COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

Senate Bill No. 386


(By Senators Boley and McKenzie)


[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;

reported March 16, 2001.]




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 special registration plates or placards for persons with impaired mobility; allowing organizations that transport persons with disabilities to obtain placard; restricting the persons who may apply for and receive special registration plates or placards; changing the number of plates and placards that may be issued; increasing penalties for making false application or false medical certification for special plates or placards; creating offense for selling, counterfeiting or giving away placards and providing penalties; modifying requirements regarding handicapped parking space signs; requiring that handicapped parking spaces be solely for eligible persons at all times; and requiring the commissioner to include an informational document with plates or placards regarding the laws regulating handicapped parking.

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 persons
with a mobility impairment; definitions; qualification; special registration plates and removable windshield placards; expiration; application; violation; penalties.

(a) Any owner of a Class A or Class G 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 with a mobility impairment;
(3) A person who regularly resides with a person with a mobility impairment; or
(4) A person who regularly transports a person who has a mobility impairment, may submit an application apply for a special registration plate plates for each Class A or Class G vehicle registered in the person's name or a and a removable windshield placard or, if no plate is applied for, up to two windshield placards;: Provided, That one person who regularly transports a person with a mobility impairment may submit the application in the name of the impaired person if such impaired person is incapable of doing so. The application shall be on a form prescribed by the commissioner and shall include a certificate issued by a licensed physician stating: (i) That the applicant is a person with a mobility impairment as defined in this section; and (ii) whether the disability is temporary (not to exceed six months) or permanent (one to five years or more in expected duration).
(b) Any person with a mobility impairment, any 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 who has a mobility impairment may submit an application for a special registration plate or removable windshield placard or both for a Class A or a Class G vehicle by submitting to the commissioner: A West Virginia organization may submit an application for a removable windshield placard for a vehicle that is primarily used to transport persons with mobility impairments. The application shall include a certification by the applicant that, under rules promulgated by the commissioner, the vehicle is primarily used to transport persons with mobility impairments.
(1) An application on a form prescribed and furnished by the commissioner, specifying whether the applicant desires a special registration plate, a removable windshield placard, or both; and
(2) A certificate issued by a licensed physician 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 furthermore, the physician shall specify whether the disability is temporary (not to exceed six months) or permanent (one to five years or more in expected duration).
(c) Upon receipt of the completed application, the physician's certificate or organization's certification and the regular registration fee for the applicant's vehicle class, if the commissioner finds that the applicant qualifies for the special registration plate or a removable windshield placard as provided in this section, he or she shall issue to the applicant a special registration plate (upon remittance of the regular registration fee), or a removable windshield placard (red for temporary and blue for permanent), or both. Upon request, the commissioner shall also issue to any otherwise qualified applicant one additional placard having the same expiration date as the applicant's original placard. The placard shall be displayed by hanging it from the interior rearview mirror of the motor vehicle so that it is conspicuously visible from outside the vehicle when parked in a designated handicapped parking space. The placard may should be removed from the rearview mirror whenever the vehicle is being operated to ensure clear vision and safe driving. Only in the event that there is no suitable rearview mirror in the vehicle may the placard be displayed on the dashboard of the vehicle.
(c) (d) As used in this section, the following terms have the meanings ascribed to them in this subsection:
(1) "A person with a "mobility impairment" means a person who as determined by a licensed physician:
(A) Cannot walk two hundred feet without stopping to rest;
(B) Cannot walk without the use of or assistance from a brace, cane, crutch, prosthetic device, wheelchair, other assistive device or another person;
(C) Is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that the person's force (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;
(D) Uses portable oxygen;
(E) Has a cardiac condition to such an extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to standards established by the American heart association; or
(F) Is severely limited in his or her ability to walk because of an arthritic, neurological, orthopedic or other physical condition;
(2) "Special registration plate" means a registration plate that displays the international symbol of access in a color that contrasts with the background, in letters and numbers the same size as those on the plate, and which may be used in lieu of a regular registration plate;
(3) "Removable windshield placard" (permanent or temporary) means a two-sided, hanger-style placard measuring three inches by nine and one-half inches, with all of the following on each side:
(A) The international symbol of access, measuring at least three inches in height, centered on the placard, in white on a blue background for permanent designations and in white on a red background for temporary designations;
(B) An identification number measuring one inch in height;
(C) An expiration date in numbers measuring one inch in height; and
(D) The seal or other identifying symbol of the issuing authority;
(4) "Regular registration fee" means the standard registration fee for a vehicle of the same class as the applicant's;
(5) "Public entity" means state or local government or any department, agency, special purpose district or other instrumentality of a state or local government;
(6) "Public facility" means all or any part of any buildings, structures, sites, complexes, roads, parking lots or other real or personal property, including the site where the facility is located;
(7) "Place(s) of public accommodation" means a facility or facilities operated by a private entity whose operations affect commerce and fall within at least one of the following categories:
(A) Inns, hotels, motels and other places of lodging;
(B) Restaurants, bars or other establishments serving food or drink;
(C) Motion picture houses, theaters, concert halls, stadiums or other places of exhibition or entertainment;
(D) Auditoriums, convention centers, lecture halls or other places of public gatherings;
(E) Bakeries, grocery stores, clothing stores, hardware stores, shopping centers or other sales or rental establishments;
(F) Laundromats, dry cleaners, banks, barber and beauty shops, travel agencies, shoe repair shops, funeral parlors, gas or service stations, offices of accountants and attorneys, pharmacies, insurance offices, offices of professional health care providers, hospitals or other service establishments;
(G) Terminals, depots or other stations used for public transportation;
(H) Museums, libraries, galleries or other places of public display or collection;
(I) Parks, zoos, amusement parks or other places of recreation;
(J) Public or private nursery, elementary, secondary, undergraduate or post-graduate schools or other places of learning and day care centers, senior citizen centers, homeless shelters, food banks, adoption agencies or other social services establishments; and
(K) Gymnasiums, health spas, bowling alleys, golf courses or other places of exercise or recreation.
(8) "Commercial facility" means a facility whose operations affect commerce and which are intended for nonresidential use by a private entity.
(e) Any person who:
(1) falsely Falsely or fraudulently obtains or seeks to obtain the a special plate or the a removable windshield placard provided for in this section and any person who falsely certifies that a person is mobility impaired in order that an applicant may be issued the a special registration plate or windshield placard hereunder is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, in addition to any other penalty he or she may otherwise incur, shall be fined one seven hundred fifty dollars;
(2) Fabricates or sells a windshield placard or a label imprinted with a future expiration date for use on a windshield placard is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, in addition to any other penalty he or she may otherwise incur, shall be fined five hundred dollars per placard or label fabricated or sold; or
(3) Sells or gives away his or her windshield placard and reapplies for a replacement placard is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, in addition to any other penalty he or she may otherwise incur, shall lose his or her right to receive or use a windshield placard or special license plate for a period of five years.
(d) (f) The commissioner shall set the expiration date for special registration plates and permanent removable windshield placards on the last day of a given month and year, to be valid for a minimum of one year but not more than five years, after which time a new application must be submitted to the commissioner. After the commissioner receives the new application, signed by a certified licensed physician, the commissioner shall issue: (i) A new special registration plate or new permanent removable windshield placard; or (ii) official labels imprinted with the new expiration date and designed so as to be placed over the old dates on the original registration plate or windshield placard.
(e) (g) The commissioner shall set the expiration date of temporary removable windshield placards to be valid for a period of approximately six months after the application was received and approved by the commissioner.
(f) (h) The commissioner shall issue to each applicant who is granted a special registration plate or windshield placard an identification card bearing the applicant's name, assigned identification number and expiration date. The applicant must thereafter carry this identification card on his or her person whenever parking in a handicapped parking space.
(g) (i) A handicapped parking space should comply with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines, contained in 28 C.F.R., Part 36 (1994). , Appendix A, Section 4.6. In particular, the parking space should be a minimum of eight feet wide with an adjacent access aisle for vans having side mounted handicap lifts. Access aisles should be marked using diagonal stripes or other appropriate markings denoting that the space is a no-parking zone. All handicapped parking spaces shall be designated by a sign clearly visible such that it cannot be obscured by a vehicle in the space; the sign shall display the International Symbol of Access. Lines or markings on the pavement or curbs for parking spaces and access aisles may be in any color, although blue is the generally accepted color for handicapped parking.
(h) (j) A vehicle from any other state, United States territory or foreign country displaying an officially issued special registration plate, placard or decal bearing the international symbol of access shall be recognized and accepted as meeting the requirements of this section, regardless of where the plate, placard or decal is mounted or displayed on the vehicle.
(i) (k) Free stopping, standing or parking places marked with the international symbol of access shall be designated in close proximity to all public entities, including state, county and municipal buildings and facilities, places of public accommodation and commercial facilities. These parking places shall be reserved solely for persons with a mobility impairment during the hours that those buildings are open for business at all times.
(j) (l) Any person whose vehicle properly displays a valid, unexpired special registration plate or removable windshield placard 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 take precedence and apply.
(m) The parking privileges provided for in this subsection apply only during those times when the vehicle is being used for the transportation of a person with a mobility impairment. Any person who knowingly exercises, or attempts to exercise, these privileges at a time when the vehicle is not being used for the transportation of a person with a mobility impairment is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, in addition to any other penalty he or she may otherwise incur, shall be fined one three hundred dollars.
(k) (n) Any person whose vehicle does not display a valid, special registration plate or removable windshield placard may not stop, stand or park a motor vehicle in an area designated, zoned or marked for handicapped parking with signs or instructions displaying the international symbol of access, either by itself or with explanatory text. Such signs may shall be mounted on a post or a wall in front of the handicapped parking space and instructions may appear on the ground or pavement, but use of both methods is preferred. Handicapped parking spaces for vans having an eight-foot adjacent access aisle should be designated as "van accessible" but may be used by any vehicle displaying a valid special registration plate or removable windshield placard. These spaces are intended solely for persons with a mobility impairment as defined in this section: Provided, That any person in the act of transporting a person with a mobility impairment as defined in this section may stop, stand or park a motor vehicle not displaying a special registration plate or removable windshield placard in the area designated for handicapped parking by the international symbol of access for the limited purposes of loading or unloading a passenger with a mobility impairment: Provided, however, That the vehicle shall be promptly moved after the completion of this limited purpose.
Any person who violates the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined one hundred dollars.
(l) (o) All signs erected in the future that designate areas as "handicapped parking" or that display the international symbol of access shall also include the words "$100 fine".
(m) (p) No person may stop, stand or park a motor vehicle in an area designated or marked off as an access aisle adjacent to a van-accessible parking space or regular handicapped parking space. Any person, including a driver of a vehicle displaying a valid removable windshield placard or special registration plate, who violates the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined one hundred dollars.
(n) (q) Parking enforcement personnel who otherwise enforce parking violations are hereby authorized to issue citations for violations of this section.
(o) (r) Law-enforcement agencies may establish a program to utilize trained volunteers to collect information necessary to issue citations to persons who illegally park in designated handicapped parking spaces. Any law-enforcement agency choosing to establish a program shall provide for workers' compensation and liability coverage. The volunteers shall photograph the illegally parked vehicle and complete a form, to be developed by supervising law-enforcement agencies, that includes the vehicle's license plate number, date, time and location of the illegally parked vehicle. The photographs must show the vehicle in the handicapped space and a readable view of the license plate. Within the discretion of the supervising law-enforcement agency, the volunteers may issue citations or the volunteers may submit the photographs of the illegally parked vehicle and the form to the supervising law- enforcement agency, who may issue a citation, which includes the photographs and the form, to the owner of the illegally parked vehicle. Volunteers shall be trained on the requirements for citations for vehicles parked in marked, zoned or designated handicapped parking areas by the supervising law-enforcement agency.
(p) (s) The commissioner shall establish a grace period for individuals who, on the effective date of the amendment adding this subsection, hold special registration plates or removable windshield placards bearing no expiration date to submit their applications for newly issued special registration plates and windshield placards, after which time any undated registration plate or windshield placard is invalid and subject to confiscation by any duly appointed law-enforcement officer issue a document to applicants describing the laws regarding the issuance and use of special registration plates and removable windshield placards, including a description of the offenses and penalties related to such plates or placards.
(t) The commissioner shall adopt and promulgate rules in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to effectuate the provisions of this section.

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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to revise the law regarding eligibility for and use of special registration plates or placards for disabled persons and to create new offenses regarding the use or fabrication of such placards.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.)