Bill > S1727

Introduced Session

This bill provides for the licensure of used motor vehicle dealers and establishes an eight-member State Board of Used Motor Vehicle Dealers in the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety to oversee their licensure. The board is to consist of three licensed used motor vehicle dealers, one licensed used motor vehicle dealer employed by a used motor vehicle dealer auction company, three public members, and a State executive department member. The bill provides for three types of licensure: retail used motor vehicle dealer, wholesale used motor vehicle dealer, and retail-wholesale used motor vehicle dealer. To be eligible for licensure as a used motor vehicle dealer, an applicant is required to be at least 18 years old, be of good moral character, and fulfill the following requirements: (1) hold a valid New Jersey driver's license demonstrating proof of residency or be an officer of a publicly traded or privately held company with a minimum of 500 domestic employees and hold a valid driver's license in the jurisdiction of the company's corporate headquarters; (2) have an established place of business; and (3) undergo a criminal history record background check. Under the bill, an established place of business includes a trailer, if the trailer is connected to utilities and remains in the same location for at least six months of the year. Further, under the bill, an applicant is not eligible to be licensed as a used motor vehicle dealer if the applicant has been convicted of an offense involving dishonesty, fraud, or misrepresentation, or of a crime of the first or second degree. The bill provides that no person may engage in business as a used motor vehicle dealer in this State unless that person holds a valid license or the transaction involves an in-State purchaser, who is a used motor vehicle dealer licensed under the provisions of the bill, and a person who holds a valid used motor vehicle dealer license issued by another state. As defined in the bill, "used motor vehicle" means every motor vehicle and motorized bicycle, except a nonconventional type motor vehicle, for which title to, or possession of, has been transferred from the person who first acquired it from the manufacturer or dealer, and so used as to become what is commonly known as "secondhand" within the ordinary meaning of that term, and includes every motor vehicle and motorized bicycle other than a new motor vehicle, a nonconventional type motor vehicle, or a manufactured home subject to real property taxation. The bill also makes changes to several statutes relating to the licensure of motor vehicle dealers by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC), currently the regulatory authority that licenses used motor vehicle dealers in the State. In amending these statutes, the bill clarifies that the MVC will no longer license used motor vehicle dealers on or after the bill's date of enactment.

Committee Categories

Paul Moriarty (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Commerce Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document