SENATE BILL REPORT
SB 5410
As of January 30, 2025
Title: An act relating to parking privileges for veterans.
Brief Description: Concerning parking privileges for veterans.
Sponsors: Senators Braun, Boehnke, Chapman, Conway, Dozier, King, Liias, Lovick, Salomon, Warnick, Wellman and Wilson, J..
Brief History:
Committee Activity: Transportation: 2/03/25.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Authorizes veterans who have a 70 percent disability rating from either the United States Armed Forces or United States Department of Veterans Affairs and who use a service animal as defined in federal law to apply for special parking privileges for persons with disabilities.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Staff: Brandon Popovac (786-7465)
Background:

A person with a disability who meets at least one of the following conditions, as determined and authorized by a licensed physician, advanced nurse practitioner, or physician assistant, may apply for special parking privileges to the Department of Licensing (DOL):

  • cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest;
  • is severely limited in ability to walk due to arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition;
  • requires the use of or assistance from a brace, cane, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive device to walk;
  • uses portable oxygen;
  • is restricted by lung disease to a certain extent;
  • is impaired by cardiovascular disease or cardiac condition to a certain extent;
  • has a disability resulting from an acute sensitivity to automobile emissions that limits or impairs the ability to walk and the disability is comparable to other qualifying disabilities;
  • has limited mobility and no vision, or whose vision with corrective lenses is extremely limited;
  • has an eye condition of a progressive nature that may lead to blindness; or
  • is restricted by a form of porphyria to the extent that the applicant would significantly benefit from a decrease in exposure to light.

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Authorization from a health care professional must be provided to DOL on a tamper-resistant prescription pad or paper, on office letterhead, or by electronic means.

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If a person is granted a special parking privilege, DOL must provide the person, at no cost, with special license plates or parking placards, or both, containing the international symbol of access and an identification card.

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Special parking privileges for persons with disabilities must be renewed at least every five years, with signed written authorization from a health care practitioner provided in the renewal application.

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Disability ratings for veterans are based on the severity of their service-connected disability or disabilities, which is expressed as a percentage reflecting how much the disability or disabilities decrease overall health and ability to function. The disability rating is determined in 10 percent increments and informs the disability compensation rate.

Summary of Bill:

Veterans who have a 70 percent disability rating from the United States Armed Forces or the United?States Department of Veterans Affairs and who use a service animal, as defined in federal law, may apply for special parking privileges for persons with disabilities.

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A service animal is defined in federal law as any dog that is individually trained to do work or to perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the person's disability.

Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on January 28, 2025.
Creates Committee/Commission/Task Force that includes Legislative members: No.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.