Report Title:

Parking for Persons with Disabilities

 

Description:

Establishes the Parking for Persons with Disabilities Special Fund (Special Fund) to be administered by the Disability and Communication Access Board. Requires that a portion of the revenues from the state vehicle registration fee be deposited into the Special Fund. (SB2488 HD2)

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2488

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

H.D. 2


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

making an appropriation for parking for persons with disabilities.

 

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that administration of the program to issue parking placards to qualified persons with disabilities is a state responsibility. The Uniform System for Handicapped Parking, P.L. 100-641, was enacted on November 9, 1988. The United States Department of Transportation by rule on March 11, 1991, set guidelines for state establishment of a uniform parking system to enhance access and safety of persons with disabilities which limit or impair their ability to walk. The rules include placard design, define eligible persons, and cover issuance of permanent or temporary placards and special license plates.

The State program for the issuance of parking permits to persons with disabilities is contained in part III of chapter 291, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Since the inception of the program the four counties have issued the parking placards to eligible persons with disabilities. The issuance of parking permits has been integrated into most county offices to the benefit of the public along with other functions of traffic control and customer service, permitting, and licensing, that the counties have undertaken on behalf of the State.

The four counties have issued approximately thirty-three thousand removable windshield placards and temporary removable windshield placards to qualified persons with disabilities in 2000. Marginal county administrative costs were recovered by charging a fee. However, the federal courts have ruled that the imposition of a fee on qualified persons with disabilities is an impermissible surcharge under the Americans with Disabilities Act (Dare v. State of California, 191 F.3d 1167 (9th Cir. 1999), and Emerick v. City and County of Honolulu, 205 F.3d 1351 (9th Cir. 1999). As a result, the counties are no longer able to recoup their administrative costs.

The legislature finds that it is in the State's interest that the counties continue to administer the program on behalf of the State.

The purpose of this Act is to provide funds for county administration of the chapter 291, HRS, statewide program for parking for disabled persons. This Act establishes a parking for persons with disabilities special fund to be administered by the disability and communication access board. A small portion of the State's share of the annual motor vehicle registration fee, 70 cents per vehicle per year, will be deposited into the special fund to finance the statewide program on parking for disabled persons. This non-general fund revenue source for the statewide program is intended to be used for purposes such as:

(1) The purchase of placards, decals, identification cards, application forms, and instruction sheets;

(2) The establishment and maintenance of a statewide parking permit database;

(3) Public education and outreach to persons with disabilities, physicians, law enforcement, public and private entities that provide parking, and the general public;

(4) State positions related to the program;

(5) Other related costs of the program; and

(6) Payment of the county administrative costs incurred in issuing parking permits and implementing a volunteer disabled person parking enforcement program.

SECTION 2. Chapter 348F, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§348F- Parking for persons with disabilities special fund. (a) There is established in the state treasury the parking for persons with disabilities special fund to be administered by the disability and communication access board, into which shall be deposited:

(1) A portion of the revenues from the state vehicle registration fee, as provided in section 249-31; and

(2) Appropriations made by the legislature to the parking for persons with disabilities special fund.

(b) Moneys in the parking for persons with disabilities special fund shall be used for the following purposes:

(1) Administering part III of chapter 291, the statewide program for parking for disabled persons;

(2) Payment of county administrative costs relating to the issuance of permits to qualified persons with disabilities and to implement and administer a volunteer parking enforcement program; and

(3) Any other purpose deemed necessary by the disability and communication access board that relates to the statewide program for parking for disabled persons."

SECTION 3. Section 249-18, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§249-18 Highway fund. All taxes collected under this chapter, except those collected pursuant to sections 249-14 and 249-14.5, and as provided in section 249-31, shall be deposited in a fund to be known as the "highway fund" and shall be expended in the county in which the taxes are collected for the following purposes:

(1) For acquisition, designing, construction, improvement, repair, and maintenance of public roads and highways, including without restriction of the foregoing purposes, costs of new land therefor, of permanent storm drains or new bridges, as well as repairs or additions to storm drains or bridges;

(2) For installation, maintenance, and repair of street lights and power, and other charges for street lighting purposes, including replacement of old street lights, on county maintained public roads and highways;

(3) For purposes and functions connected with traffic control and preservation of safety upon the public highways and streets;

(4) For payment of interest on and redemption of bonds issued to finance highway and street construction and improvements;

(5) In the case of the city and county of Honolulu, for appropriation for the police department up to the sum of $500,000. No expenditures shall be made out of this fund which will jeopardize federal aid for highway construction;

(6) For purposes and functions connected with mass transit; and

(7) For the acquisition, design, construction, improvement, repair, and maintenance of bikeways."

SECTION 4. Section 249-31, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§249-31 State registration fee. All vehicles and motor vehicles in the State as defined in section 249-1, including antique motor vehicles, except as otherwise provided in sections 249-3 to 249-6, shall be subject to a $20 annual vehicle registration fee. The fee shall become due and payable on January 1, and shall be paid before April 1 in each year together with all other taxes and fees levied by this chapter; provided that should any county elect to renew motor vehicle registrations on a staggered basis as authorized by section 286-51, the state registration for that county shall likewise be staggered so that the state registration fee is due and payable at the same time and shall be collected together with the county fee. The state registration fee shall be deemed delinquent if not paid with the county registration fee. The respective counties shall collect this fee together with the vehicle registration tax collected for the county and shall [transfer] remit the moneys collected under this section to the State [to be paid into the state highway fund.], which shall be deposited as follows:

(1) $19.30 of each annual state vehicle registration fee to the credit of the state highway fund; and

(2) 70 cents of each annual state vehicle registration fee to the credit of the parking for persons with disabilities special fund."

SECTION 5. There is appropriated out of the parking for persons with disabilities special fund the sum of $600,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2002-2003 to carry out the purposes of this Act.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the disability and communication access board.

SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect on September 1, 2002.