Farewell to the front end

"New Jersey motorists would say farewell to front license plates under a proposal from a key state lawmaker. Assemblyman John Wisniewski, D-Parlin, said Monday he would introduce legislation in the fall that would require only a rear license plate. "New Jersey is one of the few states that require tags in the front and back" of vehicles said Wisniewski, who chairs the Assembly Transportation Committee.” (Jennings, Daily Record)

Property taxes. Auto insurance. Global climate change. Sprawl. Property taxes. Stem cell research. Cost of keeping the beach's clean. Property taxes. Corruption. Pay to Play. Did I mention property taxes?

These are all very important issues.

But the issue that has got Assemblyman John Wisniewski all in a snit are ‘front end license’ plates. The Parlin Assemblyman is going to introduce legislation that will require tags only in the rear of your New Jersey car.

Has this replaced “Property taxes, auto insurance, global climate change, property taxes and corruption” as the top issues in NJ? Are people marching on Wisniewski’s office demanding that he fight for their rights to be ‘back-enders’ only? Is there a boycott of foreign cars that have a spot for a special license plate up front?

How did this become an issue?

Now, I know that Wisniewski has supported some very important and progressive bills in the Assembly. And he is the chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee. For example, he has supported A4, which Implements CORE proposals, including "Uniform Shared Services and Consolidation Act"; user -friendly budgets; revision of county superintendent of schools title and duties. He has supported A 1936 {"Concerns coverage for childhood immunizations]. And he supported A1955 "Transportation Trust Fund Renewal and Reform Act of 2005."

All in all, he seems like a pretty nice guy and a concerned legislator. So, why the focus on eliminating the front license plates in NJ?

Possible reasons:

Perhaps Assemblyman Wisniewski wants to make sure that New Jersey drivers can assert their First Amendment rights while driving:

“If we eliminate the front plate, that would be the perfect place for individuals to display whatever their cause may be.”

Also, the state has 17 specialty plates dedicated to causes ranging from organ donation to agriculture to Liberty State Park to the Pinelands to cancer research. Alumni from eight colleges can also get plates touting their school.

Maybe it's peer pressure from other states: Assemblyman Wisniewski wants New Jersey to be just like the other states: "New Jersey is one of the few states that require tags in the front and back of vehicles.” And we certainly cannot be alone in our ways when it comes to our cars’ front ends.

Could be that he likes to use analogies: "The front plate is really superfluous; To use an analogy, it's like the appendix in humans.”

Well, the only time doctors remove an appendix is when it causes problems. Are the front plates really causing that much of a pain in the rear to drivers in NJ?

Stay tuned.