"I would bet you that would be just about only time that's ever happened," one assemblyman said.
Usually, when a committee of the state Legislature considers the fate of a bill, lawmakers on the panel vote simply by saying "yes" or no." Or, maybe, "yay" or "nay."
But not this time.
On Monday, the state Assembly Judiciary Committee considered a bill to help restore the driver's ed program at the Katzenbach School for the Deaf, a state-run institution in Trenton.
Deaf residents have been allowed to drive in New Jersey since the 1920s, and the program to teach them at Katzenbach started in 1951.
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But it's been out of commission for the last two years because the school found out the vehicles they were using couldn't be insured, thanks to "a bureaucratic snafu," Assemblyman Dan Benson (D-Mercer) told The Auditor.
The measure (A2340), sponsored by Benson, would authorize students at state schools to operate state vehicles for driver education and provide insurance protection for such activity.
"These kids were about to be left behind," Benson said. "We found an easy fix."
A number of students testified before the panel Monday through sign language.
"They were charming and persuasive," Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex) recalled. "They kept repeating through sign language: 'We need our driver's licenses.'"
The vote was unanimous. All the panel members supported the bill.
And they did so in an unusual way: They all said "yes" via sign language.
The students had taught the lawmakers how to make the sign -- which is basically making a fist and nodding it up and down.
"I would bet you that would be just about only time that's ever happened," McKeon said.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.