August 23, 2019
ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 4135
(First Reprint)
To the General Assembly:
Pursuant to Article V, Section I, Paragraph 14 of the New Jersey
Constitution, I am returning Assembly Bill No. 4135 (First Reprint)
without my approval.
This bill would make it easier for government entities to issue
parking tickets by authorizing the use of digital parking meters or
other electronic parking compliance devices to monitor parking
compliance within their jurisdictions.
meters

increase

the

efficiency

of

Because digital parking

parking

enforcement,

I

am

concerned that the proliferation of these meters would dramatically
increase the number of parking tickets issued across the State,
which, in turn, would increase the amount of fines paid by New Jersey
residents.
This concern is not merely theoretical.

In 2016, Palisades

Park installed twenty digital parking meters as part of a pilot
program.

Those twenty digital meters averaged about 125 violations

each, compared to an average of 40 tickets among non-program meters.
The pilot program led to a 190 percent increase in parking tickets
in a five-month period, and in the first year, revenue rose to about
$200,000

–

about $50,000 more than the year before

the meter

overhaul.
Stated plainly, digital parking meters have been proven to
generate huge increases in the number of parking tickets, and thus
more money for local governments. If we are going to seek additional
revenue to support important public priorities, I firmly believe
that we should first ask those at the very top, such as those with
incomes in excess of $1 million, to pay their fair share.

I do not

believe it is appropriate to protect the tax breaks enjoyed by the
wealthiest New Jerseyans while extracting additional money from low-

 2
and middle-income New Jerseyans, many of whom are struggling to make
ends meet.

I will not allow technological advances to multiply the

likelihood of an unexpected parking ticket, which can devastate a
resident or family living paycheck to paycheck.
Even

if

one

disagrees

and

believes

now

is

the

time

to

dramatically ramp up parking enforcement, other jurisdictions have
faced issues with the reliability of the technology used by digital
parking meters.

In Sacramento, California, which has utilized

digital parking meters for several years, an audit released earlier
this year found that despite protections like those in this bill,
the meters issued more than 4,000 parking tickets by mistake.

The

mistakenly issued tickets stemmed from multiple problems including
problems

recording

payment

through

parking-meter

mobile

applications, which failed to reach the meters in 20 percent of
instances, and battery issues with the meters.

Most significantly,

the audit found that the digital parking meter sensors were not
recognizing vehicles when they parked and were registering that
vehicles had left their spots when they had not.

In fact, the

sensors were only able to correctly identify the presence of a
vehicle in 84 percent of instances, meaning they were wrong 16
percent of the time.

These problems are far too glaring to ignore,

and should offer a cautionary tale on the expansion of these devices
in New Jersey.
Moreover, relying on the notifications provided by mobile
applications as a motorist-protection measure would disadvantage
motorists who do not have smartphones, which usually include lowincome and elderly New Jerseyans.

Digital parking meters thus may

result in the disproportionate issuance of parking tickets to lowincome

and

elderly

motorists,

who

are

already

particularly

 3
vulnerable to financial hardship.
As Governor, I am committed to making New Jersey a state in
which all residents can both afford to live and maximize their
talents and abilities.

I believe that the use of digital parking

meters and the likely flood of parking tickets that would result
will make New Jersey less affordable.
Accordingly,

I

herewith

return

Assembly

Bill

(First Reprint) without my approval.
Respectfully,
[seal]

/s/ Philip D. Murphy
Governor

Attest:
/s/ Matthew J. Platkin
Chief Counsel to the Governor

No.

4135