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S1102.....................................................by TRANSPORTATION
PARKING - DISABLED PERSONS - Amends existing law relating to parking
privileges for persons with a disability to specify requirements for
parking spaces and use of parking privileges; and to provide enforcement
and penalties.
02/09 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/12 Rpt prt - to Transp
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-sixth Legislature First Regular Session - 2001
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1102
BY TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO PARKING PRIVILEGES FOR PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY; AMENDING SECTION
3 49-213, IDAHO CODE, TO SPECIFY REQUIREMENTS FOR PARKING SPACES AND USE OF
4 PARKING PRIVILEGES AND TO PROVIDE ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES; AND AMENDING
5 SECTION 49-410, IDAHO CODE, TO SPECIFY REQUIREMENTS FOR USE OF PARKING
6 PRIVILEGES FOR PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY, TO PROVIDE ENFORCEMENT AND PEN-
7 ALTIES AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.
8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
9 SECTION 1. That Section 49-213, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
10 amended to read as follows:
11 49-213. PARKING SPACES FOR PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY -- MARKING AND SIGN-
12 ING -- ENFORCEMENT. (1) Local governments and owners of private property open
13 to public use may designate parking zones and spaces to be used exclusively by
14 vehicles displaying a special license plate for a person with a disability, or
15 a special card as prescribed in section 49-410, Idaho Code. Any parking zones
16 and spaces so designated shall conform to the following requirements:
17 (a) Parking lots will conform to the requirements of federal Public Law
18 101-336, Americans with disabilities act of 1990.
19 (b) One (1) parking space shall be designated for every thirty-five (35)
20 spaces of on-street parking available on each downtown street block. These
21 parking spaces shall be parallel with the sidewalk where parallel parking
22 is required, or at an angle to the sidewalk where angle parking is
23 required. Should angle parking be used, the parking spaces so designated
24 for use by a person with a disability shall conform to the federal Ameri-
25 cans with disabilities act. All accessible parking spaces shall be near
26 located on the shortest route to curb cuts and ramps for use by
27 wheelchairs and other mechanical device usage mobility aids and devices.
28 For the purposes of this section, the term "downtown" means the business
29 center of a city as designated by the city council of the city. The term
30 "street block" means that portion of a city street between consecutive
31 parallel intersections.
32 (c) For each designated parking space or area there shall be posted imme-
33 diately adjacent to, and visible from each stall or space, a sign, which
34 is at least thirty-six sixty (360) inches above the ground, consisting of
35 the international accessibility symbol as shown in section 49-410, Idaho
36 Code.
37 (d) Should any city desire to modify any of the requirements of subsec-
38 tion (1)(a) or (b) of this section, a city council may do so by ordinance,
39 after complying with the following requirements:
40 1. The city council, or any other body designated by the city coun-
41 cil by ordinance, shall receive a recommendation from a board, com-
42 mission or committee created in conformity with section 50-210,
43 Idaho Code, of which at least one-half (1/2) of the members shall be
2
1 persons with a disability as defined in section 49-117, Idaho Code;
2 and
3 2. The city shall cause notice of public hearing on the proposed
4 ordinance modifying the standards specified in subsection (1)(a) or
5 (b) of this section, to be published in a newspaper of general circu-
6 lation in the city at least fourteen (14) days before the public
7 hearing.
8 (2) Parking a vehicle or the standing of a vehicle in a space reserved
9 for a person with a disability, which space is signed in conformance with the
10 requirements specified in subsection (1)(c) of this section, is prohibited,
11 unless a vehicle is momentarily in the space for the primary purpose of allow-
12 ing a person with a disability to enter or leave the vehicle, or unless spe-
13 cial license plates or placard or temporary placard for a person with a dis-
14 ability is displayed on the vehicle and a disabled person exits or enters the
15 vehicle. It is also prohibited for any person to park a motor vehicle not dis-
16 playing a special plate or placard in a properly marked access aisle in a man-
17 ner which prevents or reasonably could restrict a person with a disability
18 from entering or exiting their vehicle or in such manner as it would block
19 access to a curb cut or ramp. The registered owner of a vehicle parked in
20 violation of the provisions of this subsection is guilty of an infraction,
21 which is punishable by a fine not exceeding of two hundred fifty dollars
22 ($250.00). An illegally parked vehicle is subject to being towed at the
23 owner's expense.
24 (3) Law enforcement officials and/or volunteers designated by the city or
25 county are empowered to enter upon private property open to public use to
26 enforce the provisions of this section.
27 SECTION 2. That Section 49-410, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
28 amended to read as follows:
29 49-410. SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES AND PLACARDS FOR PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY
30 -- PARKING PRIVILEGES -- CARDS FOR CERTAIN TEMPORARILY DISABLED PERSONS --
31 ENFORCEMENT. (1) Any person with a disability as defined in section 49-117,
32 Idaho Code, or any parent or guardian of a dependent child with a disability
33 as defined in section 49-117, Idaho Code, without regard to the age of the
34 dependent child, shall be eligible for the use of special license plates bear-
35 ing the international accessible symbol, for any vehicle owned by such person
36 or owned by a qualified parent or guardian, but excluding any commercial vehi-
37 cle with a registered maximum gross weight over twenty-six thousand (26,000)
38 pounds. The parking privileges granted under the provisions of subsection (7)
39 of this section shall apply to any vehicle displaying special license plates
40 or placard issued pursuant to this subsection, provided a disabled person
41 exits or enters the vehicle.
42 (2) Registration and license plate fees for vehicles owned by a person
43 with a disability or qualified parent or guardian of a dependent child with a
44 disability, shall be as provided, respectively, in sections 49-402, 49-434(1)
45 and 49-450, Idaho Code. Nothing in this section shall be construed as abrogat-
46 ing provisions of section 49-445, Idaho Code. The use of the special card
47 issued under the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, shall not
48 exempt the owner of a motor vehicle from otherwise properly registering and
49 licensing the motor vehicle.
50 (3) Special license plates for persons with a disability and for the par-
51 ent or guardian of a dependent child with a disability, shall be the same size
52 and color as other license plates, and shall have displayed upon them the reg-
53 istration numbers assigned to the vehicle and to the owner. The plates shall
3
1 be numbered in a manner prescribed by the department, but the plates shall
2 display the international accessible symbol.
3 International Accessible Symbol
4 (4) The department shall issue a special placard bearing the interna-
5 tional accessible symbol and other information the department may require, to:
6 (a) Any qualified person with a disability who does not own a motor vehi-
7 cle;
8 (b) Any qualified person with a disability who owns a motor vehicle,
9 without regard to weight or use of the vehicle;
10 (c) Any parent or guardian of a dependent child with a disability who
11 owns a motor vehicle without regard to weight or use of the vehicle;
12 (d) Any business entity which is engaged in transportation of persons
13 with a disability, which business shall not be required to submit a
14 physician's certification. In addition to other application requirements,
15 a business applicant shall sign a declaration that he is engaged in the
16 transportation of persons with a disability. A business entity may include
17 but not be limited to, hospitals, nursing homes, federal, state and local
18 governmental agencies and taxicabs.
19 The parking privileges specified under subsection (7) of this section shall be
20 valid only when a disabled person exits or enters the vehicle. It shall be
21 unlawful use of a special placard to exercise any of the parking privileges
22 provided in this section if a disabled person does not exit or enter the vehi-
23 cle.
24 (5) Any person or business issued a special placard shall affix the spe-
25 cial placard to a motor vehicle in a conspicuous place designated by the
26 department. The placard shall bear distinguishing marks, letters or numerals
27 indicating the vehicle is utilized by a permanently disabled person. When the
28 placard is affixed to a motor vehicle and the motor vehicle is transporting a
29 person with a disability, special parking privileges are granted as provided
30 in subsection (7) of this section.
31 (6) Application for special license plates, a special placard, or both as
32 applicable and at the option of the applicant, shall be made upon a form fur-
33 nished by the department and shall include a written certification by a
34 licensed physician verifying that the applicant's stated impairment qualifies
35 as a disability according to the provisions of section 49-117, Idaho Code. The
36 application for special license plates and placards are official state docu-
37 ments and any person knowingly providing false information in conjunction with
38 the application is guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of two hundred
39 fifty dollars ($250).
40 (7) Any motor vehicle displaying special license plates for a person with
41 a disability, without regard to the state of residence or displaying the spe-
42 cial placard provided in subsections (4) and (8) of this section, shall be
43 allowed to park for unlimited periods of time in parking zones or areas which
44 are otherwise restricted as to the length of time parking is permitted, to
45 park in spaces and zones designated for persons with a disability, and to park
46 in any public parking space with metered parking without being required to pay
47 any parking meter fee, provided a person with a disability exits or enters the
48 vehicle. The provisions of this subsection shall not be applicable to those
49 zones or areas in which the stopping, parking, or standing of all vehicles is
50 prohibited or which are reserved for special types of vehicles, to areas where
51 vehicular parking is prohibited for periods in excess of forty-eight (48)
4
1 hours, or to areas where parking is prohibited for certain periods of time in
2 order to allow snow removal, street construction or maintenance or for other
3 emergency purposes. Nothing herein shall prohibit the designation of parking
4 spaces for use by disabled persons for unlimited periods of time.
5 (8) Any person who shall submit satisfactory proof to the department that
6 he is so temporarily disabled as to be unable to move without the aid of
7 crutches or a wheelchair, shall be entitled to receive for one (1) motor vehi-
8 cle only, a special placard to be affixed to a motor vehicle in a conspicuous
9 place designated by the department, bearing distinguishing marks, letters or
10 numerals indicating that the vehicle is utilized by a temporarily disabled
11 person. This special temporary placard shall expire be valid between one (1)
12 and six (6) months, from the date of issuance, or sooner depending on the
13 physician's written authorization and as specified by the department on the
14 placard.
15 (9) Any unauthorized use of the plate or placard by any person other than
16 those meeting the definition of disability under section 49-117(7)(b), Idaho
17 Code, to obtain parking shall constitute an infraction punishable by a fine of
18 two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00). The second offense shall be punishable by
19 a fine of fifty dollars ($50.00) and loss of parking privileges for the regis-
20 tered owner of the vehicle displaying the plates or for the person to whom the
21 card was issued, for a period of one (1) year and up to forty (40) hours of
22 community service at a nonprofit organization which serves people with dis-
23 abilities.
24 (10) Any person who obtains by theft or unlawfully sells, copies, dupli-
25 cates, manufactures or assists in the sale, copying, duplicating or manufac-
26 turing of a special plate or placard is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by
27 a fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000) and imprisonment for a time in the
28 discretion of the court. The unlawfully obtained special plate or placard
29 shall be subject to forfeiture and confiscation by law enforcement officials.
30 (11) Law enforcement officials and/or volunteers designated by the city or
31 county shall enforce the provisions of this section and are empowered, using
32 reasonable discretion, to check personal identification to determine if the
33 user of the plate or placard is authorized to use accessible parking privi-
34 leges. Any fines collected shall be retained by the city or county whose law
35 enforcement official issued the citation.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE RS 10743 The purpose is to make existing handicapped parking places to be more available for those who need them. FISCAL IMPACT No impact to the state’s general account. There would be some additional revenue to local jurisdictions because of the increase in the fine. Contact Name: Darrel Deide Phone: 332-1345 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1102