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.