Report Title:

Parking for Persons with Disabilities; Volunteer Program

 

Description:

Makes an appropriation to the disability and communication access board to be equitably distributed to the counties to cover the costs of administering volunteer disabled parking programs. (SD2)

 

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

836

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

S.D. 2

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF PARKING FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that:

(1) Vigorous enforcement of chapter 291, part III, Hawaii Revised Statutes, relating to parking for disabled persons, is necessary to ensure that parking spaces reserved for persons with disabilities are available to the maximum extent for persons who hold valid disabled person’s parking placards and or special license plates. Violators are cited and fined for violating vehicles without the appropriate placard or license plate;

(2) Parking spaces reserved for persons with disabilities are frequently abused by persons who are not authorized to park in these spaces. Abuse occurs by displaying stolen parking placards, illegally borrowing parking placards of authorized persons, or fraudulently manufacturing placards to obtain the parking privileges that are provided under law. Other abuse occurs when people do not display any type of placard in full disregard of signage and markings that indicate to motorists that these parking spaces are reserved for authorized persons only;

(3) The enforcement of parking spaces reserved for persons with disabilities by county police departments is a lower priority than other traffic violations and criminal investigations;

(4) The implementation of volunteer disabled parking enforcement programs by the city and county of Honolulu’s police department and the county of Maui’s police department target disabled parking violators and provide effective enforcement. The combined revenue from fines obtained through enforcement by the Honolulu and Maui volunteer disabled parking enforcement programs totaled over $1,000,000 from January 1998, to October 2000. The revenues obtained were deposited into the State’s general revenues. However, costs incurred by the counties for the volunteer disabled parking enforcement programs are not offset by the revenues generated by the counties’ enforcement efforts. Presently there are no other sources of funding provided to the counties for the administration, training, and equipment required for the respective disabled parking enforcement programs;

(5) The State benefits from the generation of revenues obtained through the enforcement efforts of county volunteer disabled parking enforcement programs; and

(6) It is in the interest of the State to have all counties administer volunteer disabled parking enforcement programs on behalf of the State.

The purpose of this Act is to provide an appropriation to the disability and communication access board to provide for the equitable distribution of funds to the counties to cover the costs of their respective volunteer disabled parking enforcement programs.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $1, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2001-2002, to be equitably distributed to the counties to cover the costs of administering volunteer disabled parking programs.

SECTION 3. The sum appropriated shall be expended by the disability and communication access board for the purpose of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2001.