By Barrientos                                          S.B. No. 777
         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.