New Closures Draw Backlash As NJ MVC Makes More Changes

NEW JERSEY — More changes have come to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission now that the agency has drawn backlash from lawmakers regarding a new round of site closures.

The changes come as Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, criticized the Murphy administration following news that the Eatontown Motor Vehicle Commission site will be closed for two weeks after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.

O’Scanlon said the Murphy Administration is relying on" outdated, unnecessary" policies when the Motor Vehicle Commission closes a facility for two weeks or longer after an employee tests positive for COVID.

“The fact that we are still somehow closing MVC locations for two weeks for quarantining and ‘deep cleaning’ after one employee tests positive is absolutely outrageous,” said O’Scanlon. “Nowhere is still observing such heavy-handed, unscientific policies . . . not Home Depot, not supermarkets, not car dealerships, not doctors’ offices, not restaurants . . . no one. And none of these entities is suffering any ill health impact.

The MVC says it's working to vaccinate its staff and cut down on the number of facilities that need to be closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, a spokesman told Patch.

“The MVC is working diligently to get staff vaccinated. In the past few weeks, the MVC has had fewer agency closures due to COVID-19 thanks in part to staff vaccinations which began in early April and are close to being completed,” Connolly said. “With staff vaccinations increasing along with vaccinations in the community, we anticipate fewer and fewer agencies will need to close, a trend we are already starting to see now.”

The MVC also is expanding its capacity for in-person service by appointment, though it didn't give an exact number just yet.

The agency also has been working to limit the amount of time New Jersey residents would have to spend at a center in person as it continues to move transactions online, Connolly said.

The number of transactions that require a visit to the MVC continues to drop, according to MVC Press Secretary William Connolly. It is now under 25 percent, with more than 85 percent of license and vehicle registration renewals being able to take place online.

“For several months now, we have been making refinements and adding appointments as we’ve speeded transactions at both licensing and vehicle centers,” Connolly said. “We strongly urge all customers to visit NJMVC.gov to complete their transactions online before trying to make an appointment.There is high demand for new permits, but nearly all other transactions that require an in-person visit are available by appointment, with these appointments widely available across the state.”

As of Monday, there were three MVC centers were closed due to an employee testing positive for the coronavirus, according to MVC Press Secretary William Connolly.

The following agencies are closed, and are expected to reopen on these dates:

• Newark Regional/Licensing Center – Thursday, May 13
• Rio Grande Licensing Center – Thursday, May 13
• Eatontown Regional/Licensing Center – Saturday, May 22

Despite the smaller number of closures, Republican Sen. Anthony M. Bucco has introduced legislation to end the repeated Motor Vehicle Commission agency closures that he says have caused unnecessary disruption and inconvenience to New Jersey drivers.

Under current operating procedures, an MVC agency closes for up to 14 days when a single employee has COVID-19, he said.

Bucco's new legislation directs the chief administrator of the MVC to take all measures necessary to prevent the temporary closure of a commission agency due to the coronavirus and ensure that the commission and its agencies continue to provide services to customers.

If the temporary closure of an agency is necessary, the bill requires reasonable alternatives, including mobile units, to be provided to customers at that agency location.

O'Scanlon said Republicans are trying to find alternatives to policies developed by people who have not been keeping up with the times.

“One must ask what rock have the people continuing these policies been hiding under?!? Perpetuation of foolish policies like these – in addition to pool operation rules and the other 2,000 pages of outdated executive orders, rules, regulations and restrictions – absolutely crushes any confidence one might have in the people making these calls," he said.

O'Scanlon, a frequent critic of the Murphy's administration's COVID policies, noted that cases have dropped drastically in recent weeks as more people have gotten vaccinated.

“Supermarkets and stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot have hundreds of workers with hundreds more customers in their stores daily, yet they don’t shut down whole locations," he said. "Somehow, the brain trust in Trenton has decided that this New Jersey agency is the only entity that must shut down for two weeks with every positive test.

Here are some other recent changes:

Immigration status

The MVC has begun accepting applications for standard driver's licenses and non-driver identification cards from people without federal immigration status.
The expanded license policy will affect nearly 750,000 people, including more than 400,000 undocumented residents in the Garden State, according to the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ).

Gender "X"
The MVC recently added a gender "X" option on state driver licenses and non-driver identification cards. Read More: NJ MVC Adds Gender 'X' Option For Licenses, ID Cards

In-Person Transactions

If you cannot conduct your transaction online and must visit an agency, nearly all in-person transactions are now by appointment. Vehicle Centers have been operating on an appointment-only basis since last fall, and they are down to a handful of walk-in and appointment-only transactions at Licensing Centers.

At Vehicle Centers, appointments for vehicle transactions are available across the state.
For more information, the MVC added resources on its website – including FAQs and video guides – to make the process easier to understand in both English and Spanish.