By Coleman H.B. No. 1659
76R5479 DWS-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to payment of a fee or penalty for parking by persons with
1-3 disabilities.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 681.006, Transportation Code, is amended
1-6 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 681.006. PARKING PRIVILEGES: PERSONS WITH
1-8 DISABILITIES. (a) A vehicle may be parked for an unlimited period
1-9 in a parking space or area that is designated specifically for
1-10 persons with physical disabilities if:
1-11 (1) the vehicle is being operated by or for the
1-12 transportation of a person with a disability; and
1-13 (2) there are:
1-14 (A) displayed on the vehicle special license
1-15 plates issued under Section 502.253; or
1-16 (B) placed on the rearview mirror of the
1-17 vehicle's front windshield a disabled parking placard.
1-18 (b) [The owner of a vehicle is exempt from the payment of a
1-19 fee or penalty imposed by a governmental unit for parking at a
1-20 meter, in a parking garage or lot, or in a space with a limitation
1-21 on the length of time for parking if:]
1-22 [(1) the vehicle is being operated by or for the
1-23 transportation of a person with a disability; and]
1-24 [(2) there are:]
2-1 [(A) displayed on the vehicle special license
2-2 plates issued under Section 502.253; or]
2-3 [(B) placed on the rearview mirror of the
2-4 vehicle's front windshield a disabled parking placard.]
2-5 [(c) The exemption provided by Subsection (b) does not apply
2-6 to a fee or penalty:]
2-7 [(1) imposed by a branch of the United States
2-8 government; or]
2-9 [(2) imposed by a governmental unit for parking at a
2-10 meter, in a parking garage or lot, or in a space located within the
2-11 boundaries of a municipal airport.]
2-12 [(d)] This section does not permit a vehicle to be parked at
2-13 a time when or a place where parking is prohibited.
2-14 [(e) Nothing in this code shall be interpreted as exempting
2-15 any owner or operator of a vehicle from payment of fees or
2-16 penalties imposed by a governmental unit for parking at a meter, in
2-17 a parking garage or lot, or in a space located within the
2-18 boundaries of a municipal airport.]
2-19 SECTION 2. Section 681.007, Transportation Code, is amended
2-20 to read as follows:
2-21 Sec. 681.007. PARKING PRIVILEGES: VEHICLES DISPLAYING
2-22 INTERNATIONAL SYMBOL OF ACCESS. A vehicle may be parked [and is
2-23 exempt from the payment of a fee or penalty] in the same manner as
2-24 a vehicle that has displayed on the vehicle special license plates
2-25 issued under Section 502.253 or a disabled parking placard as
2-26 provided by Section 681.006 if there is displayed on the vehicle a
2-27 license plate or placard that:
3-1 (1) bears the international symbol of access; and
3-2 (2) is issued by a state or by a state or province of
3-3 a foreign country to the owner or operator of the vehicle for the
3-4 transportation of a person with a disability.
3-5 SECTION 3. Section 681.008, Transportation Code, is
3-6 repealed.
3-7 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
3-8 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
3-9 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-10 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-11 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-12 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.