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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Crook

DATE TYPED 3/8/05

HB 784

SHORT TITLE Severe Mobility Impairment License Plates

SB

ANALYST Wilson

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

$0.1 Non-Recurring General Fund

REVENUE

Estimated Revenue

Subsequent

Years Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

($500.0)

($500.0) Recurring

General Fund

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Attorney General’s Office (AGO)

Department of Public Safety (DPS)

Governor’s Commission on Disability (GCD)

Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR)

Taxation and Revenue Department (TRD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 784 expands eligibility for special registration plates and requires the Motor Vehicle

Division (MVD) of the TRD to issue special license registration plates to persons with “severe

mobility impairment”.

Current law requires the issuance of up to two special placards to such persons, but restricts the

issuance of special license registration plates to those who have lost, or have lost the use of, one

or both arms or legs. “Severe mobility impairment” will include those who have difficulty walk-

House Bill 784 -- Page 2

ing or breathing due to major medical conditions.

Significant Issues

Current law allows the MVD to issue special license registration plates to persons who have lost

the use of one or both arms or legs. However, the MVD may issue only placards to those who

have difficulty walking or breathing due to major medical conditions. Placards are displayed

within the vehicle. This bill will allow those persons to receive permanent license plates for their

vehicles, and placards, if necessary.

TRD believes implementation of the bill will be facilitated if the new plates conform to the “spe-

cialty” plate “base” design introduced by the House Transportation Committee.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

TRD states this bill will increase the number of persons eligible to receive the exemption from

motor vehicle excise tax (7-14-6 (D) NMSA 1978). The fiscal impact estimate represents less

than one-half percent of total motor vehicle excise tax collections projected for FY 2006. TRD

estimates a loss in general fund revenues of $500 thousand. Approximately 20,000 New Mexi-

cans currently hold handicapped parking placards.

Without any startup appropriations and continuing funding, the MVD will have to take the cost

of plate production and distribution out of existing and forecast budgets.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The bill does not state whether the plate is a base or specialty design plate. To meet the imple-

mentation date of July 1 2005, the Motor Vehicle Division and the Governor’s Commission on

Disabilities need to coordinate to determine the plate configuration.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

DVR states the title, short title and language in this bill is not culturally appropriate. People are

not disabilities. Thus, language such as “person is disabled” is incorrect. The person has a dis-

ability. Laws should reflect the dignity of all individuals with disabilities and not refer to the in-

dividual as the disability, for example a person suffers from schizophrenia, not a person is a

schizophrenic.

DVR wants all references to a “disabled person” to be changed to more culturally appropriate

language, such as person with severe mobility impairment, a person with a significant disability

or person with a significant mobility impairment.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

DVR provided the following:

The bill does not address abuse of use of special registration plates or parking placards by

individuals without disabilities.

House Bill 784 -- Page 3

Penalties for individuals who abuse the use of special registration plates and parking

placards by individual without disabilities will help deter abuse.

There needs to be a means that the public can report abuse anonymously.

DWsb