H. B. 4643


(By Delegates Brum, Fragale and Beane)
[Introduced March 1, 1994; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation.]




A BILL to amend and reenact section six, article thirteen, chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to providing certain definitions regarding the issuance of handicapped parking decals; requiring application for renewal of special licenses and placards after three years, and providing for the expiration of temporary placards; and to incorporate the minimum requirements of federal laws P.L. 100-641, "Uniform System of Handicap Parking Law" and P.L. 101-336, "The Americans with Disabilities Act."
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section six, article thirteen, chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13. STOPPING, STANDING AND PARKING.

§ 17C - 13 - 6. Stopping, standing or parking privileges for disabled; qualification; application; violation.

(a) Any owner of a Class A motor vehicle subject to registration under the provisions of article three, chapter seventeen-a of this code, who is:

(1) A person with a mobility impairment;
(2) A relative of a person who is a person with a mobility impairment;
(3) A person who regularly resides with a person who is a person with a mobility impairment with limited mobility; or
(4) A person who regularly transports a person who is a person with a mobility impairment with limited mobility, may apply for a renewable special registration plate or a renewable mobile windshield placard, neither of which shall be valid for more than three years from the date of issuance, by submitting to the commissioner:
(A) An application therefor on a form prescribed and furnished by the commissioner, specifying whether the applicant desires a special registration plate or a mobile windshield placard; and
(B) A certificate issued by a person licensed to practice medicine stating that the applicant or the applicant's spouse or a member of the applicant's immediate family residing with him is a person with a mobility impairment with limited mobility as defined in this section.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the term "removable windshield placard" means a 3" x 9.5", two-sided, hanger-style placard which includes on each side:
(1) The international handicap symbol of access, which is at least three inches in height, centered on the placard, and is white on a blue shield;
(2) An identification number having numerals 1" in height;
(3) A date of expiration with 1" high numerals; and
(4) See attachment for design specifications.
Upon receipt of the application, the physician's certificate and the registration fee, if he or she finds that the applicant qualifies for the special registration plate or mobile windshield placard provided for in this subsection, the commissioner shall issue to such applicant an appropriately designed and appropriately designated special registration plate or mobile windshield placard. The special plate shall display the international handicap symbol at the end of the plate numerals and shall be used in place of a regular license plate.
(c) As used in this section, a person with a mobility impairment with limited mobility means a person who, as determined by a licensed physician:
(1) Cannot walk two hundred feet without stopping to rest; or
(2) Cannot walk without the use of, or assistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair or other assistive device; or
(3) Is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that the person's forced (respiratory) expiratory volume for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than sixty mm/hg on room air at rest; or
(4) Uses portable oxygen; or
(5) Has a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to standards set by the American Heart Association; or
(6) Is severely limited in their ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition.
Any person who falsely or fraudulently obtains or seeks to obtain the special plate or the mobile windshield placard provided for in this subsection (a), and any person who falsely certifies that a person is physically handicapped with limited mobility in order that an applicant may be issued the special plate, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, in addition to any other penalty he may otherwise incur, shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned in the county jail not more than one year, or both fined and imprisoned.
(d) Any person with a mobility impairment, any person who is a relative of a person with a mobility impairment, any person who regularly resides with a person with a mobility impairment, or any person who regularly transports a person with a mobility impairment, may apply for a temporary removable windshield placard for a Class A vehicle by submitting to the commissioner:
(1) An application therefor on a form prescribed and furnished by the commissioner;
(2) A certificate issued by a person licensed to practice medicine stating that the applicant or the applicant's relative is a person with a mobility impairment, or that the person regularly residing with the applicant or regularly transported by the applicant is a person with a mobility impairment, as defined in this section, and shall set the expiration period to be six or twelve months or three years.
(e) Upon receipt of the application, the physician's certificate and the registration fee, if he finds that the applicant qualifies for a temporary removable windshield placard provided for in this subsection, the commissioner shall issue to such applicant a temporary removable windshield placard. The commissioner shall issue one additional placard on request having the identical expiration date as the original placard issued. The placard shall be displayed on the motor vehicle to be hung from the rear view mirror and shall be valid for not more than six months from the date of issuance and shall be conspicuously shown visible from outside the vehicle. The placard shall be removed from the rearview mirror wherever the vehicle is being operated to ensure clear vision and safe driving. For the purpose of this section, the term "temporary removable windshield placard" means a 3" x 9.5", two-sided, hanger-style placard which includes on each side:
(1) The international handicap symbol, which is at least three inches in height, centered on the placard, and is white on a blue shield;
(2) An identification number having numerals 1" in height;
(3) A date of expiration with 1" high numerals; and
(4) The seal or other identification of the issuing authority.
(c) As used in this section, a person with a mobility impairment with limited mobility means a person who, as determined by a licensed physician:
(1) Cannot walk two hundred feet without stopping to rest; or
(2) Cannot walk without the use of, or assistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair or other assistive device; or
(3) Is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that the person's forced (respiratory) expiratory volume for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than sixty mm/hg on room air at rest; or
(4) Uses portable oxygen; or
(5) Has a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to standards set by the American Heart Association; or
(6) Is severely limited in their ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition.
Any person who falsely or fraudulently obtains or seeks to obtain the vehicle decal provided for in this subsection, and any person who falsely certifies that a person is physically disabled in order that an applicant may be issued the vehicle placard, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, in addition to any other penalty he may otherwise incur, shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than one hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the county jail not more than thirty days, or both fined and imprisoned.
(f) Free stopping, standing or parking places marked "handicapped parking" shall be designated in close proximity to all state, county and municipal buildings, commercial facilities and public accommodations using specifications and definitions as defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act as published in Vol. 56, No. 144 of the Federal Register dated July 26, 1991. Such places shall be reserved solely for physically disabled and handicapped persons during the hours that such buildings are open for business.
Any person whose vehicle properly displays a valid, unexpired, special registration plate, mobile windshield placard or decal may park the vehicle for unlimited periods of time in parking zones unrestricted as to length of parking time permitted: Provided, That this privilege does not mean that the vehicle may park in any zone where stopping, standing or parking is prohibited or which creates parking zones for special types of vehicles or which prohibits parking during heavy traffic periods during specified rush hours or where parking would clearly present a traffic hazard. To the extent any provision of any ordinance of any political subdivision of this state is contrary to the provisions of this section, the provisions of this section shall take precedence and shall apply.
The privileges provided for in this subsection shall apply only during those times when the vehicle is being used for the transportation of a physically handicapped or disabled person. Any person who knowingly exercises, or attempts to exercise, such privileges at a time when the vehicle is not being used for the transportation of a physically handicapped or disabled person is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, in addition to any other penalty he may otherwise incur, shall be fined not less than ten nor more than fifty dollars, or imprisoned in the county jail for not more than thirty days, or both fined and imprisoned.
(g) No person may stop, stand or park a motor vehicle in an area designated, zoned or marked for the handicapped or physically disabled, and no person may stop, stand or park any motor vehicle at special, clearly marked, parking locations provided for the handicapped or physically disabled in or on privately owned parking lots, parking garages, or other parking areas, when such person is not physically disabled or handicapped and does not have displayed upon his vehicle a distinguishing insignia for the handicapped issued by the commissioner: Provided, That any person in the act of transporting a handicapped or physically disabled person, as defined by this article, may stop, stand or park a motor vehicle not displaying a distinguishing insignia for the handicapped in an area designated, zoned or marked for the handicapped or physically disabled for the limited purposes of loading or unloading his handicapped or physically disabled passenger: Provided, however, That such vehicle shall be promptly moved after the completion of such limited purposes.
Any person who violates the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than twenty-five dollars.
(h) A vehicle from any state within the United States or any foreign country displaying a valid international handicap symbol placard or special license plate irregardless of where it is located on the vehicle shall be recognized and accepted as an alternative to this statute.
(i) The commissioner shall adopt and promulgate rules in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to effectuate the provisions of this section.
(j) The temporary removable windshield placard shall be identical in specification to the following:




NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that persons with handicapping conditions apply for renewal every three years of special parking licenses and placards which allow them to park in handicap parking spaces. The bill also provides that temporary handicapped parking placards expire at the end of six or twelve months or three years as determined by a licensed physician. Furthermore, this bill is intended to incorporate the minimum requirements of federal laws P.L. 100-641, "Uniform System of Handicap Parking Law" and P.L. 101-336, "The Americans with Disabilities Act."

§17C-13-6 has been completely rewritten; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.