Bill > S3205

This bill amends existing New Jersey law concerning public movers and warehousemen, specifically P.L.1981, c.311, to revise penalties for violations. It grants the director the authority to allow regular police officers to issue summonses and impound vehicles for violations of the law, aligning with existing penalty enforcement procedures. The bill also increases the civil penalties for willfully violating the law, with fines for a first offense rising from $2,500 to $5,000 and for subsequent offenses from $5,000 to $20,000, with a portion of these funds going to the Division of Consumer Affairs. Additionally, it introduces penalties for unlicensed movers, including daily fines for maintaining websites that advertise their unlicensed services, and establishes that willful violations can be considered a disorderly persons offense, punishable by fines and/or imprisonment. Furthermore, it allows for the suspension of driver's licenses and impoundment of vehicles used by unlicensed movers, and criminalizes the failure to release a consumer's property after payment has been tendered, classifying it as a fourth-degree crime with potential fines and imprisonment, and empowering police officers to seize and return the property.