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
SENATE, No. 773
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
DATED: MAY 31, 2022
SUMMARY
Synopsis: Requires MVC to create mobile driver’s licenses and identification
cards.
Type of Impact: State expenditure increase; State revenue increase.
Agencies Affected: New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.
Office of Legislative Services Estimate
Fiscal Impact Years 1-6 Year 6 and After
State Cost Increase Indeterminate Indeterminate
State Revenue Increase No Impact Indeterminate
The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) finds that the State will incur indeterminate one-time
costs to implement mobile driver’s licenses and identification cards, including the costs to
design these electronic documents and other costs associated with information technology (IT)
changes that such electronic documents will require. Because the OLS is unable to predict
how the program will be implemented, does not have information about associated IT hardware
and software costs, and notes that the bill will not take effect until six years after enactment,
the cost and revenue estimates for the bill, as well as their timing, are indeterminate.
Beginning six years after the date of enactment, the bill would also result in indeterminate costs
for the issuance of the mobile driver’s licenses and mobile identification cards as well as any
continuing IT costs associated with the maintenance of the mobile driver’s license and mobile
identification card systems. These costs will be offset to a certain degree by annual revenues
collected by the Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) for the electronic documents. The OLS
is unable to determine the likely amounts of these revenues because the bill gives the MVC
discretion in setting fees for the mobile driver’s licenses and mobile identification cards, so
long as the fees are reasonable.
BILL DESCRIPTION
This bill requires the MVC to create and issue a mobile driver’s license and mobile
identification card to any individual who requests such documentation. The MVC is authorized to FE to S773
2
charge and collect a reasonable fee for the issuance of mobile driver’s licenses and mobile
identification cards.
The bill requires the MVC to include features that ensure the security and integrity of the
documents and to prevent and detect the alteration, duplication, counterfeiting, photographing,
forging, or other modification of the electronic documents. The bill allows the holder of a mobile
driver’s license or mobile identification card to update their motor vehicle record and provides that
the changes are to immediately become part of the person’s motor vehicle record and take
precedence over information provided on the person’s printed, hard-copy driver’s license or
identification card.
The bill is to take effect 72 months after enactment.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS concludes that the creation of mobile driver’s licenses and identification cards by the
MVC will result in indeterminate one-time design costs and annual issuance and IT costs as well
as indeterminate annual State revenues. Under the bill, the MVC would not begin to issue the
mobile licenses and identification cards until six years after the date of enactment. Accordingly,
while the MVC may incur increased up-front implementation costs before this time, annual
increases in MVC expenses and revenues are not expected to occur until after the sixth year
following the date of enactment.
The cost of creating the mobile driver’s licenses and identification cards cannot be determined
without more information about how the program will be implemented and how much
implementation of the program may cost six years after enactment. The annual cost is similarly
unable to be determined and will also depend on the number of individuals applying for a mobile
driver’s license or mobile identification card.
The bill includes a requirement that the MVC include features that ensure the security and
integrity of the electronic documents and that the MVC prevent and detect certain alterations,
counterfeiting, and other modifications of the electronic documents. These requirements will
result in an indeterminate one-time cost to design and produce documents with the required
security features as well as ongoing annual costs to ensure the security and integrity of the
documents as well as detection of various modifications of the documents.
Other states have started to consider digital driver’s licenses with costs varying for each state.
For example, the state of Iowa sought to implement digital driver’s licenses in 2018 with an
estimated cost of $3.5 million. Iowa has not yet fully implemented its digital driver’s license
program and it is unknown what costs the state has incurred for implementation. The costs for
New Jersey to implement a similar program would likely exceed Iowa’s costs due to New Jersey’s
larger population as well as inflation.
The annual revenue produced by mobile driver’s licenses and mobile identification cards
cannot be determined at this time, largely in part due to the uncertain nature of the number of
applicants and the amount of the fee that the MVC may charge for the electronic documents. The
amount of the fee is totally within the discretion of the MVC, so long as the fee is reasonable. FE to S773
3
Section: Authorities, Utilities, Transportation and Communications
Analyst: Philip M. Mersinger
Lead Counsel
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.).