

5. a. Officers shall have authority as set forth in paragraphs (1) through (3) of this subsection to require the driver, operator, owner, lessee or bailee of any vehicle or combination of vehicles found on any public road, street, or highway or any public or quasi-public property in this State to facilitate and permit the measurement or weighing of the vehicle or combination of vehicles, including load or contents, for the purpose of determining whether the size or weight of the vehicle or combination of vehicles, including load or contents, is in excess of that permitted in this Title:

(1) Officers of the Division of State Police and law enforcement officers appointed by any city of the first class and authorized to act by the Attorney General shall have the exclusive authority to conduct random roadside examinations for the purpose of determining whether size or weight is in excess of that permitted in this Title, and officers of the Division of State Police and the aforesaid municipal law enforcement officers shall have the authority, with or without probable cause to believe that the size or weight is in excess of that permitted, to require the driver, operator, owner, lessee or bailee, to stop, drive or otherwise move to a location for measurement or weighing and submit the vehicle or combination of vehicles, including load or contents, to measurement or weighing;

(2) Police or peace officers or inspectors appointed by any municipality other than a city of the first class or any county shall have the authority to require the driver, operator, owner, lessee or bailee to stop, drive or otherwise move to a location for measurement or weighing and submit the vehicle or combination of vehicles, including load or contents, to measurement or weighing, only if the officer has probable cause to believe that the size or weight of the vehicle or combination of vehicles, including load or contents, is in excess of that permitted by this Title; and

(3) The Division of State Police and the director shall have the exclusive authority to establish and operate locations for the measurement and weighing of vehicles, including load and contents, and all measuring and weighing devices or scales employed at such locations shall be approved and certified by the State Superintendent of Weights and Measures or the State Superintendent's agent. Copies of documents displaying the State Superintendent's seal or certification shall be prima facie evidence of the reliability and accuracy of the measuring or weighing devices or scales utilized.

b. Whenever the officer, upon measuring or weighing a vehicle or combination of vehicles, including load or contents, determines that the size or weight is in excess of the limits permitted in this Title, the officer or inspector shall require the driver, operator, owner, lessee or bailee to stop the vehicle or combination of vehicles in a suitable place and remain in that place until a portion of the load or contents of the vehicle or combination of vehicles is removed by the driver, operator, owner, lessee, bailee or duly appointed agent thereof, as may be necessary to conform or reduce the size or weight of the vehicle or combination of vehicles, including load or contents, to those limits as permitted under this act, or permitted by the certificate of registration for the vehicle or combination of vehicles, whichever may be lower. All materials so unloaded or removed shall be cared for by the driver, owner, operator, lessee or bailee of the vehicle or combination of vehicles, or duly appointed agent thereof, at the risk, responsibility and liability of the driver, owner, operator, lessee, bailee or duly appointed agent thereof.

c. No vehicle or combination of vehicles shall be deemed to be in violation of the weight limitation provision of this act, when, upon examination by the officer, the dispatch papers for the vehicle or combination of vehicles, including load or contents, show it is proceeding from its last preceding freight pickup point within the State of New Jersey by a reasonably expeditious route to the nearest available scales or to the first available scales in the general direction towards which the vehicle or combination of vehicles has been dispatched, or is returning from such scales after weighing-in to the last preceding pickup point.

d. When the officer determines that a vehicle or combination of vehicles, including load or contents, is in violation of the weight limitations of this Title as provided at paragraph (1) of subsection b. of R.S.39:3-84; paragraph (2) of subsection b. of R.S.39:3-84; paragraph (3) of subsection b. of R.S.39:3-84; or paragraph (5) of subsection b. of R.S.39:3-84 relative to maximum gross axle weights, but is within the permissible maximum gross vehicle weight of this Title as provided at paragraph (4) of subsection b. of R.S.39:3-84 or paragraph (5) of subsection b. of R.S.39:3-84, whichever is applicable, the driver, operator, owner, lessee, bailee or duly appointed agent thereof shall be permitted, before proceeding, to redistribute the weight of the vehicle or combination of vehicles or the load or contents of the vehicle or combination of vehicles so that no axle or combination of consecutive axles are in excess of the limits set by this act, in which event there is no violation.

e. When the officer determines that a vehicle or combination of vehicles, including load or contents, is in violation of the height, width or length limits of this Title as provided at subsection a. of R.S.39:3-84, the driver, operator, owner, lessee or bailee of the vehicle or combination of vehicles or duly appointed agent thereof shall be permitted, before proceeding, to adjust, reduce or conform the vehicle or combination of vehicles, including load or contents, so that the vehicle or combination of vehicles, including load or contents, are not in excess of the height, width, or length limits set by this act, in which event there is no violation.

f. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to a vehicle or combination of vehicles, including load or contents, found or operated on any highway in this State which is part of or designated as part of the National Interstate System, as provided at 23 U.S.C. s. 103(e). No arrest shall be made or summons issued for a violation of the weight limitations provided in this act at subsection b. of R.S.39:3-84 where the excess weight is no more than 5% of the weight permitted, provided the gross weight of the vehicle or combination of vehicles, including load or contents, does not exceed the maximum gross weight of 80,000 pounds as set forth at paragraph (4) of subsection b. of R.S.39:3-84.

g. Any person who presents to the officer, or has in his possession, or who prepares false dispatch papers, that is to say, dispatch papers which do not correspond to the cargo carried, shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $100.00.

h. Any driver of a vehicle or combination of vehicles who fails or refuses to stop and submit the vehicle or combination of vehicles, including load or contents, to measurement or weighing, as provided in this Title, or otherwise fails to comply with the provisions of this section, shall be subject to a fine not exceeding $200.00.

i. The owner, lessee, bailee or any one of the aforesaid of any vehicle or combination of vehicles found or operated on any public road, street or highway or on any public or quasi-public property in this State in violation of the height, width or length limits as set forth in subsection a. of R.S.39:3-84 shall be fined not less than $150.00 nor more than $500.00.

j. The owner, lessee, bailee or any one of the aforesaid of any vehicle or combination of vehicles found or operated on any public road, street or highway or on any public or quasi-public property in this State, with a gross weight of the vehicle or combination of vehicles, including load or contents, in excess of the weight limitations as provided at subsection b. of R.S.39:3-84 or section 3 of P.L.1950, c.142 (C.39:3-84.1) shall be fined an amount equal to $0.02 per pound for each pound of the total excess weight; provided the total excess weight is 10,000 pounds or less, or shall be fined an amount equal to $0.03 per pound for each pound of the total excess weight; provided the total excess weight is more than 10,000 pounds, but in no event shall the fine be less than $50.00. However, in the case of any vehicle or combination of vehicles carrying a sealed ocean container, either the shipper, the consignee or both, shall be liable for a violation of the weight limitations as provided at subsection b. of R.S.39:3-84 relative to maximum gross axle weights.

k. Whenever a vehicle or combination of vehicles, including load or contents, is found to be in violation of any two or more of the weight limitations as provided at subsection b. of R.S.39:3-84 or section 3 of P.L.1950, c.142 (C.39:3-84.1), the fine levied shall be only for the violation involving the greater or greatest excess weight. (cf: P.L.1994, c.60, s.33)

2. Section 8 of P.L.1995, c.157 (C.39:8-66) is amended to read as follows:

8. a. The director, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Transportation, shall establish procedures by which test methods established pursuant to section 3 of this act shall be conducted in the periodic inspection program and in the roadside enforcement program.

b. The director, in consultation with the Department of Transportation and with the approval of the Attorney General, may, by rule or regulation, require that personnel from, and agents of, the division and the Department of Transportation, [and] personnel from the Division of State Police, and law enforcement officers in cities of the first class, when authorized by the Attorney General, who perform the test methods utilized in the roadside enforcement program, and licensees and persons employed by licensees who perform the tests and test methods utilized in the periodic inspection program in accordance with the provisions of section 11 of this act, be trained to do so and be examined, periodically if the rule or regulation so provides, to ensure that their training and competence are adequate. Testing in the roadside enforcement program may be conducted by personnel from the division, the Department of Transportation, or the Division of State Police, or by specially trained law enforcement officers in cities of the first class, when authorized to act for the State by the Attorney General, or by agents appointed by or under contract with the director or the Department of Transportation.

c. The director, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Transportation and with the approval of the Attorney General, shall designate one or more test methods among those established pursuant to section 3 of this act that shall be utilized in the roadside enforcement program established pursuant to section 6 of this act. The director, in consultation with the Department of Transportation and with the approval of the Attorney General, shall establish a form or forms upon which the results of these designated tests or test methods shall be reported in the ordinary course. The form shall contain a statement or statements establishing the following: the type of test performed; the result achieved; that the person completing the form is the person who performed the test; that the tester has been certified by the director as having adequate training and competence to perform the test; that the tester is an employee or agent of the State or otherwise authorized to act therefor, and was acting in an official capacity when the tester performed the test; and any other information that the director may prescribe. The form shall contain a certification subscribed by the person performing the test and certifying that that person did perform the test in a proper manner and believes the test results to be valid and accurate. The presentation of a form prepared in accordance with the provisions of this subsection to a court by any party to a proceeding shall be evidence that all of the requirements and provisions of this subsection have been met and that the form has been prepared in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. The form shall be admissible evidence as proof of the statements contained therein in any civil penalty proceeding brought pursuant to the provisions of this act or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto. A copy of the form shall be served, if practicable, with the complaint and summons upon the defendant or the defendant's agent for service of process; and, in any event, shall be served upon such person at least 20 days before the hearing. Whenever the form is served upon a defendant or a defendant's agent, together with the complaint and summons, the law enforcement officer serving the form shall execute and file with the court a proof of service on a form prescribed by the Administrative Director of the Courts and in a manner consistent with the Rules Governing the Courts of the State of New Jersey. The form shall not be admissible if it is not served at least 20 days before the hearing, provided that the court, upon a showing of good cause and that the defendant is not prejudiced, may postpone the hearing, subject to the Rules Governing the Courts of the State of New Jersey.

d. A roadside inspection of a diesel bus to enforce standards adopted pursuant to section 3 of this act shall be conducted only in conjunction with a roadside safety inspection that is conducted pursuant to law, rule or regulation.

(cf: P.L.1995, c.157, s.8)

3. Section 17 of P.L.1995, c.157 (C.39:8-75) is amended to read as follows:

17. a. There is established in the General Fund a separate, nonlapsing, dedicated account to be known as the "Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Fund." The Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Fund shall be administered by the division in consultation with the Department of Transportation. All fees and other monies collected pursuant to this act or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto shall be forwarded to the State Treasury for deposit into the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Fund account. All fees and other monies deposited in the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Fund account shall be used to fund the costs of administering the programs and activities of the Department of Law and Public Safety, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Environmental Protection established or specified in this act and in subsection f. of R.S.39:3-20, subject to the approval of the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting in the Department of the Treasury.

b. A municipality may be eligible for periodic grants from the fund in such amounts as the director, in consultation with the Commissioner of Transportation, may determine pursuant to rule or regulation to subsidize costs of roadside enforcement testing, in addition to prosecuting and trying actions pursuant to this act.

(cf: P.L.1995, c.157, s.17)

4. R.S.39:5-1 is amended to read as follows:

39:5-1. Except as otherwise provided, the enforcement of this subtitle shall be vested in the director and the police or peace officers of, or inspectors duly appointed for that purpose by, any municipality or county or by the State. Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize police in any municipality other than a city of the first class or peace officers or inspectors appointed by any municipality or police, peace officers or inspectors appointed by any county to conduct random roadside examinations of any vehicle.

(cf: P.L.1994, c.60, s.34)

5. This act shall take effect on the first day of the 10th month after enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill will permit specially trained local law enforcement officers in cities of the first class, when authorized by the State Attorney General, to conduct random roadside testing to measure exhaust emissions and inspect emission control apparatus and related items on diesel buses, heavy duty diesel trucks and other diesel-powered motor vehicles. Cities of the first class have populations of more than 150,000. Further, law enforcement officers in cities of the first class would be granted authority to conduct random roadside examinations of motor vehicles to determine if their size or weight is excessive. Currently officers in these cities may only require such inspections if they have probable cause to believe that the size or weight of the vehicle is in excess of that permitted.

The bill also makes municipalities eligible for periodic grants from the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Fund to help offset the cost of roadside emissions testing. Currently, they may only receive grants for prosecuting and trying such actions.