Is it time for New Jersey to join Pennsylvania and eliminate a law requiring a front license plate on vehicles? A Central Jersey lawmaker thinks it's time to become a one-plate state.



There are 19 states that don't require front license plates, which also includes neighboring Delaware. State Senator Samuel Thompson, R-Monmouth, Middlesex, has proposed a bill to make New Jersey number 20 to ditch the front plate.

Thompson said the idea came from some of his constituents who were concerned about the extra cost for an additional license plate. New Jersey had 6.8 million vehicles registered in 2014.



"Look at the number of cars and the number of plates issued, it's a fair amount of money," Thompson said. "We're looking for ways to economize."



State Motor Vehicle Commission spokesman Mairin Bellack declined to comment about the legislation or if the MVC has considered a change in the past. The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators supports two license plates on vehicles.

Cars parked in Woodbridge show front license plates, required in New Jersey and 30 other states.

The use of two license plates has been around since 1925, primarily to make identification easier for police, enforcement cameras and license plate readers, said a 2012 Texas A&M Transportation Institute study comparing the advantages of requiring single or dual license plates.



Arguments against requiring two license plates include the extra cost, which is passed on the vehicle owner, ruining the aesthetics of the vehicle, especially higher-end cars, and issues mounting a front plate on a vehicle that isn't equipped for it, the study said.



After examining four states, including Pennsylvania, Texas A&M found that a lack of front plates made it more difficult to identify toll cheats, reduces the rate of identification by Automatic License Plate Readers and made it more difficult for police to read the numbers on parked and moving vehicles.

Will you get a ticket for no front license plate?

"Law enforcement would prefer to have two plates because it gives them to ways to identify a vehicle, one way is enough," Thompson said. "The negatives will be offset by the expense of not putting two plates on."



Change in either direction has been hard to come by in New Jersey and the rest of the nation. This is the third time Thompson has proposed his one plate bill, which wasn't released by the Senate Transportation Committee the past two tries. Similar proposals in Utah to change requirements from two to one license plate were defeated in the state legislature in the 2006-2007 session.



It's been just as difficult for Indiana, which is a one plate state, to pass legislation to require two license plates, the study said.

There's also some money behind keeping the ranks of two plate states from decreasing. A website supporting front license plates, was created by the 3M Company, which makes license plate materials.



Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.



