HOUSE BILL NO. 1708 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE VEIT.
4123H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To repeal section 301.142, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to license plates and placards for persons with disabilities, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 301.142, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu 2 thereof, to be known as section 301.142, to read as follows: 301.142. 1. As used in sections 301.141 to 301.143, the following terms mean: 2 (1) "Department", the department of revenue; 3 (2) "Director", the director of the department of revenue; 4 (3) "Other authorized health care practitioner" includes advanced practice registered 5 nurses licensed pursuant to chapter 335, physician assistants licensed pursuant to chapter 334, 6 chiropractors licensed pursuant to chapter 331, podiatrists licensed pursuant to chapter 330, 7 assistant physicians, physical therapists licensed pursuant to chapter 334, and optometrists 8 licensed pursuant to chapter 336; 9 (4) "Physically disabled", a natural person who is blind, as defined in section 8.700, 10 or a natural person with medical disabilities [which prohibits, limits, or severely impairs 11 one's] that prohibit, limit, or severely impair the person's ability to ambulate or walk, as 12 determined by a licensed physician or other authorized health care practitioner as follows: 13 (a) The person cannot ambulate or walk fifty or less feet without stopping to rest due 14 to a severe and disabling arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition, or other severe and 15 disabling condition; or 16 (b) The person cannot ambulate or walk without the use of, or assistance from, a 17 brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive device; or
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 1708 2
18 (c) Is restricted by a respiratory or other disease to such an extent that the person's 19 forced respiratory expiratory volume for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less 20 than one liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than sixty mm/hg on room air at rest; or 21 (d) Uses portable oxygen; or 22 (e) Has a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are 23 classified in severity as class III or class IV according to standards set by the American Heart 24 Association; or 25 (f) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (3) of subsection 16 of this section, a 26 person's age, in and of itself, shall not be a factor in determining whether such person is 27 physically disabled or is otherwise entitled to disabled license plates and/or disabled 28 windshield hanging placards within the meaning of sections 301.141 to 301.143; 29 (5) "Physician", a person licensed to practice medicine pursuant to chapter 334; 30 (6) "Physician's statement", a statement personally signed by a duly authorized person 31 which certifies that a person is disabled as defined in this section; 32 (7) "Temporarily disabled person", a disabled person as defined in this section whose 33 disability or incapacity is expected to last no more than one hundred eighty days; 34 (8) "Temporary windshield placard", a placard to be issued to persons who are 35 temporarily disabled persons as defined in this section, certification of which shall be 36 indicated on the physician's statement; 37 (9) "Windshield placard", a placard to be issued to persons who are physically 38 disabled as defined in this section, certification of which shall be indicated on the physician's 39 statement. 40 2. Other authorized health care practitioners may furnish to a physically disabled or 41 temporarily disabled person a physician's statement for only those physical health care 42 conditions for which such health care practitioner is legally authorized to diagnose and treat. 43 3. A physician's statement shall: 44 (1) Be on a form prescribed by the director of revenue; 45 (2) Set forth the specific diagnosis and medical condition which renders the person 46 physically disabled or temporarily disabled as defined in this section; 47 (3) Include the physician's or other authorized health care practitioner's license 48 number; and 49 (4) Be personally signed by the issuing physician or other authorized health care 50 practitioner. 51 4. If it is the professional opinion of the physician or other authorized health care 52 practitioner issuing the statement that the physical disability of the applicant, user, or member 53 of the applicant's household is permanent, it shall be noted on the statement. Otherwise, the 54 physician or other authorized health care practitioner shall note on the statement the HB 1708 3
55 anticipated length of the disability, which shall determine the expiration date for the 56 temporary windshield placard, and which period shall not exceed one hundred eighty days. If 57 the physician or health care practitioner fails to record an expiration date on the physician's 58 statement, the director shall issue a temporary windshield placard for a period of thirty days. 59 5. A physician or other authorized health care practitioner who issues or signs a 60 physician's statement so that disabled plates or a disabled windshield placard may be obtained 61 shall maintain in such disabled person's medical chart documentation that such a certificate 62 has been issued, the date the statement was signed, the diagnosis or condition which existed 63 that qualified the person as physically disabled pursuant to this section, and [shall contain] 64 sufficient documentation so as to objectively confirm that such condition exists. 65 6. The medical or other records of the physician or other authorized health care 66 practitioner who issued a physician's statement shall be open to inspection and review by such 67 practitioner's licensing board, in order to verify compliance with this section. Information 68 contained within such records shall be confidential unless required for prosecution, 69 disciplinary purposes, or otherwise required to be disclosed by law. 70 7. Owners of motor vehicles who are residents of the state of Missouri, and who are 71 physically disabled, owners of motor vehicles operated at least fifty percent of the time by a 72 physically disabled person, or owners of motor vehicles used to primarily transport physically 73 disabled members of the owner's household may obtain disabled person license plates. Such 74 owners, upon application to the director accompanied by the documents and fees provided for 75 in this section, a current physician's statement which has been issued within ninety days 76 [proceeding] preceding the date the application is made, and proof of compliance with the 77 state motor vehicle laws relating to registration and licensing of motor vehicles, shall be 78 issued motor vehicle license plates for vehicles, other than commercial vehicles with a gross 79 weight in excess of twenty-four thousand pounds, upon which shall be inscribed the 80 international wheelchair accessibility symbol and the word "DISABLED" in addition to a 81 combination of letters and numbers. Such license plates shall be made with fully reflective 82 material with a common color scheme and design, shall be clearly visible at night, and shall 83 be aesthetically attractive, as prescribed by section 301.130. If at any time an individual who 84 obtained disabled license plates issued under this subsection no longer occupies a residence 85 with a physically disabled person, or no longer owns a vehicle that is operated at least fifty 86 percent of the time by a physically disabled person, such individual shall surrender the 87 disabled license plates to the department within thirty days of becoming ineligible for their 88 use. 89 8. The director shall further issue, upon request, to such applicant one, and for good 90 cause shown, as the director may define by rule and regulations, not more than two, 91 removable disabled windshield hanging placards for use when the disabled person is HB 1708 4
92 occupying a vehicle or when a vehicle not bearing the permanent handicap plate is being used 93 to pick up, deliver, or collect the physically disabled person issued the disabled motor vehicle 94 license plate or disabled windshield hanging placard. 95 9. No additional fee shall be paid to the director for the issuance of the special license 96 plates provided in this section, except for special personalized license plates and other license 97 plates described in this subsection. Priority for any specific set of special license plates shall 98 be given to the applicant who received the number in the immediately preceding license 99 period subject to the applicant's compliance with the provisions of this section and any 100 applicable rules or regulations issued by the director. If determined feasible by the advisory 101 committee established in section [301.129] 301.125, any special license plate issued pursuant 102 to this section may be adapted to also include the international wheelchair accessibility 103 symbol and the word "DISABLED" as prescribed in this section and such plate may be issued 104 to any applicant who meets the requirements of this section and the other appropriate 105 provision of this chapter, subject to the requirements and fees of the appropriate provision of 106 this chapter. 107 10. Any physically disabled person, or the parent or guardian of any such person, or 108 any not-for-profit group, organization, or other entity which transports more than one 109 physically disabled person, may apply to the director of revenue for a removable windshield 110 placard. The placard may be used in motor vehicles which do not bear the permanent 111 handicap symbol on the license plate. Such placards must be hung from the front, middle 112 rearview mirror of a parked motor vehicle and may not be hung from the mirror during 113 operation. These placards may only be used during the period of time when the vehicle is 114 being used by a disabled person, or when the vehicle is being used to pick up, deliver, or 115 collect a disabled person, and shall be surrendered to the department, within thirty days, if a 116 group, organization, or entity that obtained the removable windshield placard due to the 117 transportation of more than one physically disabled person no longer transports more than one 118 disabled person. When there is no rearview mirror, the placard shall be displayed on the 119 dashboard on the driver's side. 120 11. The removable windshield placard shall conform to the specifications, in respect 121 to size, color, and content, as set forth in federal regulations published by the Department of 122 Transportation. The removable windshield placard shall be renewed every [four] eight years. 123 The department shall have the authority to automatically renew current valid disabled 124 placards for a duration of eight years, or for the duration that correlates with the 125 disabled person's current physician's statement expiration date, until all permanent 126 disabled placards are on an eight-year cycle. The director may stagger the expiration dates 127 to equalize workload. Only one removable placard may be issued to an applicant who has HB 1708 5
128 been issued disabled person license plates. Upon request, one additional windshield placard 129 may be issued to an applicant who has not been issued disabled person license plates. 130 12. A temporary windshield placard shall be issued to any physically disabled person, 131 or the parent or guardian of any such person who otherwise qualifies except that the physical 132 disability, in the opinion of the physician, is not expected to exceed a period of one hundred 133 eighty days. The temporary windshield placard shall conform to the specifications, in respect 134 to size, color, and content, as set forth in federal regulations published by the Department of 135 Transportation. The fee for the temporary windshield placard shall be two dollars. Upon 136 request, and for good cause shown, one additional temporary windshield placard may be 137 issued to an applicant. Temporary windshield placards shall be issued upon presentation of 138 the physician's statement provided by this section and shall be displayed in the same manner 139 as removable windshield placards. A person or entity shall be qualified to possess and 140 display a temporary removable windshield placard for six months and the placard may be 141 renewed once for an additional six months if a physician's statement pursuant to this section is 142 supplied to the director of revenue at the time of renewal. 143 13. A windshield placard shall be renewable only by the person or entity to which the 144 placard was originally issued. Any placard issued pursuant to this section shall only be used 145 when the physically disabled occupant for whom the disabled plate or placard was issued is in 146 the motor vehicle at the time of parking or when a physically disabled person is being 147 delivered or collected. A disabled license plate and/or a removable windshield hanging 148 placard are not transferable and may not be used by any other person whether disabled or not. 149 14. At the time the disabled plates or windshield hanging placards are issued, the 150 director shall issue a registration certificate which shall include the applicant's name, address, 151 and other identifying information as prescribed by the director, or if issued to an agency, such 152 agency's name and address. This certificate shall further contain the disabled license plate 153 number or, for windshield hanging placards, the registration or identifying number stamped 154 on the placard. The validated registration receipt given to the applicant shall serve as the 155 registration certificate. 156 15. The director shall, upon issuing any disabled registration certificate for license 157 plates and/or windshield hanging placards, provide information which explains that such 158 plates or windshield hanging placards are nontransferable, and the restrictions explaining who 159 and when a person or vehicle which bears or has the disabled plates or windshield hanging 160 placards may be used or be parked in a disabled reserved parking space, and the penalties 161 prescribed for violations of the provisions of this act. 162 16. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, every applicant for issuance 163 of a disabled license plate or placard shall be required to present a new physician's statement 164 dated no more than ninety days prior to such application, and for renewal applications a HB 1708 6
165 physician's statement dated no more than ninety days prior to such application shall be 166 required every eighth year. 167 (2) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, if the applicant has 168 presented proof of disability in the form of a statement from the United States Department of 169 Veterans Affairs verifying that the person is permanently disabled, the applicant shall not be 170 required to provide a physician's statement for the purpose of issuance or renewal of disabled 171 person license plates or windshield placards. 172 (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (f) of subdivision (4) of subsection 1 173 of this section, any person seventy-five years of age or older who provided a physician's 174 statement with the original application shall not be required to provide a physician's statement 175 for the purpose of renewal of disabled person license plates or windshield placards. 176 17. The director of revenue upon receiving a physician's statement pursuant to this 177 [subsection] section shall check with the state board of registration for the healing arts created 178 in section 334.120, or the Missouri state board of nursing established in section 335.021, with 179 respect to [physician's] physicians' statements signed by advanced practice registered nurses, 180 or the Missouri state board of chiropractic examiners established in section 331.090, with 181 respect to [physician's] physicians' statements signed by licensed chiropractors, or [with] the 182 board of optometry established in section 336.130, with respect to [physician's] physicians' 183 statements signed by licensed optometrists, or the state board of podiatric medicine [created] 184 established in section 330.100, with respect to [physician's] physicians' statements signed by 185 physicians of the foot or podiatrists to determine whether the physician is duly licensed and 186 registered pursuant to law. 187 18. The boards shall cooperate with the director and shall supply information 188 requested pursuant to this [subsection] section. The director shall, in cooperation with the 189 boards which shall assist the director, establish a list of all Missouri physicians and other 190 authorized health care practitioners and of any other information necessary to administer this 191 section. 192 19. Where the owner's application is based on the fact that the vehicle is used at least 193 fifty percent of the time by a physically disabled person, the applicant shall submit a 194 statement stating this fact, in addition to the physician's statement. The statement shall be 195 signed by both the owner of the vehicle and the physically disabled person. The applicant 196 shall be required to submit this statement with each application for license plates. No person 197 shall willingly or knowingly submit a false statement and any such false statement shall be 198 considered perjury and may be punishable pursuant to section 301.420. 199 20. The director of revenue shall retain all physicians' statements and all other 200 documents received in connection with a person's application for disabled license plates and/ 201 or disabled windshield placards. HB 1708 7
202 21. The director of revenue shall enter into reciprocity agreements with other states or 203 the federal government for the purpose of recognizing disabled person license plates or 204 windshield placards issued to physically disabled persons. 205 22. When a person to whom disabled person license plates or a removable or 206 temporary windshield placard or both have been issued dies, the personal representative of the 207 decedent or such other p