Senate Bill No. 57
(By Senators Schoonover, Anderson, Miller, Yoder,
Claypole, Wagner and Wiedebusch)
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[Introduced January 20, 1994; referred to the Committee
.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section six, article thirteen,
chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
parking privileges for the disabled; and requiring
publication in the local newspaper of the name of the
offender, upon conviction, of parking in a parking space
designated for the disabled.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article thirteen, chapter seventeen-c of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13. STOPPING, STANDING AND PARKING.
17C-13-6. Stopping, standing or parking privileges for disabled;
qualification; application; violation.
(a) Any owner of a Class A motor vehicle subject to
registration under the provisions of article three, chapterseventeen-a of this code, who is:
(1) A physically handicapped person with limited mobility;
(2) A relative of a person who is a physically handicapped
person with limited mobility;
(3) A person who regularly resides with a person who is a
physically handicapped person with limited mobility; or
(4) A person who regularly transports a person who is a
physically handicapped person with limited mobility, may apply
for a special registration plate or a mobile windshield placard
by submitting to the commissioner:
(i) An application therefor on a form prescribed and
furnished by the commissioner, specifying whether the applicant
desires a special registration plate or a mobile windshield
placard; and
(ii) A certificate issued by a person licensed to practice
medicine stating that the applicant or the applicant's spouse or
a member of the applicant's immediate family residing with him
is a physically handicapped person with limited mobility as
defined in this section.
Upon receipt of the application, the physician's certificate
and the registration fee, if he finds that the applicant
qualifies for the special registration plate or mobile
windshield placard provided for in this subsection, the
commissioner shall issue to such applicant an appropriately
designed and appropriately designated special registration plate
or mobile windshield placard. The special plate shall be used inplace of a regular license plate.
As used in this section, a physically handicapped person
with limited mobility is any person who suffers from a permanent
physical condition making it unduly difficult and burdensome for
such person to walk.
Any person who falsely or fraudulently obtains or seeks to
obtain the special plate or the mobile windshield placard
provided for in this subsection (a), and any person who falsely
certifies that a person is physically handicapped with limited
mobility in order that an applicant may be issued the special
plate, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof,
in addition to any other penalty he may otherwise incur, shall
be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one
thousand dollars, or imprisoned in the county jail not more than
one year, or both fined and imprisoned.
(b) Any physically disabled person, any person who is a
relative of a physically disabled person, any person who
regularly resides with a physically disabled person, or any
person who regularly transports a physically disabled person, may
apply for a vehicle decal for a Class A vehicle by submitting to
the commissioner:
(1) An application therefor on a form prescribed and
furnished by the commissioner;
(2) A certificate issued by a person licensed to practice
medicine stating that the applicant or the applicant's relative
is a physically disabled person, or that the person regularlyresiding with the applicant or regularly transported by the
applicant is a physically disabled person, as defined in this
section, and stating the expected duration of the disability; and
(3) A fee of one dollar.
Upon receipt of the application, the physician's certificate
and the registration fee, if he finds that the applicant
qualifies for the vehicle decal provided for in this subsection,
the commissioner shall issue to such applicant an appropriately
designed decal. The decal shall be displayed on the motor
vehicle in the manner prescribed by the commissioner and shall be
valid for such period of time as the certifying physician has
determined that the disability will continue, which period of
time, reflecting the date of expiration, shall be conspicuously
shown on the face of the decal.
As used in this section "physically disabled person" means
any person who has sustained a temporary disability rendering it
unduly difficult and burdensome for him to walk.
Any person who falsely or fraudulently obtains or seeks to
obtain the vehicle decal provided for in this subsection, and
any person who falsely certifies that a person is physically
disabled in order that an applicant may be issued the vehicle
decal, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof,
in addition to any other penalty he may otherwise incur, shall be
fined not less than fifty nor more than one hundred dollars, or
imprisoned in the county jail not more than thirty days, or both
fined and imprisoned.
(c) Free stopping, standing or parking places marked
"reserved for disabled persons" shall be designated in close
proximity to all state, county and municipal buildings and other
public facilities. Such places shall be reserved solely for
physically disabled and handicapped persons during the hours that
such buildings are open for business.
Any person whose vehicle properly displays a valid special
registration plate, mobile windshield placard or decal may park
the vehicle for unlimited periods of time in parking zones
unrestricted as to length of parking time permitted:
Provided,
That this privilege does not mean that the vehicle may park in
any zone where stopping, standing or parking is prohibited or
which creates parking zones for special types of vehicles or
which prohibits parking during heavy traffic periods during
specified rush hours or where parking would clearly present a
traffic hazard. To the extent any provision of any ordinance of
any political subdivision of this state is contrary to the
provisions of this section, the provisions of this section shall
take precedence and shall apply.
The privileges provided for in this subsection shall apply
only during those times when the vehicle is being used for the
transportation of a physically handicapped or disabled person.
Any person who knowingly exercises, or attempts to exercise,
such privileges at a time when the vehicle is not being used for
the transportation of a physically handicapped or disabled
person is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, in addition to any other penalty he may otherwise incur, shall
be fined not less than ten nor more than fifty dollars, or
imprisoned in the county jail for not more than thirty days, or
both fined and imprisoned.
(d) No person may stop, stand or park a motor vehicle in an
area designated, zoned or marked for the handicapped or
physically disabled, and no person may stop, stand or park any
motor vehicle at special, clearly marked, parking locations
provided for the handicapped or physically disabled in or on
privately owned parking lots, parking garages, or other parking
areas, when such person is not physically disabled or handicapped
and does not have displayed upon his vehicle a distinguishing
insignia for the handicapped issued by the commissioner:
Provided, That any person in the act of transporting a
handicapped or physically disabled person, as defined by this
article, may stop, stand or park a motor vehicle not displaying
a distinguishing insignia for the handicapped in an area
designated, zoned or marked for the handicapped or physically
disabled for the limited purposes of loading or unloading his
handicapped or physically disabled passenger:
Provided, however,
That such vehicle shall be promptly moved after the completion of
such limited purposes.
Any person who violates the provisions of this subsection is
guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not more than twenty-five dollars.
Also, any person who is
convicted of violating the provisions of this subsection shallhave his or her name published in the local newspaper in the
magistrates' report in a section specifically listing convictions
for "parking in a handicapped space."
(e) The commissioner shall adopt and promulgate rules and
regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-
nine-a of this code to effectuate the provisions of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the
magistrates' report to the local newspaper to include the name of
an offender who parks in a handicapped space. This shall be a
specific reference to parking in a handicap space and not simply
listed as a parking violation.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
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