HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

696

THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019

H.D. 2

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO PARKING FOR DISABLED PERSONS.

 

 

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

 


     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the statewide parking program for persons with disabilities, established under part III of chapter 291, Hawaii Revised Statutes, pursuant to P.L. 100-641 (23 C.F.R. 1235), and administered by the disability and communication access board, provides individuals with mobility disabilities the opportunity to travel and park in accessible parking stalls.  The disability and communication access board administers the program, which together with the counties, issues removable windshield placards, temporary removable windshield placards, or special license plates.  A vehicle displaying a disability parking permit is authorized to park in spaces designed and reserved for persons with mobility disabilities.

     The purpose of this Act is to:

     (1)  Prohibit the unauthorized sale or purchase of certain disability parking permits;

     (2)  Clarify the authority of law enforcement officers and commissioned volunteer enforcement officers of the county law enforcement agencies to confiscate valid and invalid disability parking permits in certain circumstances; and

     (3)  Allow advanced practice registered nurses to make a determination regarding a person's mobility.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 291, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding three new sections to part III to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§291-A  Issuance of distinguishing parking device, code, permit, or decal.  The issuing agency shall issue one distinguishing parking device, code, permit, or decal to each applicant who presents a certificate of disability which verifies that the applicant is:

     (1)  A person with a disability as defined by section 291-51;

     (2)  Unable to reach or operate parking meters or pay stations because of the applicant's physical disability; and

     (3)  Licensed to drive a motor vehicle.

The distinguishing parking device, code, permit, or decal shall have the same expiration as the removable windshield placard, temporary removable windshield placard, or special license plates issued to the applicant.

     §291-B  Unlawful sale or purchase.  Any person who sells or purchases a placard that was fraudulently manufactured or altered in violation of section 291-52.7 or who purchases or sells a removable windshield placard, temporary removable windshield placard, or special license plates except in compliance with sections 291-51.5, 291-51.6, 291-52, and 291-52.6 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

     §291-C  Confiscation.  (a)  A law enforcement officer or commissioned volunteer enforcement officer of a county law enforcement agency may confiscate:

     (1)  A removable windshield placard, a temporary removable windshield placard, or special license plates for:

          (A)  Fraudulent manufacturing or alteration pursuant to section 291-52.7;

          (B)  Any unauthorized use pursuant to section 291-53; or

          (C)  Unlawful sale or purchase pursuant to section 291-B; or

     (2)  An invalid removable windshield placard, an invalid temporary removable windshield placard, or invalid special license plates for display of an invalid removable windshield placard, invalid temporary removable windshield placard, or invalid special license plates pursuant to section 291-57(a)(2).

     (b)  Any law enforcement officer or commissioned volunteer enforcement officer of a county law enforcement agency who confiscates a removable windshield placard, temporary removable windshield placard, or special license plate pursuant to this section shall issue a citation to the purported violator.  Any citation issued pursuant to this section shall include a fine of at least $         but no more than $        ."

     SECTION 3.  Section 291-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "person with a disability" to read as follows:

     ""Person with a disability" means a person with a disability which limits or impairs the ability to walk, and who, as determined by a licensed practicing physician[:] or an advanced practice registered nurse:

     (1)  Cannot walk two hundred feet without stopping to rest, due to a diagnosed arthritic, neurological, orthopedic, renal, vascular, or oncological condition;

     (2)  Cannot walk without the use of, or assistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive device;

     (3)  Is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that the person's forced (respiratory) expiratory volume for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than sixty mm/hg on room air at rest;

     (4)  Uses portable oxygen; or

     (5)  Has a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to the standards set by the American Heart Association."

     SECTION 4.  Section 291-53, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§291-53  Nontransferability; penalty.  The removable windshield placard, temporary removable windshield placard, or special license plates shall not be used by anyone other than the person with a disability to whom it is issued unless it is being used in connection with the transport of the person with a disability.  An unauthorized person using the removable windshield placard, temporary removable windshield placard, or special license plates to obtain the special parking privileges authorized under this part or otherwise afforded by the State or counties, shall be guilty of a traffic infraction under chapter 291D and fined not less than $250 nor more than $500.  [A removable windshield placard, temporary removable windshield placard, or special license plates may be confiscated by a law enforcement officer or commissioned volunteer enforcement officer of the county law enforcement agency for any unauthorized use.]"

     SECTION 5.  Section 291-55, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§291-55  [Metered] On-street parking [privileges.] privileges where a fee is imposed.  Any vehicle displaying [special license plates, a removable windshield placard, or a temporary removable windshield placard] or containing a distinguishing parking device, code, permit, or decal issued [under this part] pursuant to section 291-A shall be permitted to park, without payment of [metered] parking fees, in any [metered] on-street parking [space] area for [a maximum of] the first two-and-a-half hours or the maximum [amount of time the meter allows,] time allowed, whichever is longer.  All parking fees not specifically exempted under this part shall remain in effect.  The vehicle shall prominently display the distinguishing parking device, code, permit, or decal when parked in an on-street parking area where a fee is imposed."

     SECTION 6.  In codifying the new sections added by section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

     SECTION 7.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 8.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.



 

Report Title:

Disabled Persons; Parking; Placards and Plates; Violations

 

Description:

Limits the exemption from parking fees to drivers with a disability who are unable to operate a parking meter or pay station because of the driver's disability and who display a distinguishing parking device, code, permit, or decal.  Clarifies time limits applicable to the exemption.  Prohibits the unauthorized sale or purchase of disability parking placards and special license plates.  Clarifies authority of enforcement officers to confiscate placards and special license plates for violations of requirements for manufacture, sale, purchase, or use.  Allows advanced practice registered nurses to make a determination regarding a person's mobility.  (HB696 HD2)

 

 

 

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