By Coleman H.B. No. 2083
74R6565 JD-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the issuance of special license plates and parking
1-3 placards for vehicles owned by or transporting disabled persons and
1-4 the enforcement of the law relating to parking by or for disabled
1-5 persons.
1-6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-7 SECTION 1. Section 2, Chapter 338, Acts of the 64th
1-8 Legislature, 1975 (Article 6675a-5e.1, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-9 Statutes), is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (b) to read
1-10 as follows:
1-11 (a)(1) For purposes of this Act, a <A> person is disabled
1-12 who has mobility problems that substantially impair the person's
1-13 ability to ambulate, or who is legally blind.
1-14 (2) A person is legally blind if the person has <In
1-15 this Act, "legally blind" means having> not more than 20/200 of
1-16 visual acuity in the better eye with correcting lenses, or visual
1-17 acuity greater than 20/200 but with a limitation in the field of
1-18 vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends
1-19 an angle no greater than 20 degrees.
1-20 (3) A person has mobility problems that substantially
1-21 impair the person's ability to ambulate if the person:
1-22 (A) cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to
1-23 rest;
1-24 (B) cannot walk without the use of or assistance
2-1 from an assistance device, including a brace, cane, crutch, another
2-2 person, or a prosthetic device;
2-3 (C) cannot ambulate without a wheelchair or
2-4 similar device;
2-5 (D) is restricted by lung disease to the extent
2-6 that the person's forced respiratory expiratory volume for one
2-7 second, measured by spirometry, is less than one liter, or the
2-8 arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 millimeters of mercury on
2-9 room air at rest;
2-10 (E) uses portable oxygen;
2-11 (F) has a cardiac condition to the extent that
2-12 the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as
2-13 Class III or Class IV according to standards set by the American
2-14 Heart Association;
2-15 (G) is severely limited in the ability to walk
2-16 because of an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition; or
2-17 (H) has another debilitating condition that, in
2-18 the opinion of a physician licensed to practice medicine in this
2-19 state, limits or impairs the person's ability to walk.
2-20 (b) Owners of motor vehicles regularly operated by or for
2-21 the transportation of persons described in Subsection (a) of this
2-22 section may make application to the department through the county
2-23 tax collector of the county in which they reside for the special
2-24 license plates or a removable windshield identification card on a
2-25 form prescribed and furnished by the department. The first
2-26 application must be accompanied by a written statement of a
2-27 physician licensed to practice medicine in this state certifying to
3-1 the department that the person making the application or on whose
3-2 behalf the application is made is legally blind or has a mobility
3-3 problem that substantially impairs the person's ability to
3-4 ambulate. The statement must include a certification of whether a
3-5 mobility problem, if applicable, is temporary or permanent. A
3-6 permanently disabled person may receive a set of special license
3-7 plates and one removable windshield identification card or may
3-8 receive no special license plates and two removable windshield
3-9 identification cards. A temporarily disabled person may receive
3-10 two removable windshield identification cards that may be renewed
3-11 at the end of the period for which they were issued if the
3-12 disability remains. <The first such application must be
3-13 accompanied by acceptable medical proof that the operator or
3-14 regularly transported passenger is currently or permanently
3-15 disabled.>
3-16 SECTION 2. Section 6A, Chapter 338, Acts of the 64th
3-17 Legislature, 1975 (Article 6675a-5e.1, Vernon's Texas Civil
3-18 Statutes), is amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
3-19 (e) A political subdivision may appoint a disabled person to
3-20 have the authority to file charges against a person who commits an
3-21 offense under this Act. A person appointed under this subsection
3-22 must be a United States citizen of good moral character who has not
3-23 been convicted of a felony. The person must take and subscribe to
3-24 an oath of office that the political subdivision prescribes and
3-25 must complete a training program developed by the political
3-26 subdivision. The person is not a peace officer, has no authority
3-27 other than the authority applicable to a citizen to enforce a law
4-1 other than this Act, and may not carry a weapon while performing
4-2 duties under this subsection. The person is not entitled to
4-3 compensation for performing duties under this subsection or to
4-4 indemnification from the political subdivision or the state for
4-5 injury or property damage the person sustains or liability the
4-6 person incurs in performing duties under this subsection. The
4-7 political subdivision and the state are not liable for any damages
4-8 arising from an act or omission of the person in performing duties
4-9 under this subsection.
4-10 SECTION 3. Section 10, Chapter 338, Acts of the 64th
4-11 Legislature, 1975 (Article 6675a-5e.1, Vernon's Texas Civil
4-12 Statutes), is amended by amending Subsection (e) and adding
4-13 Subsections (f)-(i) to read as follows:
4-14 (e) An offense under this section is a <Class C>
4-15 misdemeanor. Except as provided by Subsections (f)-(i) of this
4-16 section, an offense under this section is punishable by a fine of
4-17 not less than $1 or more than $200.
4-18 (f) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this
4-19 section that the person has been previously convicted one time of
4-20 an offense under this section, the offense is punishable by a fine
4-21 of not less than $200 or more than $300.
4-22 (g) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this
4-23 section that the person has been previously convicted two times of
4-24 an offense under this section, the offense is punishable by a fine
4-25 of not less than $300 or more than $400.
4-26 (h) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this
4-27 section that the person has been previously convicted three times
5-1 of an offense under this section, the offense is punishable by a
5-2 fine of not less than $400 or more than $500.
5-3 (i) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this
5-4 section that the person has been previously convicted four times of
5-5 an offense under this section, the offense is punishable by a fine
5-6 of $500.
5-7 SECTION 4. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
5-8 (b) The changes in law made by Section 1 of this Act apply
5-9 only to a person who applies for special disabled license plates or
5-10 a removable windshield identification card on or after that date.
5-11 A person who applied for special disabled license plates or a
5-12 removable windshield identification card before the effective date
5-13 of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the application
5-14 was made, and the former law is continued in effect for that
5-15 purpose.
5-16 (c) The changes in law made by Section 3 of this Act apply
5-17 only to the punishment for a first or subsequent offense committed
5-18 on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed
5-19 before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in
5-20 effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
5-21 continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
5-22 subsection, an offense was committed before the effective date of
5-23 this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
5-24 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
5-25 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-26 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-27 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-1 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
6-2 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1
6-3 Amend House Bill 2083 as follows:
6-4 On Page 5, Line 7, add Subsections (j) to read as follows:
6-5 (j) An offense under this section is punishable by a
6-6 sentence of community service not to exceed 100 hours.
6-7 Ehrhardt
6-8 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 2
6-9 Amend House Bill 2083 as follows:
6-10 On page 3, line 19 between "person" and "to", insert the
6-11 phrase "or a non-disabled person".
6-12 Ehrhardt
6-13 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 3
6-14 Amend House Bill 2083 as follows:
6-15 Add an appropriately numbered SECTION to read as follows and
6-16 renumber the existing SECTIONS accordingly:
6-17 SECTION ____. Section 6(b), Chapter 338, Acts of the 64th
6-18 Legislature, Regular Session, 1975 (Article 6675a-5e.1, Vernon's
6-19 Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
6-20 (b) The owner of a vehicle on which the special license
6-21 plates are displayed or in which a removable windshield
6-22 idenficiation card is placed on the rearview mirror of the front
6-23 windshield is exempt from the payment of fees or penalties imposed
6-24 by a governmental authority for parking at a meter, in a parking
6-25 garage or lot, or in a space with a limitation on the length of
6-26 time for parking, unless the vehicle was not parked at the time by
6-27 or for transportation of a disable person. This exemption does not
7-1 apply to fees of penalties imposed by a branch of the United States
7-2 government. This section does not permit parking a vehcile at a
7-3 place or time that parking is prohibited.
7-4 Ehrhardt
7-5 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 4
7-6 Amend House Bill 2083 as follows:
7-7 On page 4, line 17, strike "$1" and substitute "$100".
7-8 Ehrhardt