0001| HOUSE BILL 419
|
0002| 43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998
|
0003| INTRODUCED BY
|
0004| WILLIAM E. PORTER
|
0005|
|
0006|
|
0007|
|
0008|
|
0009|
|
0010| AN ACT
|
0011| RELATING TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES; CHANGING CERTAIN
|
0012| PROVISIONS RELATED TO DESIGNATED DISABLED PARKING; AMENDING
|
0013| SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978.
|
0014|
|
0015| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
|
0016| Section 1. Section 3-51-46 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973,
|
0017| Chapter 22, Section 3) is amended to read:
|
0018| "3-51-46. PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLE OF DISABLED PERSON--
|
0019| PARKING PRIVILEGE.--Passenger motor vehicles owned by
|
0020| [disabled] persons with severe mobility impairment and
|
0021| carrying special registration plates or passenger motor
|
0022| vehicles carrying persons with severe mobility impairment and
|
0023| displaying parking placards issued pursuant to Section
|
0024| [64-3-12.3 NMSA 1953] 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 shall be permitted
|
0025| to park for unlimited periods of time in parking zones
|
- 1 -
0001| restricted as to length of time parking is normally permitted
|
0002| and are exempt from payment of any parking meter or parking
|
0003| authorization fee of the state or its political subdivisions.
|
0004| The provisions of this section shall prevail over any other
|
0005| law, regulation or local ordinance but do not apply to zones
|
0006| where stopping, standing or parking is prohibited, zones
|
0007| reserved for special types of vehicles, zones where parking is
|
0008| prohibited during certain hours of the day in order to
|
0009| facilitate traffic during those hours when parking is
|
0010| prohibited and zones subject to similar regulation because
|
0011| parking presents a traffic hazard."
|
0012| Section 2. Section 66-1-4.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1990,
|
0013| Chapter 120, Section 2) is amended to read:
|
0014| "66-1-4.1. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor Vehicle
|
0015| Code:
|
0016| A. "abandoned vehicle" means a vehicle or motor
|
0017| vehicle that has been determined by a New Mexico law
|
0018| enforcement agency:
|
0019| (1) to have been left unattended on either
|
0020| public or private property for at least thirty days;
|
0021| (2) not to have been reported stolen;
|
0022| (3) not to have been claimed by any person
|
0023| asserting ownership; and
|
0024| (4) not to have been shown by normal record
|
0025| checking procedures to be owned by any person;
|
- 2 -
0001| B. "access aisle" means an accessible pedestrian
|
0002| space of at least sixty inches in width that allows side
|
0003| access the length of its adjacent designated disabled parking
|
0004| space and is marked with blue striping; provided that van-
|
0005| accessible access aisles shall be at least ninety-six inches
|
0006| in width;
|
0007| [B.] C. "additional place of business", for
|
0008| dealers and wreckers of vehicles, means locations in addition
|
0009| to an established place of business as defined in Section
|
0010| 66-1-4.5 NMSA 1978 and meeting all the requirements of an
|
0011| established place of business, except Paragraph (5) of
|
0012| Subsection B of Section 66-1-4.5 NMSA 1978, but "additional
|
0013| place of business" does not mean a location used solely for
|
0014| storage and that is not used for wrecking, dismantling, sale
|
0015| or resale of vehicles;
|
0016| [C.] D. "alcoholic beverages" means any [and
|
all] distilled or rectified spirits, potable alcohol, brandy,
|
0018| whiskey, rum, gin, aromatic bitters or any similar alcoholic
|
0019| beverage, including all blended or fermented beverages,
|
0020| dilutions or mixtures of one or more of the foregoing
|
0021| containing more than one-half of one percent alcohol but
|
0022| excluding medicinal bitters; and
|
0023| [D.] E. "authorized emergency vehicle" means
|
0024| any fire department vehicle, police vehicle or ambulance and
|
0025| any emergency vehicles of municipal departments or public
|
- 3 -
0001| utilities that are designated or authorized as emergency
|
0002| vehicles by the director of the New Mexico state police
|
0003| division of the department of public safety or local
|
0004| authorities."
|
0005| Section 3. Section 66-1-4.4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1990,
|
0006| Chapter 120, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
|
0007| "66-1-4.4. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor Vehicle
|
0008| Code:
|
0009| A. "day" means calendar day, unless otherwise
|
0010| provided in the Motor Vehicle Code;
|
0011| B. "dealer", except as herein specifically
|
0012| excluded, means any person who sells or solicits or advertises
|
0013| the sale of new or used motor vehicles, manufactured homes or
|
0014| trailers subject to registration in this state; "dealer" does
|
0015| not include:
|
0016| (1) receivers, trustees, administrators,
|
0017| executors, guardians or other persons appointed by or acting
|
0018| under judgment, decree or order of any court;
|
0019| (2) public officers while performing their
|
0020| duties as such officers;
|
0021| (3) persons making casual sales of their own
|
0022| vehicles;
|
0023| (4) finance companies, banks and other
|
0024| lending institutions making sales of repossessed vehicles; or
|
0025| (5) licensed brokers under the Manufactured
|
- 4 -
0001| Housing Act who, for a fee, commission or other valuable
|
0002| consideration, engage in brokerage activities related to the
|
0003| sale, exchange or lease purchase of pre-owned manufactured
|
0004| homes on a site installed for a consumer;
|
0005| C. "declared gross weight" means the maximum gross
|
0006| vehicle weight or combination gross vehicle weight at which a
|
0007| vehicle or combination will be operated during the
|
0008| registration period, as declared by the registrant for
|
0009| registration and fee purposes; the vehicle or combination
|
0010| shall have only one declared gross weight for all operating
|
0011| considerations;
|
0012| D. "department" means the taxation and revenue
|
0013| department, the secretary of taxation and revenue or any
|
0014| employee of the department exercising authority lawfully
|
0015| delegated to that employee by the secretary;
|
0016| E. "designated disabled parking space" means any
|
0017| space marked and reserved for the parking of a passenger
|
0018| vehicle that carries registration plates or a placard
|
0019| indicating disability in accordance with Section 66-3-16 NMSA
|
0020| 1978; such a place shall be designated by a conspicuously
|
0021| posted sign bearing the international disabled symbol of a
|
0022| wheelchair [or] and, if the designated space is paved, by
|
0023| a clearly visible depiction of this symbol painted on the
|
0024| pavement of the space and an access aisle adjacent to the
|
0025| space; provided that two designated disabled parking spaces
|
- 5 -
0001| may share a common access aisle;
|
0002| F. "director" means the secretary;
|
0003| G. "disqualification" means a prohibition against
|
0004| driving a commercial motor vehicle;
|
0005| H. "distinguishing number" means the number
|
0006| assigned by the department to a vehicle whose identifying
|
0007| number has been destroyed or obliterated or the number
|
0008| assigned by the department to a vehicle that has never had an
|
0009| identifying number;
|
0010| I. "distributor" means any person who distributes
|
0011| or sells new or used motor vehicles to dealers and who is not
|
0012| a manufacturer;
|
0013| J. "division", without further specification,
|
0014| "division of motor vehicles" or "motor vehicle division" means
|
0015| the department;
|
0016| K. "driver" means every person who drives or is in
|
0017| actual physical control of a motor vehicle, including a
|
0018| motorcycle, upon a highway, who is exercising control over or
|
0019| steering a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle or who
|
0020| operates or is in actual physical control of an off-highway
|
0021| motor vehicle;
|
0022| L. "driver's license" means a license or a class
|
0023| of license issued by a state or other jurisdiction to an
|
0024| individual that authorizes the individual to drive a motor
|
0025| vehicle; and
|
- 6 -
0001| M. "driveaway-towaway operation" means [any]
|
0002| an operation in which [any] a motor vehicle, new or
|
0003| used, is the item being transported when one set or more of
|
0004| wheels of any such motor vehicle is on the roadway during the
|
0005| course of transportation, whether or not the motor vehicle
|
0006| furnishes the motive power."
|
0007| Section 4. Section 66-1-4.14 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1990,
|
0008| Chapter 120, Section 15, as amended) is amended to read:
|
0009| "66-1-4.14. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor Vehicle
|
0010| Code:
|
0011| A. "park" or "parking" means the standing of a
|
0012| vehicle, whether occupied or not, other than temporarily for
|
0013| the purpose of and while actually engaged in loading and
|
0014| unloading;
|
0015| B. "parking lot" means a parking area [containing
|
fifteen or more parking spaces] provided for the [free] use
|
0017| of patrons of any office of state or local government or of
|
0018| any public accommodation, retail or commercial establishment;
|
0019| C. "parts car" means a motor vehicle generally in
|
0020| [nonoperable] inoperable condition that is owned by a
|
0021| collector to furnish parts that are usually [nonobtainable]
|
0022| unobtainable from normal sources, thus enabling a collector
|
0023| to preserve, restore and maintain a motor vehicle of historic
|
0024| or special interest;
|
0025| D. "pedestrian" means any natural person on foot;
|
- 7 -
0001| E. "person" means every natural person, firm,
|
0002| copartnership, association, corporation or other legal entity;
|
0003| F. "personal information" means information that
|
0004| identifies an individual, including an individual's
|
0005| photograph, social security number, driver identification
|
0006| number, name, address other than zip code, telephone number
|
0007| and medical or disability information, but "personal
|
0008| information" does not include information on vehicles, vehicle
|
0009| ownership, vehicular accidents, driving violations or driver
|
0010| status;
|
0011| G. "pneumatic tire" means every tire in which
|
0012| compressed air is designed to support the load;
|
0013| H. "pole trailer" means any vehicle without motive
|
0014| power, designed to be drawn by another vehicle and attached to
|
0015| the towing vehicle by means of a reach or pole or by being
|
0016| boomed or otherwise secured to the towing vehicle and
|
0017| ordinarily used for transporting long or irregularly shaped
|
0018| loads such as poles, structures, pipes and structural members
|
0019| capable, generally, of sustaining themselves as beams between
|
0020| the supporting connections;
|
0021| I. "police or peace officer" means every officer
|
0022| authorized to direct or regulate traffic or to make arrests
|
0023| for violations of the Motor Vehicle Code;
|
0024| J. "private road or driveway" means every way or
|
0025| place in private ownership used for vehicular travel by the
|
- 8 -
0001| owner and those having express or implied permission from the
|
0002| owner, but not other persons; and
|
0003| K. "property owner" means the owner of a piece of
|
0004| land or the agent of that property owner."
|
0005| Section 5. Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978,
|
0006| Chapter 35, Section 36, as amended) is amended to read:
|
0007| "66-3-16. SEVERE MOBILITY IMPAIRMENT--SPECIAL
|
0008| REGISTRATION PLATES--[DISABLED PERSONS--DISPLAY DEVICE]
|
0009| PARKING PLACARDS.--
|
0010| A. The [division] department shall issue
|
0011| distinctive registration plates to [any disabled] a person
|
0012| with severe mobility impairment who so requests and [who
|
proves satisfactorily to the division] establishes to the
|
0014| department's satisfaction that he has suffered the loss of,
|
0015| or the complete and total loss of use of one or both legs at
|
0016| or above the ankle or of one or both arms at or above the
|
0017| wrist for use on motor vehicles owned by the person. No fee
|
0018| in addition to the regular registration fee, if any,
|
0019| applicable to the motor vehicle shall be collected for
|
0020| issuance of special registration plates pursuant to this
|
0021| section.
|
0022| B. No person shall falsely represent himself to
|
0023| [be disabled] have a severe mobility impairment so as to
|
0024| be eligible to be issued special registration plates or
|
0025| [display devices] a parking placard pursuant to this
|
- 9 -
0001| section when he is in fact not [disabled] severely mobility
|
0002| impaired. Upon notice and opportunity to be heard, the
|
0003| [division] department may revoke and demand return of any
|
0004| placard when:
|
0005| (1) it was issued in error or with false
|
0006| information;
|
0007| (2) the person receiving the placard is no
|
0008| longer eligible; or
|
0009| (3) the placard is being used by ineligible
|
0010| persons.
|
0011| C. Upon written application to the [division]
|
0012| department accompanied by a medical statement by a licensed
|
0013| physician or other licensed health care provider authorized
|
0014| by rule of the governor's committee on concerns of the
|
0015| handicapped to provide such medical statements attesting to
|
0016| the [disability] severe mobility impairment, a resident of
|
0017| the state who has a [disability] severe mobility
|
0018| impairment that limits or impairs the ability to walk, as
|
0019| provided in Subsection G of this section, may apply for and be
|
0020| granted the issuance of [a placard] not more than two
|
0021| parking placards for display upon a motor vehicle registered
|
0022| to him or a motor vehicle owned by another person who is
|
0023| transporting him. [The director may charge a reasonable fee
|
to cover the cost of the placard and of its issuance. The fee
|
shall be retained by the division and shall be appropriated to
|
- 10 -
the division for expenditures incurred in the implementation
|
of the placard replacement program.] The medical statement
|
0003| shall distinguish between a chronic severe mobility impairment
|
0004| that will remain unchanged or worsen during the lifetime of
|
0005| the applicant and a non-chronic severe mobility impairment
|
0006| that may improve or be ameliorated during the lifetime of the
|
0007| applicant. When the medical statement identifies the
|
0008| applicant as having a chronic severe medical impairment, the
|
0009| applicant shall be allowed to renew his placard and no
|
0010| additional medical statement shall be required. The
|
0011| application for a parking placard shall be deemed to be a
|
0012| waiver of the doctor-patient privilege of confidentiality to
|
0013| the minimum extent necessary to verify the information
|
0014| contained in the application, and the application shall advise
|
0015| the applicant of this waiver.
|
0016| D. A parking placard issued pursuant to this
|
0017| section [shall expire in no more than two years] on or
|
0018| after July 1, 1998 shall be valid for no more than four years
|
0019| and shall expire on the last day of the applicant's birth
|
0020| month. E. The [division] department shall issue
|
0021| two-sided hanger-style parking placards with the following
|
0022| characteristics:
|
0023| (1) the international symbol of access shall
|
0024| be displayed on both sides of the parking placard and shall
|
0025| be at least three inches in height, centered on the parking
|
- 11 -
0001| placard and white on a blue [shield] field;
|
0002| (2) an identification number enabling the
|
0003| [division] department to identify the holder of each
|
0004| parking placard. The [division] department shall
|
0005| maintain this information in a readily retrievable format and
|
0006| make it available on demand to any law enforcement agency or
|
0007| the governor's committee on concerns of the handicapped;
|
0008| (3) the date of expiration; and
|
0009| (4) the [division] department seal or
|
0010| other identification of the issuing authority.
|
0011| F. Upon written application to the [division]
|
0012| department accompanied by a medical statement from a
|
0013| licensed physician or other licensed health care provider
|
0014| authorized by rule of the governor's committee on concerns of
|
0015| the handicapped to provide such medical statements attesting
|
0016| to a temporary [disability] severe mobility impairment, a
|
0017| person, whether resident or nonresident, who has a temporary
|
0018| [disability] severe mobility impairment that limits or
|
0019| impairs the ability to walk may be issued a temporary
|
0020| parking placard [which shall be distinguishable in
|
appearance from placards valid for two years]. The medical
|
0022| statement shall include the period of time that the
|
0023| [physician] health care provider determines the applicant
|
0024| will have the [disability] severe mobility impairment. A
|
0025| temporary parking placard issued pursuant to this
|
- 12 -
0001| [section] subsection shall be valid for no more than six
|
0002| months.
|
0003| G. For the purpose of obtaining a parking
|
0004| placard, a person with a ["disability that limits or impairs
|
the ability to walk"] "severe mobility impairment" means
|
0006| the person:
|
0007| (1) cannot walk one hundred feet without
|
0008| stopping to rest;
|
0009| (2) cannot walk without the use of a brace, a
|
0010| cane, a crutch, another person, a prosthetic device, a
|
0011| wheelchair or another assistive device;
|
0012| (3) is restricted by lung disease to such an
|
0013| extent that the person's forced respiratory volume, when
|
0014| exhaling for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less
|
0015| than one liter or the arterial oxygen tension is less than
|
0016| sixty millimeters on room air at rest;
|
0017| (4) uses portable oxygen;
|
0018| (5) has a severe cardiac condition; [or]
|
0019| (6) is so severely limited in his ability to
|
0020| walk due to an arthritic, neurologic or orthopedic condition
|
0021| that the person cannot ascend or descend more than ten stair
|
0022| steps; or
|
0023| (7) has a severe visual impairment so that
|
0024| the person has not more than ten percent visual acuity in his
|
0025| better eye with correction and his severe visual impairment
|
- 13 -
0001| has been certified by a duly licensed ophthalmologist, subject
|
0002| to approval by the New Mexico board of medical examiners, such
|
0003| that the person has:
|
0004| (a) not more than twenty/two hundred
|
0005| central visual acuity in his better eye after correction; or
|
0006| (b) a limitation in visual field so
|
0007| that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle
|
0008| no greater than twenty degrees.
|
0009| H. Special registration plates or parking
|
0010| placards issued to [the disabled] a person with severe
|
0011| mobility impairment by another state or foreign jurisdiction
|
0012| shall be granted reciprocity while the vehicle [and disabled
|
operator are] or parking placard holder is in this state
|
0014| [for a period not to exceed thirty days].
|
0015| I. All parking placards [shall be] issued [in
|
accordance with this section beginning on July 1, 1995. All
|
placards issued prior to July 1, 1995 shall expire on July 1,
|
1996] on or after July 1, 1998 shall be issued in accordance
|
0019| with the provisions of this section."
|
0020| Section 6. Section 66-3-16.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995,
|
0021| Chapter 129, Section 2) is amended to read:
|
0022| "66-3-16.1. PROVIDING FALSE INFORMATION--FALSE USE OF
|
0023| PLACARD--PENALTY--PLACARD CONFISCATED.--
|
0024| A. Any person who provides false information in
|
0025| order to acquire, or who assists an unqualified person in
|
- 14 -
0001| acquiring, a special registration plate or [special]
|
0002| parking placard as provided in Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 is
|
0003| guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced pursuant to the
|
0004| provisions of Section [31-19-1] 66-8-7 NMSA 1978.
|
0005| B. A person who uses a parking placard to park in
|
0006| a designated disabled parking space and is neither the holder
|
0007| of the parking placard nor assisting in the transportation of
|
0008| the holder is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced
|
0009| pursuant to the provisions of Section 66-8-7 NMSA 1978. When
|
0010| a law enforcement officer finds that a person is using a
|
0011| parking placard that does not belong to him or his passenger,
|
0012| the officer may confiscate the placard. The law enforcement
|
0013| agency shall return the parking placard to the division. The
|
0014| division shall hold the parking placard until the division
|
0015| receives a written request for the parking placard's return
|
0016| from the parking placard holder. Failure to surrender the
|
0017| parking placard on demand of a law enforcement officer is a
|
0018| petty misdemeanor and punishable by a fine not to exceed one
|
0019| hundred dollars ($100)."
|
0020| Section 7. Section 66-7-352.4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws
|
0021| 1983, Chapter 45, Section 4) is amended to read:
|
0022| "66-7-352.4. PARKING LOTS--STANDARDS.--
|
0023| A. Every parking lot coming under the provisions
|
0024| of the Disabled Parking Standards and Enforcement Act shall
|
0025| have designated disabled parking spaces, including access
|
- 15 -
0001| aisles, as provided in Subsection B of this section
|
0002| [provided that an office of state or local government shall
|
have a minimum of one such parking space]. No building
|
0004| permit shall be issued by the state or any local government
|
0005| for the construction or substantial renovation of a commercial
|
0006| building inviting public access unless the parking lot has
|
0007| designated disabled parking spaces as delineated in Subsection
|
0008| B of this section.
|
0009| B. The minimum numbers of designated disabled
|
0010| parking spaces are as follows:
|
0011| TOTAL SPACES IN PARKING LOT MINIMUM DESIGNATED DISABLED
|
0012| PARKING SPACES
|
0013| [0 to 14 0
|
15] 1 to 25 1
|
0015| 26 to 35 2
|
0016| 36 to 50 3
|
0017| 51 to 100 4
|
0018| 101 to 300 8
|
0019| 301 to 500 12
|
0020| 501 to 800 16
|
0021| 801 to 1,000 20
|
0022| more than 1,000 20, plus [3]
|
0023| 1 for each
|
0024| additional
|
0025| [1,000]
|
- 16 -
0001| 100.
|
0002| The designated disabled parking spaces shall be located so as
|
0003| to provide the most convenient access to entranceways or to
|
0004| the nearest curb cut. One of every eight designated disabled
|
0005| parking spaces, but not less than one, shall be designated as
|
0006| van accessible.
|
0007| C. In parking lots with five or fewer parking
|
0008| spaces, one accessible parking space shall be provided but
|
0009| need not be designated by sign and pavement painting. Use of
|
0010| the undesignated accessible parking space by a vehicle without
|
0011| a special registration plate or parking placard is not a
|
0012| violation of Section 66-7-352.5 NMSA 1978."
|
0013| Section 8. Section 66-7-352.5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws
|
0014| 1983, Chapter 45, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
|
0015| "66-7-352.5. UNAUTHORIZED USE--PENALTY.--[A.] It is
|
0016| unlawful for any person to park a motor vehicle not carrying
|
0017| special registration plates or a parking placard
|
0018| indicating [disability] severe mobility impairment in
|
0019| accordance with Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 in a designated
|
0020| disabled parking space [or blocking a curb cut]. It is
|
0021| unlawful for any person to park a vehicle with or without a
|
0022| special registration plate or parking placard in a position
|
0023| that blocks a curb cut or access aisle. Any person who
|
0024| violates this subsection is subject to a [fifty-dollar
|
($50.00)] minimum one hundred dollar ($100) fine and the
|
- 17 -
0001| vehicle may be towed at the owner's expense.
|
0002| [B. A person charged with a violation of Subsection
|
A of this section shall not be determined to have committed an
|
infraction if he produces in court special disabled
|
registration plates or a placard indicating disability in
|
accordance with Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 or demonstrates he
|
was entitled to such at the time of the violation.]"
|
0008| Section 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
|
0009| provisions of this act is July 1, 1998.
|
0010|
|