In efforts to promote car sharing initiatives in Hoboken, N.J., the state’s Assembly transportation committee released a bill on Jan. 15 that would exempt nonprofit car sharing organizations from the $5 daily surcharge on motor vehicle rentals. The fee has been charged since 2002.

A similar bill, S-1720 was introduced by the state’s Senate.

Under the A-701 legislation, for-profit companies would also be allowed to offer a pro-rated surcharge of $0.25 an hour on rentals that span less than 24 hours instead of paying the full $5 surcharge. The surcharge is not included in total sales receipts for tax purposes, and is separately stated to the customer.

Legislation Assemblymen Ruben J. Ramos Jr. (D), Ralph R. Caputo (D) and Gordon Johnson (D) co-sponsored the bill.

“With this legislation, we're making it clear that we support this concept and want to see it succeed, not just in Hoboken, but in urban communities across the state,” Caputo said.

Corner Cars, Hoboken’s car sharing program, was introduced in June 2010 and has grown to include more than 1,000 members. City officials estimate that the program will remove 750 cars from Hoboken streets.

“This is an innovative program that can bring savings to taxpayers and dramatically improve the quality of life for urban residents by reducing congestion, eliminating parking hassles and cutting pollution,” Ramos said in a press release. “Anything we can do to entice people to use services like this is a plus.”

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