AN ACT Relating to
raising the fine for parking in places reserved for physically disabled
persons; amending RCW 46.16.381 and 46.08.150; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 46.16.381 and 1994 c
194 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The director shall
grant special parking privileges to any person who has a disability that limits
or impairs the ability to walk and meets one of the following criteria, as
determined by a licensed physician:
(a) Cannot walk two
hundred feet without stopping to rest;
(b) Is severely limited
in ability to walk due to arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition;
(c) Is so severely
disabled, that the person cannot walk without the use of or assistance from a
brace, cane, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive
device;
(d) Uses portable
oxygen;
(e) Is restricted by
lung disease to such an extent that forced expiratory respiratory volume, when measured
by spirometry is less than one liter per second or the arterial oxygen tension
is less than sixty mm/hg on room air at rest;
(f) Impairment by
cardiovascular disease or cardiac condition to the extent that the person's
functional limitations are classified as class III or IV under standards
accepted by the American Heart Association; or
(g) Has a disability
resulting from an acute sensitivity to automobile emissions which limits or
impairs the ability to walk. The personal physician of the applicant shall
document that the disability is comparable in severity to the others listed in
this subsection.
(2) Persons who qualify
for special parking privileges are entitled to receive from the department of
licensing a removable windshield placard bearing the international symbol of
access. The department shall design the placard to be displayed when the
vehicle is parked by suspending it from the rearview mirror, or in the absence
of a rearview mirror the card may be displayed on the dashboard of any vehicle
used to transport the disabled person. Instead of regular motor vehicle
license plates, disabled persons are entitled to receive special license plates
bearing the international symbol of access for one vehicle registered in the
disabled person's name. Disabled persons who are not issued the special
license plates are entitled to receive a second special placard. Persons who
have been issued the parking privileges and who are using a vehicle or are
riding in a vehicle displaying the special license plates or placard may park
in places reserved for mobility disabled persons. The director shall adopt
rules providing for the issuance of special placards and license plates to
public transportation authorities, nursing homes licensed under chapter 18.51
RCW, boarding homes licensed under chapter 18.20 RCW, senior citizen centers,
private nonprofit agencies as defined in chapter 24.03 RCW, and vehicles
registered with the department as cabulances that regularly transport disabled
persons who have been determined eligible for special parking privileges
provided under this section. The director may issue special license plates for
a vehicle registered in the name of the public transportation authority,
nursing home, boarding homes, senior citizen center, private nonprofit agency,
or cabulance service if the vehicle is primarily used to transport persons with
disabilities described in this section. Public transportation authorities,
nursing homes, boarding homes, senior citizen centers, private nonprofit agencies,
and cabulance services are responsible for insuring that the special placards
and license plates are not used improperly and are responsible for all fines
and penalties for improper use.
(3) Whenever the
disabled person transfers or assigns his or her interest in the vehicle, the
special license plates shall be removed from the motor vehicle. If another
vehicle is acquired by the disabled person and the vehicle owner qualifies for
a special plate, the plate shall be attached to the vehicle, and the director
shall be immediately notified of the transfer of the plate. If another vehicle
is not acquired by the disabled person, the removed plate shall be immediately
surrendered to the director.
(4) The special license
plate shall be renewed in the same manner and at the time required for the
renewal of regular motor vehicle license plates under this chapter. No special
license plate may be issued to a person who is temporarily disabled. A person
who has a condition expected to improve within six months may be issued a
temporary placard for a period not to exceed six months. The director may
issue a second temporary placard during that period if requested by the person
who is temporarily disabled. If the condition exists after six months a new
temporary placard shall be issued upon receipt of a new certification from the
disabled person's physician. The parking placard of a disabled person shall be
renewed, when required by the director, by satisfactory proof of the right to
continued use of the privileges.
(5) Additional fees
shall not be charged for the issuance of the special placards. No additional
fee may be charged for the issuance of the special license plates except the
regular motor vehicle registration fee and any other fees and taxes required to
be paid upon registration of a motor vehicle.
(6) Any unauthorized
use of the special placard or the special license plate is a misdemeanor.
(7) It is a ((traffic))
parking infraction, with a monetary penalty of ((fifty)) one
hundred seventy-five dollars for any person to park a vehicle in a parking
place provided on private property without charge or on public property
reserved for physically disabled persons without a special license plate or
placard. If a person is charged with a violation, the person shall not be
determined to have committed an infraction if the person produces in court or
before the court appearance the special license plate or placard required under
this section. A local jurisdiction providing on-street parking places reserved
for physically disabled persons may impose by ordinance time restrictions on
the use of these parking places.
(8) The ((portion of
a)) penalty imposed under subsection (7) of this section ((that is
retained by a local jurisdiction under RCW 3.46.120, 3.50.100, 3.62.020,
3.62.040, or 35.20.220)) shall 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 it may
have incurred in removal and storage of the improperly parked vehicle.
(9) It is a misdemeanor
for any person to willfully obtain a special license plate or placard in a
manner other than that established under this section.
Sec. 2. RCW 46.08.150 and 1961 c
12 s 46.08.150 are each amended to read as follows:
The director of general
administration shall have power to devise and promulgate rules and regulations
for the control of vehicular and pedestrian traffic and the parking of motor
vehicles on the state capitol grounds. However, the monetary penalty for
parking a motor vehicle without a valid special license plate or placard in a
parking place reserved for physically disabled persons shall be the same as
provided in RCW 46.16.381. Such rules and regulations shall be promulgated
by publication in one issue of a newspaper published at the state capitol and
shall be given such further publicity as the director may deem proper.
