TENAFLY, New Jersey, USA: New Jersey motorists can soon consider their moving violations acts of charity. Thanks to a Bill signed into law on August 6 by the state's governor, James McGreevey, there will be a $1 surcharge on traffic violations to raise an estimated $20 million over the next five years to fund autism research in the state. The law will go into effect in six months' time.

New Jersey has one of the highest incidences of autism in the United States, according to a Democratic Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg, who helped to create the Bill last year with Judah Zeigler, a parent advocate from Leonia.

According to the Governor's Office, an estimated 12,000 to 18,000 individuals and as many as one in every 250 children in New Jersey has an autism spectrum disorder. The problem has grown considerably in recent years.

McGreevey signed the Bill at the Jewish Community Center on the Palisades in Tenafly, which runs numerous programmes for children with autistic and other developmental disorders.

"In addition to supporting research in New Jersey, the funding will place our state in a better position to successfully compete for federal grants for autism research," he told parents and advocates.

One gratified onlooker was Faye Gray of Cresskill, whose 14-year-old son is autistic. "Yesterday, I got a speeding ticket," she told McGreevey. "Today, I'm not so mad about it."

Mary Moran of Midland Park, the mother of a five-year-old autistic child, said she was thrilled to hear the news of the Bill. "This is great," she said. "It gives us all hope that they will find a cause, a cure and more effective treatment."

The concept was the brainchild of Weinberg and Zeigler, a marketing manager, former mayor of Leonia, and the parent of an autistic nine-year-old. The pair began working on the Bill last year. "We weren't getting any money because of budget constraints," Zeigler said.

Zeigler beamed with happiness at seeing the fruits of his campaign. "I'm not naive enough to believe he'll ever be cured completely, but I'm hoping that they will be able to come up with better treatments and be able to improve his quality of life," Zeigler said about his son.

"I'm very excited about this," he added. "New Jersey is really going to take a leadership role in solving the mystery of this autism epidemic."