Report Title:

Parking for Persons with Disabilities

Description:

Amends various definitions within the Hawaii Revised Statutes relating to parking for persons with disabilities, to include "vascular" as a qualifying condition, to include access aisles as part of parking spaces for persons with disabilities, and to repeal language contained in administrative rules; authorizes replacement of stolen placards through the same procedure as replacement of lost or mutilated placards; clarifies that parking privileges for persons with disabilities apply to public spaces only, and not private spaces; lowers the penalty for failure to display the proper permit or identification card; provides penalties for illegally parking in an access aisle adjacent to a parking space for a person with a disability. (SD1)

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

684

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to parking for persons with disabilities.

 

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

SECTION 1. Section 291-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "parking space reserved for persons with disabilities" to read as follows:

""Parking space reserved for persons with disabilities" means a public or private parking space, including the adjacent access aisle, designated for the use of a person with a disability that is designed and constructed in compliance with the requirements of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, and related rules and guidelines and is marked with a sign designating the parking space as reserved for persons with disabilities."

SECTION 2. Section 291-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "person with a disability" to read as follows:

""Person with a disability" means a person with a disability which limits or impairs the ability to walk, and who, as determined by a licensed practicing physician:

(1) Cannot walk two hundred feet without stopping to rest, due to a diagnosed arthritic, neurological, orthopedic, renal, vascular, or oncological condition;

(2) Cannot walk without the use of, or assistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive device;

(3) Is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that the person's forced (respiratory) expiratory volume for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than sixty mm/hg on room air at rest;

(4) Uses portable oxygen; or

(5) Has a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to the standards set by the American Heart Association."

SECTION 3. Section 291-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "removable windshield placard" to read as follows:

""Removable windshield placard" means a two-sided, hanger-style placard [which includes on each side:

(1) The international symbol of access which is white on a blue shield;

(2) An identification number;

(3) A date of expiration; and

(4) The words "State of Hawaii".]

issued under this part to a person with a disability who presents a certificate of disability that verifies that the applicant's disability is expected to last at least four years."

SECTION 4. Section 291-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "temporary removable windshield placard" to read as follows:

""Temporary removable windshield placard" means a two-sided, hanger-style placard[, which includes on each side:

(1) The international symbol of access which is white on a red shield;

(2) An identification number;

(3) A date of expiration;

(4) The words "State of Hawaii"; and

(5) The word "temporary".]

issued under this part to a person with a disability who presents a certificate of disability that verifies the person's disability in monthly increments, which shall not exceed six months."

SECTION 5. Section 291-51.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§291-51.6 [Temporary] Issuance of temporary removable windshield parking placards. Each county may issue one temporary removable windshield placard and a second temporary removable windshield placard to each applicant who requests [it] and presents a certificate of disability that verifies the duration of the applicant's disability in monthly increments, which shall not exceed six months, and upon payment of a fee to the issuing agency. [The temporary removable fee amount shall be established by the disability and communication access board. The temporary removable windshield placard shall expire at the end of the last month of the applicant's disability.

A second temporary removable windshield placard may be issued to each applicant with a disability who so requests and upon payment of a fee to the issuing agency. The second temporary removable windshield placard fee amount shall be established by the disability and communication access board. The second temporary removable windshield placard shall have the same date of expiration as the first temporary removable windshield placard issued to the applicant.

Upon expiration of a temporary removable windshield placard, a person with a disability may apply for a new temporary removable windshield placard upon return of the expired placard and presentation of a new certificate of disability. No applicant shall have more than two valid temporary removable windshield placards issued under this part at any time.] The temporary removable windshield placard shall be designed, fabricated, and sold to the counties at a rate negotiated by the disability and communication access board."

SECTION 6. Section 291-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§291-52 Issuance of removable windshield placard. Each county may issue one removable windshield placard and a second removable windshield placard to each applicant who so requests and presents a certificate of disability that verifies that the applicant's disability is expected to last for at least four years. The removable windshield placard shall expire four years after the date of its issuance. [A second removable windshield placard may be issued to each applicant who requests one. The second removable windshield placard shall have the same date of expiration as the first removable windshield placard issued to the applicant. A person with a disability may apply for a new removable windshield placard upon return of the expired placard and presentation of a new certificate of disability. No person with a disability shall have more than two removable windshield placards issued under this part at any time.] The removable windshield placard shall be designed, fabricated, and sold to the counties at a rate negotiated by the disability and communication access board."

SECTION 7. Section 291-52.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§291-52.5[]] Issuance of identification card. Each issuing agency shall issue one identification card when it issues a removable windshield placard, temporary removable windshield placard, or special license plates to each person with a disability. [The identification card shall have the same date of expiration as the removable windshield placard, temporary removable windshield placard, or special license plates issued to the person. The identification card shall not be issued with a second removable windshield placard or second temporary removable windshield placard. The identification card shall indicate the applicable serial number of the removable windshield placard or temporary removable windshield placard or the special license plates number. The identification card shall also indicate the applicable serial number of the second removable windshield placard or second temporary removable windshield placard if issued.]"

SECTION 8. Section 291-52.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§291-52.6[]] Replacement of a lost, stolen, or mutilated placard or identification card. A removable windshield placard, temporary removable windshield placard, or identification card that is reported lost, stolen, or mutilated may be replaced upon the submittal of a written statement by a person with a disability that the placard or identification card was either lost, stolen, or mutilated and a completed application for a removable windshield placard, temporary removable windshield placard, or identification card to the issuing agency. [If a placard is lost, the county may charge a replacement fee to be paid to the issuing agency. A removable windshield placard, temporary removable windshield placard, or identification card that is reported stolen may be replaced upon police verification that the placard was stolen and submittal of a completed application for a removable windshield placard, temporary removable windshield placard, or identification card to the issuing agency. If a police verification is not obtained in the case of a stolen placard or identification card, the county may charge a replacement fee to be paid to the issuing agency. The replacement fee amount shall be established by the disability and communication access board.]"

SECTION 9. Section 291-55, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§291-55 Parking privileges. Any vehicle displaying special license plates, a removable windshield placard, or a temporary removable windshield placard displaying the international symbol of access issued under this part shall be permitted to park, without payment of metered parking fees, in any public metered parking space designated for the use of a person with a disability in accordance with law. Any vehicle displaying special license plates, a removable windshield placard, or temporary removable windshield placard displaying the international symbol of access issued under this part shall be permitted to park, without payment of metered parking fees in any public metered or unmetered parking space for a maximum of two-and-a-half hours or the maximum amount of time the meter allows, whichever is longer. All parking fees not specifically exempted under this part shall remain in effect. No vehicle shall be permitted to park in the access aisle of the parking space designated for the use of a person with a disability."

SECTION 10. Section 291-56, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§291-56 Rules. The disability and communication access board may adopt rules under chapter 91 to carry out the purposes of this part, including rules for the issuance, renewal, confiscation, revocation, and suspension of removable windshield placards, temporary removable windshield placards, and special license plates, decertification, reciprocity, the replacement of [lost, stolen, or mutilated] placards and identification cards, the design of the placard, the identification card, and special license plates, the establishment of fees for placards, signage and marking of parking spaces, and penalties."

SECTION 11. Section 291-57, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§291-57 Parking spaces reserved for persons with disabilities; penalties. (a) A person using a parking space reserved for persons with disabilities without properly displaying a removable windshield placard, a temporary removable windshield placard, or special license plates, in accordance with this part or any rule adopted thereunder, shall be guilty of a traffic infraction under chapter 291D and shall be fined not less than $250 nor more than $500.

(b) Any person [who] with a disability to whom a placard or special license plates has been issued under this part who uses a parking space reserved for persons with disabilities and [refuses or] fails to display the placard or special license plates or to present an identification card issued under this chapter or the rules adopted thereunder to an enforcement officer upon request shall be guilty of a traffic infraction under chapter 291D and shall be fined not less than [$250] $25 nor more than [$500.] $100.

(c) Any person who parks a vehicle in the access aisle of a parking space reserved for persons with disabilities as defined under this part shall be guilty of a traffic infraction under chapter 291D and shall be fined not less than $250 nor more than $500.

(d) Any citation issued under this chapter may be mailed to the violator pursuant to subsection 291C-165(b)."

SECTION 12. Section 291C-165, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) In every case when a citation is issued, the original of the citation shall be given to the violator[, or in]; provided that:

(1) In the case of an unattended vehicle, the original of the citation shall be affixed to the vehicle as provided for in section 291C-167[, or in]; or

(2) In the case of [a]:

(A) A vehicle utilizing the high occupancy vehicle lane illegally[,]; or

(B) A vehicle illegally utilizing a parking space reserved for persons with disabilities, the original of the citation shall be sent by certified or registered mail, with a return receipt that is postmarked within [forty-eight hours] three days of the time of the incident, to the registered owner of the vehicle at the address on record at the vehicle licensing division as provided in section 291C-223 or 291-57. If the end of the [forty-eight hour] three-day period falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, then the ending period shall run until the end of the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday; provided that the administrative judge of the district courts may allow a carbon copy of the citation to be given to the violator or affixed to the vehicle and provide for the disposition of the original and any other copies of the citation."

SECTION 13. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 14. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.