By:  Barrientos                                                   S.B. No. 305


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to specialized license plates and parking placards for 
vehicles of persons with disabilities.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 502.253, Transportation Code, is amended 
by amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (j) to read as 
follows:
	(e)  Subject to Subsections [Subsection] (i) and (j), the 
first application for registration must be accompanied by a written 
statement of a physician licensed to practice medicine in this 
state or a state adjacent to this state, or authorized by applicable 
law to practice medicine in a hospital or other health facility of 
the Veterans Administration, certifying to the department that the 
person making the application or on whose behalf the application is 
made is legally blind or has a mobility problem that substantially 
impairs the person's ability to ambulate.  The statement must 
include a certification of whether a mobility problem, if 
applicable, is temporary or permanent.  A written statement from a 
physician is not required as acceptable medical proof if:
		(1)  the person with a disability:                                            
			(A)  has had a limb, hand, or foot amputated; or                             
			(B)  must use a wheelchair; and                                              
		(2)  the applicant and the county assessor-collector 
issuing the special license plates execute an affidavit attesting 
to the person's disability.
	(j)  If a first application for registration under this 
section is made by or on behalf of a person with a mobility problem 
that substantially impairs the person's ability to ambulate, the 
written statement required by Subsection (e) may be issued by a 
person licensed to practice chiropractic in this state or a state 
adjacent to this state.  In this subsection, "chiropractic" has the 
meaning assigned by Section 201.002, Occupations Code.
	SECTION 2.  Section 681.003, Transportation Code, is amended 
by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (f) to read as 
follows:
	(c)  Subject to Subsections [Subsection] (e) and (f), the 
first application must be accompanied by a notarized written 
statement or written prescription of a physician licensed to 
practice medicine in this state or a state adjacent to this state, 
or authorized by applicable law to practice medicine in a hospital 
or other health facility of the Veterans Administration, certifying 
and providing evidence acceptable to the department that the person 
making the application or on whose behalf the application is made is 
legally blind or has a mobility problem that substantially impairs 
the person's ability to ambulate.  The statement or prescription 
must include a certification of whether the disability is temporary 
or permanent and information acceptable to the department to 
determine the type of disabled parking placard for which the 
applicant is eligible.  The department shall determine a person's 
eligibility based on evidence provided by the applicant 
establishing legal blindness or mobility impairment.
	(f)  If a first application for a disabled parking placard 
under this section is made by or on behalf of a person with a 
mobility problem that substantially impairs the person's ability to 
ambulate, the notarized written statement required by Subsection 
(c) may be issued by a person licensed to practice chiropractic in 
this state or a state adjacent to this state.  In this subsection, 
"chiropractic" has the meaning assigned by Section 201.002, 
Occupations Code.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.