Current Status Bill Number:1228 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:Senate Introduced Date:19960306 Primary Sponsor:Martin All Sponsors:Martin Drafted Document Number:bbm\10644cm.96 Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:Transportation Committee 15 ST Subject:License plates and placards for disabled persons
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
______ ________ _______________________________________ _______ ____________
Senate 19960306 Introduced, read first time, 15 ST
referred to Committee
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 56-3-1900 SO AS TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS RELATING TO CERTAIN DISABLED PERSONS AND CERTAIN SPECIAL MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSE PLATES AND PLACARDS ISSUED TO THEM; TO AMEND SECTION 56-3-1910, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE ISSUANCE OF SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES ISSUED TO DISABLED PERSONS, SO AS TO REVISE THE PROCEDURE FOR ISSUING LICENSE PLATES TO PERSONS AND AGENCIES TRANSPORTING DISABLED PERSONS, TO CREATE A PERMANENT AND A TEMPORARY PARKING EXEMPTION PLACARD AND ESTABLISH FEES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE ISSUANCE OF BOTH PLACARDS AND FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE FEES, AND TO REQUIRE THAT CERTAIN INFORMATION IS PRINTED ON LICENSE PLATES AND PLACARDS ISSUED PURSUANT TO THIS PROVISION.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Article 17 of Chapter 3, Title 56 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 56-3-1900. As used in this article:
(1) `Department' means the Department of Revenue and Taxation.
(2) `Permanent mobility disabled person' means a person with a total and permanent mobility impairment, whose mobility impairment or condition has been certified by a licensed physician and who:
(a) has an inability to walk two hundred feet without stopping to rest;
(b) cannot walk without the use of, or assistance from a brace, cane, crutch, walker, prosthetic device, or other assistive device, or without the assistance of another individual;
(c) permanently uses a wheelchair;
(d) is restricted by lung disease to the extent that the person's forced respiratory expiration volume of one second, when measured by a spirometry, is less than one liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 mm/hg on room air, at room temperature, at rest;
(e) uses portable oxygen;
(f) has a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV as defined by the standards set by the American Heart Association;
(g) is severely limited in his ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition; or
(h) is totally blind or whose vision with glasses is so impaired as to prevent normal mobility performance, as certified by a licensed ophthalmologist, optometrist, or the South Carolina Division of Services for the Blind.
(3) `Temporary mobility disabled person' means a person with a temporary mobility impairment that substantially impairs his ability to ambulate.
(4) `Certificate of disability' means a document issued by the department that includes the applicant's:
(a) name and photograph;
(b) driver's license number or identification card number;
(c) disability; and
(d) certifying physician's name and address; and
(e) certifying physician's telephone number.
The `certificate of disability' also shall include signatures by both the physician and the applicant or the applicant's parent or guardian.
(5) `International symbol of access' means the symbol adopted by Rehabilitation International in 1969 at it's Eleventh World Congress on Rehabilitation of the Disabled, commonly known as `man in wheelchair' symbol.
(6) `Distinguishing license plate' means a license plate using the same color, size of plate and size of letters or numbers as a regular license plate which also may display the following:
(a) the International Symbol of Access to be used specifically by persons with disabilities; or
(b) the letters `DV' to be used by a disabled veteran.
(7) `Parking exemption identification placard' means a two-sided hooked placard intended to be suspended from the vehicle's inside rear vision mirror, that is made of plastic that shall not deteriorate after prolonged exposure to solar and ultraviolet radiation and contains:
(a) the International Symbol of Access;
(b) a driver's license or department identification card number of the person issued the placard;
(c) the expiration date of the placard; and
(d) the seal or other identification of the department."
SECTION 2. Section 56-3-1910 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:
"Section 56-3-1910. Upon payment of the regular motor vehicle license fee, the department may issue a license tag with a special number or identification indicating that the tag was issued to a person (a) disabled by an impairment in the use of one or more limbs and required to use a wheelchair or (b) disabled by an impairment in mobility, but otherwise qualified for a driver's license as determined by the department. Each application for the license must be accompanied by the certificate of a licensed physician as defined in Section 40-47-5 as to the permanency of limb impairment or as to the severity or the permanency of mobility impairment.
The special license tag authorized by this section may also be issued for a vehicle of special design and equipment designed to transport a disabled person who meets the requirements of this section if the vehicle is owned and titled in the name of the disabled person or in the name of a member of his immediate family or for a vehicle used by an agency, organization, or facility that is designed to transport a handicapped or disabled person if the vehicle is titled in the name of the agency, organization, or facility. Proof that the agency, organization, or facility transports a handicapped or disabled person must be in a manner prescribed by the department. A certificate from a licensed physician is not required to apply for the special license tag. (A) Upon application and receipt of payment of the regular motor vehicle license fee, the department may issue a license plate with a special number or identification indicating that the license plate was issued to a disabled person if the person making application:
(1) is the registered owner, co-owner or lessor of the motor vehicle;
(2) has presented a certification of disability as defined pursuant to Section 56-3-1900;
(3) is a veteran and has offered documentation of a service connected disability of fifty percent or greater from any Veterans Administration facility board substantiating the level of service connected disability;
(4) has a valid South Carolina driver's license.
(B) Upon application and receipt of payment of the regular motor vehicle license fee, the department may issue a distinctive license plate with a special number or identification indicating that the license plate was issued to an agency, organization, or facility that transports handicapped or disabled persons if the vehicle is titled in the name of the agency, organization, or facility and the agency, organization, or facility has submitted proof that it transports handicapped or disabled persons.
(C) The department shall issue a permanent parking exemption identification placard that is valid for one year to a person who pays the department an initial fee of thirty dollars and who is:
(1) a permanent mobility disabled person;
(2) a member of the family of a permanent mobility disabled person and is the registered owner, co-owner, or lessee of a motor vehicle;
(3) a member of the family of a permanent mobility disabled person who has presented a certificate of disability to the department;
(4) a veteran who has presented documentation of a service connected disability of fifty percent or greater from any Veterans Administration facility board; or
(5) a company or corporation engaged in the business of transporting persons with disabilities.
(D) The department, upon submission of an application for renewal of a permanent parking exemption identification placard and receipt of a fee of twenty-four dollars, shall issue a decal which allows the person to display the placard for an additional year.
(E) The department shall issue a temporary parking exemption identification placard which is valid for one year to a person who pays the department twelve dollars and is:
(1) a temporary mobility disabled person;
(2) a member of the family of a person with a temporary mobility disabled person and is the registered owner, co-owner or lessee of a motor vehicle; or
(3) a member of the family of a person with a temporary mobility disabled person who has presented a certificate of temporary mobility impairment.
(F) One-third of the fees collected pursuant to this section must be used to administer the production and distribution of the license plates and placards contained in this section.
(G) Two-thirds of the fees collected pursuant to this section must be placed in the state general fund and used to improve access to state facilities for disabled persons and to improve educational and employment opportunities for disabled persons.
(H) The department must print on all license plates and placards issued pursuant to this section:
(1) the South Carolina driver's license number or identification card number of the person issued the license plate or placard;
(2) a warning cautioning all persons issued a license plate or placard pursuant to this section that they are to be present in the vehicle when the vehicle is parked in an accessible parking space specifically designed for use by persons who are disabled. It shall also state that for misuse of the placards all privileges associated with the license plate or placard are suspended. The placard must be returned to the department within thirty days of conviction of a violation pursuant to Section 56-3-1970; and
(3) a warning stating that if the condition of a temporary mobility disabled person significantly improves or through the use of an assistive device the person's ability to walk without severe limitations is significantly restored, the person is no longer eligible to use the parking exemption identification placard nor any of its privileges and the parking exemption identification placard shall be returned to the department within thirty days of this occurrence."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.