MVC Help Line Bill Passes New Jersey Assembly

NEW JERSEY - A bill that would require the opening of a call center to field inquiries about New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission website passed in the state Assembly Monday.

Passing in a 70-1 vote, the measure would call for a MVC hotline open on weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to help motorists navigate the agency website in real-time. English and Spanish services will be provided under the bill.

The commission may provide additional web-based support like tutorials and recorded help messages, all in order to reduce staffing constraints, according to the bill.

In November 2020, the MVC opened several online options designed to make getting licenses, registration/titles and CDL renewals from the MVC easier and reduce congestion at the facilities amid a months-long backup for New Jersey MVC offices, with hundreds of eager customers lining up in queues across the state each day. In fact, many MVC offices reached their allotted capacity within hours of opening each day since the Murphy administration allowed the agency to reopen in July 2020. Read more: NJ MVC Turns The Key On New Online Appointment Services

The new legislation, sponsored by Assemblymen William F. Moen, Jr., Paul D. Moriarty and Daniel R. Benson, would also require the MVC to collect and publish quarterly performance reports of the call center, including length of wait times, call purposes and length of calls.

A similar bill is set to be heard by New Jersey’s senate transportation committee.