West Virginia
Legislature
2017 Regular Session
Introduced
House Bill 2197
(By Delegate Caputo (By
Request))
[
to the Committee on Roads and Transportation then the Judiciary.
A BILL to amend the Code
of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated
§47-11-1, §47-11-2, §47-11-3, §47-11-4, §47-11-5, §47-11-6, §47-11-7, §47-11-8
and §47-11-9, all relating to requiring retail establishments offering gasoline
or other motor fuel to provide refueling assistance and refueling access to
persons with a disability; establishing requirements and exceptions; giving
Secretary of the Department of Transportation responsibility for implementation and enforcement; giving secretary rule-making authority; and
providing civil penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature
of West Virginia:
That the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article,
designated §47-11-1, §47-11-2, §47-11-3, §47-11-4, §47-11-5, §47-11-6, §47-11-7,
§47-11-8 and §47-11-9, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 11. DISABLED
MOTORIST REFUELING ASSISTANCE AND ACCESSIBILITY ACT.
§47-11-1. Short Title.
This article shall be
known and may be cited as the "Disabled
Motorist Refueling Assistance and Accessibility Act".
§47-11-2. Purpose.
The purpose of this
article is to ensure that persons with a disability receive refueling
assistance from retail establishments that offer gasoline or other motor fuel
for sale, to ensure that gas station pumps are accessible for use by persons
with a disability and to establish requirements for and exceptions to this
assistance. The requirements set forth
in this article are minimum requirements and do not limit additional forms of
assistance. The requirements are
intended to be consistent with and complimentary to all requirements under the
federal Americans with
Disabilities Act. It is further
intended that if the Americans
with Disabilities Act is amended,
by law or regulation, to require additional forms of refueling assistance or accessibility
features than what are provided in this article, this article will be amended
and reenacted to reflect the additional requirements.
§47-11-3. Definitions.
For the purposes of this
article, the following definitions are applicable unless a different meaning
clearly appears from the context.
"Operable parts" are parts of a gas station pump or island and include
the credit card reader, the fuel grade selection button, the push button
notification device, all help buttons and the fuel dispenser.
"Person with a
disability" is a person who
has been issued a special registration plate or removable windshield placard
from the Division of Motor Vehicles pursuant to section six, article thirteen,
chapter seventeen-c of this code or a person who has been issued similar items
from outside the State of West Virginia.
"Refueling
assistance" means, at a
minimum, the assistance methods identified in this article that retail
establishments are required to provide to a person with a disability and other
methods of assistance that a retail establishment may implement which are not
inconsistent with this article.
"Refueling
accessibility" means
structural designs or alterations which result in gas station pumps that allow
persons with a disability greater ability to pump their own gas.
"Retail
establishment" means a
business that offers gasoline or other motor fuel for sale on a full service
and self-service basis and only on a self-serve basis.
"Secretary" means the secretary of the West Virginia Department
of Transportation.
§47-11-4. Powers and duties of the secretary.
The secretary is
responsible for the implementation and enforcement of this article, including
reasonable time frames for compliance, and shall propose rules for legislative
approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a
of this code.
§47-11-5. Refueling assistance at all retail
establishments.
(a) The retail
establishment shall equip every gas station pump with a push button
notification device that meets the following minimum specifications:
(1) Provides a
recognizable signal inside the retail establishment that a driver needs
refueling assistance;
(2) Is able to be
operated from the vehicle using only one hand;
(3) Has at least one
sign next to it which identifies the device; and
(4) Is able to be
operated from the vehicle.
(b) The retail
establishment shall post a phone number at each pump that connects a person
with a disability to an employee within the retail establishment for purposes
of requesting refueling assistance.
(c) The retail
establishment shall post signage at each gas station pump and at a location
readily observable at the entrance onto the property of the retail
establishment that serves to inform persons with a disability the forms of
assistance available. The signage requires, at minimum, the following
information in large, bold lettering:
(1) The hours that
refueling assistance is available;
(2) A phone number that
the person with a disability can call to communicate the need for refueling
assistance to an employee within the retail establishment;
(3) The requirement that
in order to be eligible for refueling assistance, the vehicle must have
properly displayed a special plate or removable windshield placard issued
pursuant to section six, article thirteen, chapter seventeen-c of this code;
(4) The condition that
the retail establishment will not provide refueling assistance if there is a
person in the vehicle who is capable of providing the assistance;
(5) The requirement that
the operator of the vehicle must be the owner of the vehicle to whom the
special license was issued, or the person to whom the placard was issued; and
(6) The location of the
push button notification device.
(d) The retail
establishment is not required to provide refueling assistance if there is only
one employee working at the time a person with disability makes a request for
assistance.
(e) The retail
establishment is not required to provide refueling assistance if someone able
to provide refueling assistance is in the vehicle.
(f) A person with
disability requesting refueling assistance must have properly displayed a
special plate or removable windshield placard issued pursuant to section six,
article thirteen, chapter seventeen-c of this code at the time of making the
request for refueling assistance.
(g) An employee
providing refueling assistance may request proof that the operator of the
vehicle is the owner of the vehicle to whom the special plate or parking permit
has been issued.
§47-11-6. Refueling assistance at retail establishments
with both full-service and self-service.
(a) A retail
establishment that offers gasoline or other motor fuel for sale on both a full-service
and self-service basis shall provide refueling assistance during hours in which
full-service is offered at the establishment upon the request of a person with
a disability who is operating a motor vehicle.
(b) During hours in
which full-service is not offered but the establishment offers for sale
gasoline or other motor fuel on a self-service basis, the establishment shall
provide refueling assistance upon the request of a person with a disability who
is operating a motor vehicle when at least two employees are working at the establishment.
(c) The retail
establishment shall provide refueling assistance to the person with a
disability without a charge beyond the self-service price regardless of whether
the refueling assistance is provided at a self-service or full-service pump.
§47-11-7. Retail establishments with only self-service.
(a) A retail
establishment that offers gasoline for sale only on a self-service basis must
provide refueling assistance without a charge beyond the self-service price.
(b) The self-service
retail establishment is not required to provide refueling assistance during
those times that it is being operated on a remote control basis by only one
employee.
§47-11-8. Refueling accessibility at retail
establishments.
(a) All gas pumps at a
retail establishment that offers gasoline or any other motor fuel for sale must
contain operable parts that are no more than fifty-four inches above the
driving service.
(b) Newly constructed
pumps or alterations to existing pumps or pump islands must have operable parts
that are no more than forty-eight inches above the driving surface.
§47-11-9. Penalties; assessment and collection.
Failure to comply with
the provisions of this article subjects the owner of a retail establishment
that offers gasoline or other motor fuel for sale to a civil penalty of not
less than $300 nor more than $600 for the first charge of failure to comply and
then for each day of noncompliance beyond the date established by the Secretary
of the Department of Transportation for the retail establishment to achieve
compliance.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require retail establishments offering gasoline or other motor fuel to provide refueling assistance and refueling access to persons with a disability, to establish requirements and exceptions, to provide the Secretary of the Department of Transportation with enforcement and rule-making authority and to establish penalties for noncompliance.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.