Office of Legislative Services
State House Annex
P.O. Box 068
Trenton, New Jersey 08625
Legislative Budget and Finance Office
Phone (609) 847-3105
Fax (609) 777-2442
www.njleg.state.nj.us
LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
[First Reprint]
SENATE, No. 1633
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
DATED: NOVEMBER 14, 2022
SUMMARY
Synopsis: Requires MVC to operate call center to assist with online transactions.
Type of Impact: Annual increase in State expenditures.
Agencies Affected: New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.
Office of Legislative Services Estimate
Fiscal Impact Annual Impact
State Expenditure Increase Indeterminate
The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that the bill would increase annual
expenditures for the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) associated with the
operation of a telephone call center to assist customers with online transactions.
The annual cost of operating the telephone call center would vary depending on the manner in
which the MVC implements the call center. Specifically, these costs will depend on the
number of persons needed to operate the call center; the total hours of operation of the call
center; the manner in which call center employees are employed; and the extent to which the
MVC uses web-based support and recorded messages to reduce demand for the call center, as
authorized by the bill.
However, assuming that the MVC operates the telephone call center for the minimum hours
required under the bill, and assuming that each call center employee earns $20 per hour, the
MVC would be responsible for the annual payment of $41,600 in wages for each call center
employee.
The MVC is also expected to incur annual costs associated with the publication of quarterly
reports that track the performance of the call center. Assuming that the MVC can satisfy these
requirements using existing personnel, these expenditure increases are expected to be marginal. FE to S1633 [1R]
2
BILL DESCRIPTION
The bill requires the MVC to maintain a telephone call center located within New Jersey where
commission employees, or persons under contract with the commission, are available in real-time,
at a minimum, during weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., to assist individuals in
navigating the commission’s Internet website and processing online transactions. The MVC is
required to offer all call center services in both English and Spanish. However, the bill also
authorizes the MVC to provide additional web-based tutorial support and recorded help messages
in order to reduce the call center’s staffing needs.
The bill also requires the MVC to collect and make available on its Internet website quarterly
performance metric reports. These reports are required to include, but are not limited to,
information pertaining to the number of calls, the length of individual wait times, the call purpose,
and the length of calls at the telephone call center.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS concludes that the bill would increase annual MVC expenditures associated with the
operation of a telephone call center to assist customers with online transactions. However, because
the bill provides the MVC with discretion concerning the implementation of the telephone call
center, the OLS is unable to quantify the fiscal impact of the bill.
Under the bill, the MVC is required to make the telephone call center available to the public
on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at a minimum. However, the bill allows the MVC to
staff the telephone call center using either in-house employees or third-party contractors. The bill
also permits the MVC to provide additional web-based support and recorded messages in order to
reduce staffing needs at the call center. Accordingly, the OLS notes that the annual cost of
operating the telephone call center would vary depending on the manner in which the MVC
implements the call center. Importantly, these costs will depend heavily on the number of persons
needed to operate the call center; the total hours of operation of the call center; the manner in which
call center employees are employed; and the extent to which the MVC uses other web-based
support to reduce demand for the call center.
However, assuming that the MVC operates the telephone call center for the minimum hours
required under the bill, and assuming that each call center employee earns $20 per hour, the MVC
would be responsible for the annual payment of $41,600 in wages for each call center employee.
Consequently, if 25 persons are needed to staff the telephone call center during all hours of
operation, the MVC would be expected to incur approximately $1.04 million in annual personnel
costs, not including any non-wage benefits that are provided to persons directly employed by the
MVC.
In addition, the MVC is also expected to incur annual costs associated with the publication of
quarterly reports that track the performance of the telephone call center. Assuming that the MVC
can satisfy these reporting requirements using existing personnel, the OLS expects these
expenditure increases to be marginal in nature. FE to S1633 [1R]
3
Section: Authorities, Utilities, Transportation and Communications
Analyst: Michael Walker
Assistant Fiscal Analyst
Approved: Thomas Koenig
Legislative Budget and Finance Officer
This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the
failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.
This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).