SENATE BILL 172
48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2007
INTRODUCED BY
Mark Boitano
AN ACT
RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES; PROVIDING PARKING PLACARDS FOR PREGNANT WOMEN; CLARIFYING THE USE OF DISABLED PERSONS PARKING PLACARDS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. 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-- SEVERE MOBILITY IMPAIRMENT--PREGNANCY--PARKING PLACARD.--
A. The [division] department shall issue a distinctive registration [plates to any] plate to a disabled person who so requests and who proves satisfactorily to the [division] department that [he] the person 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. The distinctive registration plate shall allow the disabled person meeting the requirements of this subsection to park the person's motor vehicle in designated disabled person parking spaces. No fee in addition to the regular registration fee, if any, applicable to the motor vehicle shall be collected for issuance of a special registration [plates] plate pursuant to this section.
B. No person shall falsely [represent himself] claim to be disabled or suffer from a severe mobility impairment as defined in Subsection H of this section so as to be eligible to be issued a special registration plate or a parking placard pursuant to this section when [he] the person is in fact not disabled or does not suffer from a severe mobility impairment. Upon notice and opportunity to be heard, the [division] department may revoke and demand return of [any] a special registration plate or parking placard when:
(1) it was issued in error or with false information;
(2) the person receiving [the placard] it is no longer eligible; or
(3) [the placard] it is being used by ineligible persons.
C. Upon written application to the [division] department accompanied by a medical statement by a licensed physician attesting to the permanent [disability] severe mobility impairment, a resident of the state who has a [disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk, as provided] permanent severe mobility impairment as defined in Subsection [G] H of this section, may [apply for and be granted the issuance of] be issued no more than two parking placards, which allow the resident to park in designated disabled person parking spaces, for display upon a motor vehicle registered to [him] the resident or motor vehicle owned by another person who is transporting [him] the resident. The physician shall provide the [division] department all information and records necessary to issue a [permanent] parking placard. Once approved for use of a [permanent] parking placard pursuant to this subsection, a person shall not be required to furnish further medical information about [his] the person's severe mobility impairment.
D. A parking placard issued pursuant to Subsection C of 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] department 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;
(2) an identification number enabling the [division] department to identify the holder of each placard. The [division] department shall maintain this information in a readily retrievable format, provide it to the governor's [committee on concerns of the handicapped] commission on disability 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] department seal or other identification of the issuing authority.
F. Upon written application to the [division] department accompanied by a medical statement from a licensed physician attesting to [a] the temporary [disability] severe mobility impairment, a person who has a temporary [disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk may be issued a temporary placard] severe mobility impairment as defined in Subsection H of this section may be issued a parking placard that allows the person to park in designated disabled person parking spaces for no more than one year. The physician shall provide [the division] to the department all information and records necessary to issue a [temporary] parking placard.
G. Upon written application to the department accompanied by a medical statement from a licensed physician attesting to the pregnancy, a pregnant woman may be issued a parking placard that shall allow her to park in designated disabled person parking spaces for no more than one year.
[G. For the purpose of obtaining a placard, a person with a]
H. As used in this section, "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] the ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurologic or orthopedic condition that the person cannot ascend or descend more than ten stair steps.
[H.] I. Special registration plates or parking placards issued to a [person] disabled person or a person with severe mobility impairment by another state or foreign jurisdiction shall be honored until the disabled person's vehicle is registered or the placard holder establishes residency in this state.
[I.] J. All parking placards issued on or after July 1, 1999 shall be issued in accordance with the provisions of this section."
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