You might be shocked to learn it’s technically illegal to cover any part of any letter on your vehicle’s license plate in New Jersey with a frame — even along the very bottom edge of the plate where it says Garden State.

Tony Parenti, the executive director of the New Jersey Safety Officers Association, says if he were still an officer on patrol he’s not sure if he would give anybody a ticket for this but “the law doesn’t permit any part of the plate being covered."

Whether or not the law makes sense, if there a statute on the books, the police have an obligation to enforce it.

“The cop issues the summons, the judge determines if the person is guilty or not guilty. Some judges probably would excuse that.”

Assemblyman Ron Dancer, R-Ocean, decided to sponsor a bill that would change the law after finding out almost 120,000 tickets were issued last year on this technicality.

The law was one reason a car got pulled over in Tenafly, resulting in an exchange between cops and a commissioner for the Port Authority that was caught on video and led to her resignation.

He says he doesn’t blame the police for enforcing the law but “when we know that our constituents and drivers in the state of New Jersey are receiving these kinds of summons and fines, that’s our responsibility.”

He points out the law, in its current form, borders on the ridiculous.

“As long as you do not conceal or obscure the main letters or numbers on the license plate, there should not be fines or penalties. We need to change the law,” he said.

His proposed legislation would clarify that if a driver had a license frame put on by a car dealer they could not be ticketed if only the very top or bottom of the plate is obscured.

So why is there such a ridiculous law on the books in the first place?

Dancer points out that since 2015, the law has brought in about $21 million in fines and penalties.

You can contact reporter David Matthau at David.Matthau@townsquaremedia.com

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