1-1 By: Coleman (Senate Sponsor - Brown) H.B. No. 2083
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 15, 1995;
1-3 May 17, 1995, read first time and referred to Committee on State
1-4 Affairs; May 25, 1995, reported favorably by the following vote:
1-5 Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 25, 1995, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to the issuance of special license plates and parking
1-9 placards for vehicles owned by or transporting disabled persons and
1-10 the enforcement of the law relating to parking by or for disabled
1-11 persons.
1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13 SECTION 1. Section 2, Chapter 338, Acts of the 64th
1-14 Legislature, 1975 (Article 6675a-5e.1, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-15 Statutes), is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (b) to read
1-16 as follows:
1-17 (a)(1) For purposes of this Act, a <A> person is disabled
1-18 who has mobility problems that substantially impair the person's
1-19 ability to ambulate, or who is legally blind.
1-20 (2) A person is legally blind if the person has <In
1-21 this Act, "legally blind" means having> not more than 20/200 of
1-22 visual acuity in the better eye with correcting lenses, or visual
1-23 acuity greater than 20/200 but with a limitation in the field of
1-24 vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends
1-25 an angle no greater than 20 degrees.
1-26 (3) A person has mobility problems that substantially
1-27 impair the person's ability to ambulate if the person:
1-28 (A) cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to
1-29 rest;
1-30 (B) cannot walk without the use of or assistance
1-31 from an assistance device, including a brace, cane, crutch, another
1-32 person, or a prosthetic device;
1-33 (C) cannot ambulate without a wheelchair or
1-34 similar device;
1-35 (D) is restricted by lung disease to the extent
1-36 that the person's forced respiratory expiratory volume for one
1-37 second, measured by spirometry, is less than one liter, or the
1-38 arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 millimeters of mercury on
1-39 room air at rest;
1-40 (E) uses portable oxygen;
1-41 (F) has a cardiac condition to the extent that
1-42 the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as
1-43 Class III or Class IV according to standards set by the American
1-44 Heart Association;
1-45 (G) is severely limited in the ability to walk
1-46 because of an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition; or
1-47 (H) has another debilitating condition that, in
1-48 the opinion of a physician licensed to practice medicine in this
1-49 state, limits or impairs the person's ability to walk.
1-50 (b) Owners of motor vehicles regularly operated by or for
1-51 the transportation of persons described in Subsection (a) of this
1-52 section may make application to the department through the county
1-53 tax collector of the county in which they reside for the special
1-54 license plates or a removable windshield identification card on a
1-55 form prescribed and furnished by the department. The first
1-56 application must be accompanied by a written statement of a
1-57 physician licensed to practice medicine in this state certifying to
1-58 the department that the person making the application or on whose
1-59 behalf the application is made is legally blind or has a mobility
1-60 problem that substantially impairs the person's ability to
1-61 ambulate. The statement must include a certification of whether a
1-62 mobility problem, if applicable, is temporary or permanent. A
1-63 permanently disabled person may receive a set of special license
1-64 plates and one removable windshield identification card or may
1-65 receive no special license plates and two removable windshield
1-66 identification cards. A temporarily disabled person may receive
1-67 two removable windshield identification cards that may be renewed
1-68 at the end of the period for which they were issued if the
2-1 disability remains. <The first such application must be
2-2 accompanied by acceptable medical proof that the operator or
2-3 regularly transported passenger is currently or permanently
2-4 disabled.>
2-5 SECTION 2. Section 6(b), Chapter 338, Acts of the 64th
2-6 Legislature, Regular Session, 1975 (Article 6675a-5e.1, Vernon's
2-7 Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
2-8 (b) The owner of a vehicle on which the special license
2-9 plates are displayed or in which a removable windshield
2-10 identification card is placed on the rearview mirror of the front
2-11 windshield is exempt from the payment of fees or penalties imposed
2-12 by a governmental authority for parking at a meter, in a parking
2-13 garage or lot, or in a space with a limitation on the length of
2-14 time for parking, unless the vehicle was not parked at the time by
2-15 or for transportation of a disabled person. This exemption does
2-16 not apply to fees or penalties imposed by a branch of the United
2-17 States government. This section does not permit parking a vehicle
2-18 at a place or time that parking is prohibited.
2-19 SECTION 3. Section 6A, Chapter 338, Acts of the 64th
2-20 Legislature, 1975 (Article 6675a-5e.1, Vernon's Texas Civil
2-21 Statutes), is amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
2-22 (e) A political subdivision may appoint a disabled person
2-23 or a nondisabled person to have the authority to file charges
2-24 against a person who commits an offense under this Act. A person
2-25 appointed under this subsection must be a United States citizen of
2-26 good moral character who has not been convicted of a felony. The
2-27 person must take and subscribe to an oath of office that the
2-28 political subdivision prescribes and must complete a training
2-29 program developed by the political subdivision. The person is not
2-30 a peace officer, has no authority other than the authority
2-31 applicable to a citizen to enforce a law other than this Act, and
2-32 may not carry a weapon while performing duties under this
2-33 subsection. The person is not entitled to compensation for
2-34 performing duties under this subsection or to indemnification from
2-35 the political subdivision or the state for injury or property
2-36 damage the person sustains or liability the person incurs in
2-37 performing duties under this subsection. The political subdivision
2-38 and the state are not liable for any damages arising from an act or
2-39 omission of the person in performing duties under this subsection.
2-40 SECTION 4. Section 10, Chapter 338, Acts of the 64th
2-41 Legislature, 1975 (Article 6675a-5e.1, Vernon's Texas Civil
2-42 Statutes), is amended by amending Subsection (e) and adding
2-43 Subsections (f)-(j) to read as follows:
2-44 (e) An offense under this section is a <Class C>
2-45 misdemeanor. Except as provided by Subsections (f)-(i) of this
2-46 section, an offense under this section is punishable by a fine of
2-47 not less than $100 or more than $200.
2-48 (f) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this
2-49 section that the person has been previously convicted one time of
2-50 an offense under this section, the offense is punishable by a fine
2-51 of not less than $200 or more than $300.
2-52 (g) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this
2-53 section that the person has been previously convicted two times of
2-54 an offense under this section, the offense is punishable by a fine
2-55 of not less than $300 or more than $400.
2-56 (h) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this
2-57 section that the person has been previously convicted three times
2-58 of an offense under this section, the offense is punishable by a
2-59 fine of not less than $400 or more than $500.
2-60 (i) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this
2-61 section that the person has been previously convicted four times of
2-62 an offense under this section, the offense is punishable by a fine
2-63 of $500.
2-64 (j) An offense under this section is punishable by a
2-65 sentence of community service not to exceed 100 hours.
2-66 SECTION 5. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
2-67 (b) The changes in law made by Section 1 of this Act apply
2-68 only to a person who applies for special disabled license plates or
2-69 a removable windshield identification card on or after that date.
2-70 A person who applied for special disabled license plates or a
3-1 removable windshield identification card before the effective date
3-2 of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the application
3-3 was made, and the former law is continued in effect for that
3-4 purpose.
3-5 (c) The changes in law made by Section 4 of this Act apply
3-6 only to the punishment for a first or subsequent offense committed
3-7 on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed
3-8 before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in
3-9 effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
3-10 continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
3-11 subsection, an offense was committed before the effective date of
3-12 this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
3-13 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
3-14 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-15 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-16 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-17 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
3-18 * * * * *