S 0317

S‑0317.1 _____________________________________________

SENATE BILL 5025

_____________________________________________

State of Washington 57th Legislature 2001 Regular Session

By Senators Fairley, Kohl‑Welles, McCaslin, Haugen, Deccio, Winsley, Costa, McAuliffe and T. Sheldon

Read first time 01/08/2001. Referred to Committee on Transportation.

_1 AN ACT Relating to parking privileges for disabled veterans;

_2 and amending RCW 46.16.381.

_3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

_4 Sec. 1. RCW 46.16.381 and 1999 c 136 s 1 are each amended to read

_5 as follows:

_6 (1) The director shall grant special parking privileges to any

_7 person who has a disability that limits or impairs the ability to

_8 walk and meets one of the following criteria, as determined by a

_9 licensed physician:

10 (a) Cannot walk two hundred feet without stopping to rest;

11 (b) Is severely limited in ability to walk due to arthritic,

12 neurological, or orthopedic condition;

13 (c) Is so severely disabled, that the person cannot walk

14 without the use of or assistance from a brace, cane, another

15 person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive device;

16 (d) Uses portable oxygen;

17 (e) Is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that forced

18 expiratory respiratory volume, when measured by spirometry is less

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_1 than one liter per second or the arterial oxygen tension is less

_2 than sixty mm/hg on room air at rest;

_3 (f) Impairment by cardiovascular disease or cardiac condition

_4 to the extent that the person's functional limitations are

_5 classified as class III or IV under standards accepted by the

_6 American Heart Association; ((or))

_7 (g) Has a disability resulting from an acute sensitivity to

_8 automobile emissions which limits or impairs the ability to walk.

_9 The personal physician of the applicant shall document that the

10 disability is comparable in severity to the others listed in this

11 subsection; or

12 (h) Is a disabled veteran and qualifies for license plates

13 under RCW 73.04.110.

14 (2) The applications for disabled parking permits and temporary

15 disabled parking permits are official state documents. Knowingly

16 providing false information in conjunction with the application is

17 a gross misdemeanor punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW. The

18 following statement must appear on each application form

19 immediately below the physician's signature and immediately below

20 the applicant's signature: "A disabled parking permit may be

21 issued only for a medical necessity that severely affects mobility

22 (RCW 46.16.381). Knowingly providing false information on this

23 application is a gross misdemeanor. The penalty is up to one year

24 in jail and a fine of up to $5,000 or both."

25 (3) Persons who qualify for special parking privileges are

26 entitled to receive from the department of licensing a removable

27 windshield placard bearing the international symbol of access and

28 an individual serial number, along with a special identification

29 card bearing the name and date of birth of the person to whom the

30 placard is issued, and the placard's serial number. The special

31 identification card shall be issued no later than January 1, 2000,

32 to all persons who are issued parking placards, including those

33 issued for temporary disabilities, and special disabled parking

34 license plates. By July 1, 2001, the department shall incorporate

35 a photograph of the holder of the disabled parking permit into all

36 special identification cards issued after that date. The

37 department, in conjunction with the governor's committee on

38 disability issues and employment, shall assess options for issuing

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_1 a photo identification card to each person who qualifies for a

_2 permanent parking placard, a temporary parking placard, or a

_3 special disabled parking license plate and report findings to the

_4 legislative transportation committee no later than December 31,

_5 2000. The department shall design the placard to be displayed

_6 when the vehicle is parked by suspending it from the rearview

_7 mirror, or in the absence of a rearview mirror the card may be

_8 displayed on the dashboard of any vehicle used to transport the

_9 disabled person. Instead of regular motor vehicle license plates,

10 disabled persons are entitled to receive special license plates

11 bearing the international symbol of access for one vehicle

12 registered in the disabled person's name. Disabled persons who

13 are not issued the special license plates are entitled to receive

14 a second special placard upon submitting a written request to the

15 department. Persons who have been issued the parking privileges

16 and who are using a vehicle or are riding in a vehicle displaying

17 the special license plates or license plates for disabled veterans

18 issued under RCW 73.04.110 or placard may park in places reserved

19 for mobility disabled persons. The director shall adopt rules

20 providing for the issuance of special placards and license plates

21 to public transportation authorities, nursing homes licensed under

22 chapter 18.51 RCW, boarding homes licensed under chapter 18.20

23 RCW, senior citizen centers, private nonprofit agencies as defined

24 in chapter 24.03 RCW, and vehicles registered with the department

25 as cabulances that regularly transport disabled persons who have

26 been determined eligible for special parking privileges provided

27 under this section. The director may issue special license plates

28 for a vehicle registered in the name of the public transportation

29 authority, nursing home, boarding homes, senior citizen center,

30 private nonprofit agency, or cabulance service if the vehicle is

31 primarily used to transport persons with disabilities described in

32 this section. Public transportation authorities, nursing homes,

33 boarding homes, senior citizen centers, private nonprofit

34 agencies, and cabulance services are responsible for insuring that

35 the special placards and license plates are not used improperly

36 and are responsible for all fines and penalties for improper use.

37 (4) Whenever the disabled person transfers or assigns his or

38 her interest in the vehicle, the special license plates shall be

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_1 removed from the motor vehicle. If another vehicle is acquired by

_2 the disabled person and the vehicle owner qualifies for a special

_3 plate, the plate shall be attached to the vehicle, and the

_4 director shall be immediately notified of the transfer of the

_5 plate. If another vehicle is not acquired by the disabled person,

_6 the removed plate shall be immediately surrendered to the

_7 director.

_8 (5) The special license plate shall be renewed in the same

_9 manner and at the time required for the renewal of regular motor

10 vehicle license plates under this chapter. No special license

11 plate may be issued to a person who is temporarily disabled. A

12 person who has a condition expected to improve within six months

13 may be issued a temporary placard for a period not to exceed six

14 months. If the condition exists after six months a new temporary

15 placard shall be issued upon receipt of a new certification from

16 the disabled person's physician. The permanent parking placard

17 and identification card of a disabled person shall be renewed at

18 least every five years, as required by the director, by

19 satisfactory proof of the right to continued use of the

20 privileges. In the event of the permit holder's death, the

21 parking placard and identification card must be immediately

22 surrendered to the department. The department shall match and

23 purge its disabled permit data base with available death record

24 information at least every twelve months.

25 (6) Each person who has been issued a permanent disabled

26 parking permit on or before July 1, 1998, must renew the permit no

27 later than July 1, 2003, subject to a schedule to be set by the

28 department, or the permit will expire.

29 (7) Additional fees shall not be charged for the issuance of

30 the special placards or the identification cards. No additional

31 fee may be charged for the issuance of the special license plates

32 except the regular motor vehicle registration fee and any other

33 fees and taxes required to be paid upon registration of a motor

34 vehicle.

35 (8) Any unauthorized use of the special placard, special

36 license plate, or identification card is a traffic infraction with

37 a monetary penalty of two hundred fifty dollars.

38 (9) It is a parking infraction, with a monetary penalty of two

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_1 hundred fifty dollars for a person to make inaccessible the access

_2 aisle located next to a space reserved for physically disabled

_3 persons. The clerk of the court shall report all violations

_4 related to this subsection to the department.

_5 (10) It is a parking infraction, with a monetary penalty of two

_6 hundred fifty dollars for any person to park a vehicle in a

_7 parking place provided on private property without charge or on

_8 public property reserved for physically disabled persons without a

_9 special license plate or placard. If a person is charged with a

10 violation, the person shall not be determined to have committed an

11 infraction if the person produces in court or before the court

12 appearance the special license plate or placard required under

13 this section. A local jurisdiction providing nonmetered, on-

14 street parking places reserved for physically disabled persons may

15 impose by ordinance time restrictions of no less than four hours

16 on the use of these parking places. A local jurisdiction may

17 impose by ordinance time restrictions of no less than four hours

18 on the use of nonreserved, on-street parking spaces by vehicles

19 displaying the special parking placards. All time restrictions

20 must be clearly posted.

21 (11) The penalties imposed under subsections (9) and (10) of

22 this section shall be used by that local jurisdiction exclusively

23 for law enforcement. The court may also impose an additional

24 penalty sufficient to reimburse the local jurisdiction for any

25 costs it may have incurred in removal and storage of the

26 improperly parked vehicle.

27 (12) Except as provided by subsection (2) of this section, it

28 is a traffic infraction with a monetary penalty of two hundred

29 fifty dollars for any person willfully to obtain a special license

30 plate, placard, or identification card in a manner other than that

31 established under this section.

32 (13)(a) A law enforcement agency authorized to enforce parking

33 laws may appoint volunteers, with a limited commission, to issue

34 notices of infractions for violations of this section or RCW

35 46.61.581. Volunteers must be at least twenty-one years of age.

36 The law enforcement agency appointing volunteers may establish any

37 other qualifications the agency deems desirable.

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_1 (b) An agency appointing volunteers under this section must

_2 provide training to the volunteers before authorizing them to

_3 issue notices of infractions.

_4 (c) A notice of infraction issued by a volunteer appointed

_5 under this subsection has the same force and effect as a notice of

_6 infraction issued by a police officer for the same offense.

_7 (d) A police officer or a volunteer may request a person to

_8 show the person's identification card or special parking placard

_9 when investigating the possibility of a violation of this section.

10 If the request is refused, the person in charge of the vehicle

11 may be issued a notice of infraction for a violation of this

12 section.

13 (14) For second or subsequent violations of this section, in

14 addition to a monetary fine, the violator must complete a minimum

15 of forty hours of:

16 (a) Community service for a nonprofit organization that serves

17 the disabled community or persons having disabling diseases; or

18 (b) Any other community service that may sensitize the violator

19 to the needs and obstacles faced by persons who have disabilities.

20 (15) The court may not suspend more than one-half of any fine

21 imposed under subsection (8), (9), (10), or (12) of this section.

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