TRENTON — Everyone agrees there has to be a review of Kyleigh’s Law, and Gov. Chris Christie has shown that he — and not the Legislature — will be the one to see it’s done. Christie vetoed a bill Thursday requiring the attorney general to launch a six-month review of the law, which requires new drivers to display red...
Gov. Christie vetoed a bill that would direct the Attorney General to conduct a review of Kyleigh's Law, which requires teen drivers to display a red decal on their license plates. TRENTON — Everyone agrees there has to be a review of Kyleigh’s Law, and Gov. Chris Christie has shown that he — and not the Legislature — will be the one to see it’s done.
Christie vetoed a bill Thursday requiring the attorney general to launch a six-month review of the law, which requires new drivers to display red decals on license plates.
Christie said the bill would just duplicate other efforts already underway by his administration to address concerns with the new law.
Opponents of Kyleigh’s Law say the red decals make new drivers vulnerable to criminals and sexual predators.
The decals are to make it easier for police to identify violators of the graduated driver’s license law, which restricts novice drivers to a specific number of passengers depending on the time of day, and carries an nighttime driving curfew.
Christie, in a statement, said Attorney General Paula Dow would conduct an immediate survey to see if the decals were involved in the targeting of individuals or in the commission of crimes. She is to report within six months.
"We must take potentially unintended consequences of the law seriously," said Christie, "and make any necessary changes based on hard facts and evidence.
"While I applaud the goals and intentions of this bill and its sponsors in the Legislature, it is unnecessary given the actions already underway by my administration."
Assemblywoman Valerie Huttle (D-Bergen), the bill’s sponsor, criticized the veto, saying it "makes no sense."
"The law already requires the attorney general to review the graduated driver’s license changes, but we were seeking an earlier answer to help respond to concerns by New Jersey parents and teenagers," Huttle said.
"Yet with this veto, the governor has rejected a six-month study, just so he can order another six-month study anyway."
Christie said his directive to Dow will coincide with, rather than replace, provisions in current law for a report on the impact of changes to the graduated driver’s license law. The current law requires the attorney general to monitor the performance of new drivers and evaluate the operation and effectiveness of the law, and report these findings to the governor and Legislature.
The Division of Highway and Traffic Safety within the Department of Law and Public Safety is already working with Rowan University and Virginia Tech University to study the effects of the law and recent changes to it.
Pam Fischer, director of the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety, said the bill was "redundant" in that it would have generically instructed the attorney general to conduct a study that the division is already doing, and Christie’s directive to Dow focuses on the impact of the decals.
Kyleigh’s Law, which took effect May 1, is named after Kyleigh D’Alessio, a 16-year-old Long Valley girl who died in a 2006 car accident while a passenger in a car driven by a person with a provisional license.