OFF THE WIRE
Check this out - from New Jersey - no money, no inspections ? ? ?
IF YOU OWN A CAR AND/OR A MOTORCYCLE THIS WILL IMPACT YOU!!!!
Safety Inspections Eliminated in New Jersey!
First, a little background; I have been hearing unsubstantiated rumors for the last couple of months that the NJ MVC (Motor Vehicle Commission) was still thinking about or trying to eliminate the safety inspections required by NJ law for motorcycles. An ABATE member called me last Friday (6/25) to tell me that a friend of his went to get his motorcycle inspected at private inspection station recently and was told by an employee there that the MVC had stopped issuing new stickers to inspection stations and they would no longer be doing inspections after July 1, 2010. Even though this came to me from a "friend of a friend", it was the most reliable information I had received so far. Since I can't act on third-hand information, I needed to get my own independent confirmation.
I began to make phone calls yesterday (6/29) to see if I could get first-hand corroboration. Since NJ State Senators Madden and Van Drew had been so instrumental in helping ABATE with the efforts last December to have a bill amended to keep motorcycle safety inspections in place, I started with calls to their offices. Here is what I found out, much to my dismay.
A bill was introduced in the NJ Senate (S2090) that would not only eliminate the required safety inspections for motorcycles, but would also eliminate them for passenger vehicles and noncommercial trucks as well. The only remaining requirement will be emissions testing/certification for passenger vehicles and noncommercial trucks only (not motorcycles). This bill was introduced and passed so quickly, that it went completely unnoticed by anyone outside of the legislature. It was introduced in the Senate on 6/21, approved by a Senate Committee on 6/24 and passed a vote in both the Senate and the Assembly on 6/28. All this in just 7 days! This is almost unheard of for a bill to be passed so quickly. A lot of bills literally take months and some take years to be approved.
I can't tell you exactly when this will take effect. All that's required now to become law is the Governor's signature, which he will no doubt do in short order. If your bike (or car) is due for inspection in June or over the next couple of months, the best thing I can tell you to do is to call your local MVC office and see what they tell you because I do not know how fast this change will be implemented. With the fiscal mess NJ is currently in, I doubt if it will take long. When a state is in financial crisis, things tend to move quickly. I'm sure we'll be reading and hearing about it in the news media very soon. This is all I know at this time, but as I learn more information, I will keep you updated. I'm sure there will be unintended consequences related to this bill, but for now, we will just have to take a wait and see attitude and remain vigilant. If you have comments, questions or concerns, my email address is included below.
Regards,
Jim Parker
Legislative Director
ABATE of the Garden State
legislativedirector@gardenstateabate.org
