By Thompson H.B. No. 1714
77R4485 JAT-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to applications for disabled parking placards.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 681.003, Transportation Code, is amended
1-5 by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
1-6 follows:
1-7 (c) Subject to Subsection (e), the [The] first application
1-8 must be accompanied by a notarized written statement or written
1-9 prescription of a physician licensed to practice medicine in this
1-10 state or a state adjacent to this state, or authorized by
1-11 applicable law to practice medicine in a hospital or other health
1-12 facility of the Veterans Administration, certifying and providing
1-13 evidence acceptable to the department that the person making the
1-14 application or on whose behalf the application is made is legally
1-15 blind or has a mobility problem that substantially impairs the
1-16 person's ability to ambulate. The statement or prescription must
1-17 include a certification of whether the disability is temporary or
1-18 permanent and information acceptable to the department to determine
1-19 the type of disabled parking placard for which the applicant is
1-20 eligible. The department shall determine a person's eligibility
1-21 based on evidence provided by the applicant establishing legal
1-22 blindness or mobility impairment.
1-23 (e) If a first application for a permit under this section
1-24 is made by or on behalf of a person with a mobility problem caused
2-1 by a disorder of the foot, the notarized written statement or
2-2 written prescription required by Subsection (c) may be issued by a
2-3 person licensed to practice podiatry in this state or a state
2-4 adjacent to this state. In this subsection, "podiatry" has the
2-5 meaning assigned by Section 202.001, Occupations Code.
2-6 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.