46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2003

RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES; CREATING PARKING PRIVILEGES FOR PERMANENT WHEELCHAIR ONLY DISABLED PERSONS; PROVIDING FOR ENFORCEMENT OF CERTAIN PARKING PRIVILEGES; PROVIDING PENALTIES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

Section 1. Section 3-51-46 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, Chapter 22, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:

"3-51-46. PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLE OF DISABLED PERSON--PARKING [PRIVILEGE] PRIVILEGES.--

A. Passenger motor vehicles owned by and carrying disabled persons and displaying special registration plates, or passenger motor vehicles carrying persons with severe mobility impairment and displaying parking placards, issued pursuant to Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 shall be permitted to park for unlimited periods of time in parking zones restricted as to length of time parking is normally permitted and are exempt from payment of any parking fee of the state or its political subdivisions. The provisions of this section shall prevail over any other law, rule or local ordinance but do not apply to zones where stopping, standing or parking is prohibited, zones reserved for special types of vehicles, zones where parking is prohibited during certain hours of the day in order to facilitate traffic during those hours when parking is prohibited and zones subject to similar regulation because parking presents a traffic hazard.

B. Passenger motor vehicles identified with a permanent wheelchair only disabled placard issued pursuant to Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 shall be authorized to park in spaces designated for persons in wheelchairs only."

Section 2. Section 66-1-4.14 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1990, Chapter 120, Section 15, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-1-4.14. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor Vehicle Code:

A. "park" or "parking" means the standing of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, other than temporarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in loading and unloading;

B. "parking lot" means a parking area provided for the use of patrons of any office of state or local government or of any public accommodation, retail or commercial establishment;

C. "parts car" means a motor vehicle generally in nonoperable condition that is owned by a collector to furnish parts that are usually nonobtainable from normal sources, thus enabling a collector to preserve, restore and maintain a motor vehicle of historic or special interest;

D. "pedestrian" means any natural person on foot;

E. "permanent wheelchair only disabled parking space" means any space, including an access aisle, marked and reserved for the parking of a passenger vehicle that carries a parking placard indicating permanent wheelchair only disability in accordance with Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978, and designated by a conspicuously posted sign bearing the international disabled symbol of a wheelchair and if paved, by a clearly visible depiction of this symbol painted in distinctive colors other than blue on the pavement of the space;

[E.] F. "person" means every natural person, firm, copartnership, association, corporation or other legal entity;

[F.] G. "personal information" means information that identifies an individual, including an individual's photograph, social security number, driver identification number, name, address other than zip code, telephone number and medical or disability information, but "personal information" does not include information on vehicles, vehicle ownership, vehicular accidents, driving violations or driver status;

[G.] H. "placard" or "parking placard" means a card-like device that identifies the vehicle as being currently in use to transport a person with severe mobility impairment and issued pursuant to Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 to be displayed inside a motor vehicle so as to be readily visible to an observer outside the vehicle, including separate placards for:

(1) permanently disabled;

(2) permanently wheelchair only disabled; and

(3) temporarily disabled;

[H.] I. "pneumatic tire" means every tire in which compressed air is designed to support the load;

[I.] J. "pole trailer" means any vehicle without motive power, designed to be drawn by another vehicle and attached to the towing vehicle by means of a reach or pole or by being boomed or otherwise secured to the towing vehicle and ordinarily used for transporting long or irregularly shaped loads such as poles, structures, pipes and structural members capable, generally, of sustaining themselves as beams between the supporting connections;

[J.] K. "police or peace officer" means every officer authorized to direct or regulate traffic or to make arrests for violations of the Motor Vehicle Code;

[K.] L. "private road or driveway" means every way or place in private ownership used for vehicular travel by the owner and those having express or implied permission from the owner, but not other persons; and

[L.] M. "property owner" means the owner of a piece of land or the agent of that property owner."

Section 3. Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Section 36, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-3-16. SPECIAL REGISTRATION PLATES--DISABLED PERSONS--PARKING PLACARD.--

A. The division shall issue distinctive registration plates to any disabled person who so requests and who proves satisfactorily to the division that he has suffered the loss, or the complete and total loss of use of, one or both legs at or above the ankle or of one or both arms at or above the wrist for use on motor vehicles owned by the person. No fee in addition to the regular registration fee, if any, applicable to the motor vehicle shall be collected for issuance of special registration plates pursuant to this section.

B. No person shall falsely represent himself to be disabled so as to be eligible to be issued a special registration plate or a parking placard pursuant to this section when he is in fact not disabled. Upon notice and opportunity to be heard, the division may revoke and demand return of any placard when:

(1) it was issued in error or with false information;

(2) the person receiving the placard is no longer eligible; or

(3) the placard is being used by ineligible persons.

C. Upon written application to the division accompanied by a medical statement by a licensed physician attesting to the permanent disability or permanent wheelchair only disability, a resident of the state who has a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk, as provided in Subsection G of this section, or who is permanently wheelchair only disabled may apply for and be granted the issuance of no more than two parking placards for display upon a motor vehicle registered to him or motor vehicle owned by another person who is transporting him. The physician shall provide the division all information and records necessary to issue a permanent parking placard. Once approved for use of a permanent parking placard, a person shall not be required to furnish further medical information about his mobility impairment. Separate placards shall be issued for drivers who are:

(1) permanently disabled;

(2) permanently wheelchair only disabled; and

(3) temporarily disabled.

D. A parking placard issued pursuant to this section shall expire on the same date the person's license or identification card issued pursuant to Section 66-5-401 NMSA 1978 expires.

E. The division shall issue two-sided hanger-style parking placards with the following characteristics:

(1) the international symbol of access shall be displayed on both sides of the placard and shall be at least three inches in height, centered on the placard and white on a blue field for permanent non-wheelchair disabilities and white on a gold field for permanent wheelchair only disabilities;

(2) an identification number enabling the division to identify the holder of each placard. The division shall maintain this information in a readily retrievable format, provide it to the governor's committee on concerns of the handicapped and make it available on demand to any law enforcement agency just as it provides vehicle registration and driver's license information;

(3) the date of expiration; and

(4) the division seal or other identification of the issuing authority.

F. Upon written application to the division accompanied by a medical statement from a licensed physician attesting to a temporary disability, a person who has a temporary disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk may be issued a temporary placard for no more than one year. The physician shall provide the division all information and records necessary to issue a temporary placard.

G. For the purpose of obtaining a placard, a person with a "severe mobility impairment" means the person:

(1) cannot walk one hundred feet without stopping to rest;

(2) cannot walk without the use of a brace, a cane, a crutch, assistance from another person, a prosthetic device, a wheelchair or another assistive device;

(3) is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that the person's forced respiratory volume, when exhaling for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one liter or the arterial oxygen tension is less than sixty millimeters on room air at rest;

(4) uses portable oxygen;

(5) has a severe cardiac condition; or

(6) is so severely limited in his ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurologic or orthopedic condition that the person cannot ascend or descend more than ten stair steps.

H. Special registration plates or placards issued to a person with severe mobility impairment by another state or foreign jurisdiction shall be honored until the vehicle is registered or the placard holder establishes residency in this state.

I. All parking placards issued on or after July 1, 1999 shall be issued in accordance with the provisions of this section."

Section 4. Section 66-7-352.4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1983, Chapter 45, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-7-352.4. PARKING LOTS--STANDARDS.--

A. Every parking lot coming under the provisions of the Disabled Parking Standards and Enforcement Act shall have designated disabled parking spaces as provided in Subsection B of this section. No building permit shall be issued by any local government for the construction or substantial renovation of a commercial building inviting public access unless the parking lot has designated disabled parking spaces as delineated in Subsection B of this section.

B. The minimum numbers of designated disabled parking spaces are as follows:

TOTAL SPACES IN PARKING LOT MINIMUM DESIGNATED DISABLED

PARKING SPACES

1 to 25 1

26 to 35 2

36 to 50 3

51 to 100 4

101 to 300 8

301 to 500 12

501 to 800 16

801 to 1,000 20

more than 1,000 20, plus 1 for each

100 over 1,000.

The designated disabled parking spaces shall be located so as to provide the most convenient access to entranceways or to the nearest curb cut. Every parking lot shall have at least one designated disabled parking space designed to accommodate a motor vehicle passenger van, and there shall be a minimum of one such space for every [eight] four designated disabled parking spaces. The passenger van spaces shall be designated for vehicles with permanent wheelchair only disabled placards and shall have a color coded sign to match the placard colors pursuant to Paragraph (1) of Subsection E of Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978."

Section 5. Section 66-7-352.5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1983, Chapter 45, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:

"66-7-352.5. UNAUTHORIZED USE--PENALTIES.--

A. It is unlawful for any person to park a motor vehicle not displaying a special registration plate or a parking placard issued pursuant to Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 in a designated disabled parking space.

B. It is unlawful for any person to park a motor vehicle not displaying a permanent wheelchair only disabled placard issued pursuant to Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 in a designated permanent wheelchair only disabled parking space or access aisle.

[B.] C. It is unlawful for any person to park a motor vehicle in such a manner so as to block access to any part of a curb cut designed for access by persons with severe mobility impairment.

[C.] D. Any person convicted of violating Subsection A, [or] B or C of this section is subject to a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) or more than three hundred dollars ($300). Failure to properly display a parking placard or special registration plate issued pursuant to Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 is not a defense against a charge of violation of Subsection A, [or] B or C of this section.

[D.] E. A vehicle parked in violation of Subsection A, [or] B or C of this section is subject to being towed at the expense of the vehicle owner upon authorization by law enforcement personnel or by the property owner or manager of a parking lot."

Section 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2003.