| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to certification by a physical therapist of a person's |
|
|
eligibility for license plates or parking placards issued to |
|
|
persons with disabilities. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 504.201(d), Transportation Code, is |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (d-1), the initial |
|
|
application for specialty license plates under this section must be |
|
|
accompanied by a written statement from a physician [who is] |
|
|
licensed to practice medicine or physical therapist licensed to |
|
|
practice physical therapy in this state or in a state adjacent to |
|
|
this state or who is authorized by applicable law to practice |
|
|
medicine or physical therapy, as applicable, in a hospital or other |
|
|
health facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs. If the |
|
|
applicant has a mobility problem caused by a disorder of the foot, |
|
|
the written statement may be issued by a person licensed to practice |
|
|
podiatry in this state or a state adjacent to this state. In this |
|
|
subsection, "podiatry" has the meaning assigned by Section 681.001. |
|
|
The statement must certify 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 also certify whether a mobility |
|
|
problem is temporary or permanent. A written statement 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 executes a statement attesting to |
|
|
the person's disability before the county assessor-collector. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 681.003(c), Transportation Code, is |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(c) Subject to Subsections (e) and (f), the first |
|
|
application must be accompanied by a notarized written statement or |
|
|
written prescription of a physician licensed to practice medicine |
|
|
or physical therapist licensed to practice physical therapy in this |
|
|
state or a state adjacent to this state, or authorized by applicable |
|
|
law to practice medicine or physical therapy, as applicable, in a |
|
|
hospital or other health facility of the United States Department |
|
|
of Veterans Affairs, 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. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Section 681.004(d), Transportation Code, is |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(d) A disabled parking placard issued to a person with a |
|
|
temporary disability expires after the period set by the department |
|
|
and may be renewed at the end of that period if the disability |
|
|
remains as evidenced by a physician's or physical therapist's |
|
|
statement or prescription submitted as required for a first |
|
|
application under Section 681.003(c). |
|
|
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
|
|
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
|
|
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
|
|
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
|
|
Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |