Title: An act relating to allowing physician assistants to determine disability for special parking privileges.

Brief Description: Allowing physician assistants to determine disability for special parking privileges.

Sponsors: By House Committee on Transportation (originally sponsored by Representatives Clibborn, Curtis, Simpson, Darneille, Schual-Berke, Dickerson and Dunn).

Brief History:

Transportation: 2/1/06, 2/2/06 [DPS].

Floor Activity:

Passed House: 2/10/06, 97-1.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 26 members: Representatives Murray, Chair; Wallace, Vice Chair; Woods, Ranking Minority Member; Skinner, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Appleton, Buck, Campbell, Clibborn, Curtis, Dickerson, Ericksen, Hankins, Holmquist, Hudgins, Jarrett, Lovick, Morris, Nixon, Rodne, Schindler, Sells, Shabro, Simpson, B. Sullivan, Takko and Wood.

Staff: David Munnecke (786-7315).

Background:

The Department of Licensing is required to grant special parking privileges to any person that has a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk and meets one of the following criteria, as determined by a licensed physician or an advanced nurse practitioner:

• cannot walk further than 200 feet without stopping to rest;
• is severely limited in the ability to walk due to arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition;
• is so severely disabled that the person cannot walk without an assistive device;
• uses portable oxygen;
• is restricted by lung disease to a particular extent;
• is impaired by cardiovascular disease or cardiac condition to a particular extent; or
• has a disability resulting from acute sensitivity to automobile emissions that impairs the ability to walk.

A physician assistant is defined by Chapters 18.71A RCW and 18.57A RCW as a person licensed by the Medical Quality Assurance Commission to practice medicine to a limited extent only under the supervision of a physician as defined in Chapter 18.71 RCW and who is academically and clinically prepared to provide health care services and perform diagnostic, therapeutic, preventative and health maintenance services.

Summary of Substitute Bill:

Adds physician assistants to the list of persons eligible to determine if an individual meets the criteria for the issuance of special parking privileges by the Director of the Department of Licensing.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Not requested.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For: This bill fixes an oversight in a previous bill that left out physician assistants. Physician assistants are allowed by WAC to sign everything that a physician can sign, but this authority is not recognized by the Department of Licensing. This bill will fix the problem.

Testimony Against: None.

Persons Testifying: Representative Clibborn, prime sponsor; and Carl Nelson and Tom Hughes, Washington Academy of Physicians Assistants.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.