Introduced Version
House Bill 2537 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2537
(By Delegates Caputo (By Request) Longstreth,
and Diserio)
[Introduced February 19, 2013; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation then the
Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §47-11-1, §47-11-2,
§47-11-3, §47-11-4, §47-11-5, §47-11-6, §47-11-7, §47-11-8 and
§47-11-9, all relating to requiring retail establishments
offering gasoline or other motor fuel to provide refueling
assistance and refueling access to persons with a disability;
establishing requirements and exceptions; rule-making
authority; and penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §47-11-1, §47-11-2,
§47-11-3, §47-11-4, §47-11-5, §47-11-6, §47-11-7, §47-11-8 and
§47-11-9, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 11. DISABLED MOTORIST REFUELING ASSISTANCE AND
ACCESSIBILITY ACT.
§47-11-1. Short Title.
_____This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Disabled
Motorist Refueling Assistance and Accessibility Act".
§47-11-2. Purpose.
_____The purpose of this article is to insure that persons with a
disability receive refueling assistance from retail establishments
that offer gasoline or other motor fuel for sale, to insure that
gas station pumps are accessible for use by persons with a
disability and to establish requirements for and exceptions to this
assistance. The requirements set forth in this article are minimum
requirements and do not limit additional forms of assistance. The
requirements are intended to be consistent with and complimentary
to all requirements under the federal Americans with Disabilities
Act. It is further intended that if the Americans with Disabilities
Act is amended, by law or regulation, to require additional forms
of refueling assistance or accessibility features than what are
provided in this article, this article will be amended and
reenacted to reflect the additional requirements.
§47-11-3. Definitions.
_____For the purposes of this article, the following definitions
are applicable unless a different meaning clearly appears from the
context.
_____"Operable parts" are parts of a gas station pump or island and
include the credit card reader, the fuel grade selection button,
the push button notification device, all help buttons and the fuel dispenser.
_____"Person with a disability" is a person who has been issued a
special registration plate or removable windshield placard from the
Division of Motor Vehicles pursuant to section six, article
thirteen, chapter seventeen-c of this code or a person who has been
issued similar items from outside the State of West Virginia.
_____"Refueling assistance" means, at a minimum, the assistance
methods identified in this article that retail establishments are
required to provide to a person with a disability and other methods
of assistance that a retail establishment may implement which are
not inconsistent with this article.
_____"Refueling accessibility" means structural designs or
alterations which result in gas station pumps that allow persons
with a disability greater ability to pump their own gas.
_____"Retail establishment" means a business that offers gasoline
or other motor fuel for sale on a full service and self-service
basis and only on a self-serve basis.
_____"Secretary" means the secretary of the West Virginia
Department of Transportation.
§47-11-4. Powers and duties of the secretary.
_____The secretary is responsible for the implementation and
enforcement of this article, including reasonable time frames for
compliance, and shall propose rules for legislative approval in
accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
§47-11-5. Refueling assistance at all retail establishments.
_____(a) The retail establishment shall equip every gas station
pump with a push button notification device that must meet the
following minimum specifications:
_____(1) Must provide a recognizable signal inside the retail
establishment that a driver needs refueling assistance;
_____(2) Must be able to be operated from the vehicle using only
one hand;
_____(3) Must have at least one sign next to it which identifies
the device; and
_____(4) Must be able to be operated from the vehicle.
_____(b) The retail establishment shall post a phone number at each
pump that connects a person with a disability to an employee within
the retail establishment for purposes of requesting refueling
assistance.
_____(c) The retail establishment shall post signage at each gas
station pump and at a location readily observable at the entrance
onto the property of the retail establishment that serves to
inform persons with a disability the forms of assistance available.
The signage requires, at minimum, the following information in
large, bold lettering:
_____(1) The hours that refueling assistance is available;
_____(2) A phone number that the person with a disability can call to communicate the need for refueling assistance to an employee
within the retail establishment;
_____(3) The requirement that in order to be eligible for refueling
assistance, the vehicle must have properly displayed a special
plate or removable windshield placard issued pursuant to section
six, article thirteen, chapter seventeen-c of this code;
_____(4) The condition that the retail establishment will not
provide refueling assistance if there is a person in the vehicle
who is capable of providing the assistance;
_____(5) The requirement that the operator of the vehicle must be
the owner of the vehicle to whom the special license or placard was
issued; and
_____(6) The location of the push button notification device.
_____(d) The retail establishment is not required to provide
refueling assistance if there is only one employee working at the
time a person with disability makes a request for assistance.
_____(e) The retail establishment is not required to provide
refueling assistance if someone able to provide refueling
assistance is in the vehicle.
_____(f) A person with disability requesting refueling assistance
must have properly displayed a special plate or removable
windshield placard issued pursuant to section six, article
thirteen, chapter seventeen-c of this code at the time of making
the request for refueling assistance.
_____(g) An employee providing refueling assistance may request
proof that the operator of the vehicle is the owner of the vehicle
to whom the special plate or parking permit has been issued.
__________§47-11-6. Refueling assistance at retail establishments with both
full-service and self-service.
_____(a) A retail establishment that offers gasoline or other motor
fuel for sale on both a full-service and self-service basis shall
provide refueling assistance during hours in which full-service is
offered at the establishment upon the request of a person with a
disability who is operating a motor vehicle.
_____(b) During hours in which full-service is not offered but the
establishment offers for sale gasoline or other motor fuel on a
self-service basis, the establishment shall provide refueling
assistance upon the request of a person with a disability who is
operating a motor vehicle when at least two employees are working
at the establishment.
_____(c) The retail establishment shall provide refueling
assistance to the person with a disability without a charge beyond
the self-service price regardless of whether the refueling
assistance is provided at a self-service or full-service pump.
§47-11-7. Retail establishments with only self-service.
_____(a) A retail establishment that offers gasoline for sale only
on a self-service basis must provide refueling assistance without
a charge beyond the self-service price.
_____(b) The self-service retail establishment is not required to
provide refueling assistance during those times that it is being
operated on a remote control basis by only one employee.
§47-11-8. Refueling accessibility at retail establishments.
_____(a) All gas pumps at a retail establishment that offers
gasoline or any other motor fuel for sale must contain operable
parts that are fifty-four inches or below the driving service.
_____(b) Newly constructed pumps or alterations to existing pumps
or pump islands must have operable parts that are forty-eight
inches or below.
§47-11-9. Penalties; assessment and collection.
_____Failure to comply with the provisions of this article will
subject the owner of a retail establishment that offers gasoline or
other motor fuel for sale to a civil penalty of not less than $300
nor more than $600 for the first charge of failure to comply and
then for each day of noncompliance beyond the date established by
the Secretary of the Department of Transportation for the retail
establishment to achieve compliance.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to require retail
establishments offering gasoline or other motor fuel to provide
refueling assistance and refueling access to persons with a
disability; to establish requirements and exceptions; to provide
the secretary with rule-making authority and to establish penalties
for noncompliance.
This bill is new; therefore, it has been completely
underscored.