BILL REQ. #:  H-1533.1 

Read first time 02/20/13.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to special parking privileges for persons with disabilities; amending RCW 46.19.030 and 46.19.050; creating a new section; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 46.19.030 and 2010 c 161 s 704 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall design special license plates for persons with disabilities, parking placards, and year tabs displaying the international symbol of access.
     (2) Special license plates for persons with disabilities must be displayed on the motor vehicle as standard issue license plates as described in RCW 46.16A.200.
     (3) Parking placards must include both a serial number and the expiration date on the face of the placard. The expiration date and serial number must be of sufficient size as to be easily visible from a distance of ten feet from where the placard is displayed.
     (4) Parking placards must be displayed when the motor vehicle is parked by suspending it from the rearview mirror. In the absence of a rearview mirror, the parking placard must be displayed on the dashboard. Parking placards must be displayed in a manner that allows the entire placard to be viewed through the vehicle windshield.
     (((4))) (5) Special year tabs for persons with disabilities must be displayed on license plates as defined by the department.
     (((5))) (6) Persons who have been issued special license plates for persons with disabilities, parking placards, or special license plates with a special year tab for persons with disabilities may park in places reserved for persons with physical disabilities.

Sec. 2   RCW 46.19.050 and 2011 c 171 s 74 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) False information. Knowingly providing false information in conjunction with the application for special parking privileges for persons with disabilities is a gross misdemeanor punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW.
     (2) Unauthorized use. Any unauthorized use of ((the special)) a parking placard, special license (([plate])) plate, or identification card issued under this chapter is a parking infraction with a monetary penalty of two hundred fifty dollars. In addition to any penalty or fine imposed under this subsection, two hundred dollars must be assessed. For the purposes of this subsection, "unauthorized use" includes the use of a parking placard or special license plate that is expired, faked, forged, or counterfeited, and any use of the placard or special license plate of another holder if the initial holder of the placard or license plate is no longer eligible to use or receive it.
     (3) Inaccessible access. It is a parking infraction, with a monetary penalty of two hundred fifty dollars, for a person to park in, block, or otherwise make inaccessible the access aisle located next to a space reserved for persons with physical disabilities. In addition to any penalty or fine imposed under this subsection, two hundred dollars must be assessed. The clerk of the court shall report all violations related to this subsection to the department.
     (4) Parking without placard/plate. It is a parking infraction, with a monetary penalty of two hundred fifty dollars, for any person to park a vehicle in a parking place provided on private property without charge or on public property reserved for persons with physical disabilities without a placard or special license plate issued under this chapter. In addition to any penalty or fine imposed under this subsection, two hundred dollars must be assessed. If a person is charged with a violation, the person will not be determined to have committed an infraction if the person produces in court or before the court appearance the placard or special license plate issued under this chapter as required under this chapter. A local jurisdiction providing nonmetered, on-street parking places reserved for persons with physical disabilities may impose by ordinance time restrictions of no less than four hours on the use of these parking places.
     (5) Improper display of placard/plate. It is a parking infraction, with a monetary penalty of two hundred fifty dollars, to fail to fully display a placard or special license plate issued under this chapter while parked in a parking place on private property without charge or on public property reserved for persons with physical disabilities. In addition to any penalty or fine imposed under this subsection, two hundred dollars must be assessed. For the purposes of this subsection, "fully display" means hanging or placing the placard or special license plate so that the full face of the placard or license plate is visible, including the serial number and expiration date of the license plate or placard. If a person is charged with a violation of this subsection, the person will not be determined to have committed an infraction if the person produces in court or before the court appearance an identification card validly issued to that person under RCW 46.19.010.
     (6) Time restrictions. A local jurisdiction may impose by ordinance time restrictions of no less than four hours on the use of nonreserved, on-street parking spaces by vehicles displaying the special parking placards or special license plates issued under this chapter. All time restrictions must be clearly posted.
     (((6))) (7) Allocation and use of funds - reimbursement. (a) The assessment imposed under subsections (2), (3), ((and)) (4), and (5) of this section must be allocated as follows:
     (i) One hundred dollars must be deposited in the accessible communities account created in RCW 50.40.071; and
     (ii) One hundred dollars must be deposited in the multimodal transportation account under RCW 47.66.070 for the sole purpose of supplementing a grant program for special needs transportation provided by transit agencies and nonprofit providers of transportation that is administered by the department of transportation.
     (b) Any reduction in any penalty or fine and assessment imposed under subsections (2), (3), ((and)) (4), and (5) of this section must be applied proportionally between the penalty or fine and the assessment. When a reduced penalty is imposed under subsection (2), (3), ((or)) (4), or (5) of this section, the amount deposited in the accounts identified in (a) of this subsection must be reduced equally and proportionally.
     (c) The penalty or fine amounts must be used by that local jurisdiction exclusively for law enforcement. The court may also impose an additional penalty sufficient to reimburse the local jurisdiction for any costs that it may have incurred in the removal and storage of the improperly parked vehicle.
     (((7))) (8) Illegal obtainment. Except as provided in subsection (1) of this section, it is a traffic infraction with a monetary penalty of two hundred fifty dollars for any person willfully to obtain a special license plate, placard, or identification card issued under this chapter in a manner other than that established under this chapter. It is a violation of this subsection to make a misrepresentation to a medical professional in order to obtain a special license plate or placard, to steal the special license plate or placard of another holder, or, unless transporting the person to whom the special license plate or placard was issued, to use the special license plate or placard issued to another holder even if permitted to do so by the holder.
     (((8))) (9) Volunteer appointment. A law enforcement agency authorized to enforce parking laws may appoint volunteers, with a limited commission, to issue notices of infractions for violations of ((RCW 46.19.010)) this section and RCW 46.19.030 or 46.61.581. Volunteers must be at least twenty-one years of age. The law enforcement agency appointing volunteers may establish any other qualifications that the agency deems desirable.
     (a) An agency appointing volunteers under this section must provide training to the volunteers before authorizing them to issue notices of infractions.
     (b) A notice of infraction issued by a volunteer appointed under this subsection has the same force and effect as a notice of infraction issued by a police officer for the same offense.
     (c) A police officer or a volunteer may request a person to show the person's identification card or special parking placard when investigating the possibility of a violation of this section. If the request is refused, the person in charge of the vehicle may be issued a notice of infraction for a violation of this section.
     (((9))) (10) Community restitution. For second or subsequent violations of this section, in addition to a monetary penalty, the violator must complete a minimum of forty hours of:
     (a) Community restitution for a nonprofit organization that serves persons with disabilities or disabling diseases; or
     (b) Any other community restitution that may sensitize the violator to the needs and obstacles faced by persons with disabilities.
     (((10))) (11) Fine suspension. The court may not suspend more than one-half of any fine imposed under subsection (2), (3), (4), (5), or (((7))) (8) of this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) Within existing resources, the department of licensing must convene a work group to examine the use of parking placards and special license plates for persons with disabilities and develop a strategic plan for ending any abuse. In developing this plan, the department must work with the department of health, disabled citizen advocacy groups, and representatives from local government.
     (2) The work group must be composed of no more than two representatives from each of the entities listed in subsection (1) of this section. The work group may, when appropriate, consult with any other public or private entity in order to complete the strategic plan.
     (3) The strategic plan must include:
     (a) Oversight measures to ensure that parking placards and special license plates for persons with disabilities are being properly issued, including: (i) The entity responsible for coordinating a randomized review of applications for special parking privileges; (ii) a volunteer panel of medical professionals to conduct such reviews; (iii) a means to protect the anonymity of both the medical professional conducting a review and the medical professional under review; (iv) a means to protect the privacy of applicants by removing any personally identifiable information; and (v) possible sanctions against a medical professional for repeated improper issuances of parking placards or special license plates for persons with disabilities, including those sanctions listed in chapter 18.130 RCW; and
     (b) The creation of a publicly accessible system in which the validity of parking placards and special license plates for persons with disabilities may be verified. This system must not allow the public to access any personally identifiable information or protected health information of a person who has been issued a parking placard or special license plate.
     (4) The work group must convene August 1, 2013, and terminate January 31, 2014.
     (5) By January 31, 2014, the work group must deliver to the legislature and the appropriate legislative committees the strategic plan required under this section, together with its findings, recommendations, and draft legislation in order to implement the strategic plan.