Modifies provisions relating to disabled license plates and placards, with penalty provisions

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1634
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR WEBBER.
6758S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 301.142, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to disabled
license plates and placards, 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Section A. Section 301.142, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1
section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 301.142, 2
to read as follows:3
301.142. 1. As used in sections 301.141 to 301.143, 1
the following terms mean: 2
(1) "Department", the department of revenue; 3
(2) "Director", the director of the department of 4
revenue; 5
(3) "Other authorized health care practitioner" 6
includes advanced practice registered nurses licensed 7
pursuant to chapter 335, physician assistants licensed 8
pursuant to chapter 334, chiropractors licensed pursuant to 9
chapter 331, podiatrists licensed pursuant to chapter 330, 10
assistant physicians, physical therapists licensed pursuant 11
to chapter 334, occupational therapists licensed pursuant to 12
chapter 324, and optometrists licensed pursuant to chapter 13
336; 14
(4) "Physically disabled", a natural person who is 15
blind, as defined in section 8.700, or a natural person with 16
medical disabilities which prohibits, limits, or severely 17
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impairs one's ability to ambulate or walk, as determined by 18
a licensed physician or other authorized health care 19
practitioner as follows: 20
(a) The person cannot ambulate or walk fifty or less 21
feet without stopping to rest due to a severe and disabling 22
arthritic, neurological, orthopedic condition, or other 23
severe and disabling condition; or 24
(b) The person cannot ambulate or walk without the use 25
of, or assistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another 26
person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive 27
device; or 28
(c) Is restricted by a respiratory or other disease to 29
such an extent that the person's forced respiratory 30
expiratory volume for one second, when measured by 31
spirometry, is less than one liter, or the arterial oxygen 32
tension is less than sixty mm/hg on room air at rest; or 33
(d) Uses portable oxygen; or 34
(e) Has a cardiac condition to the extent that the 35
person's functional limitations are classified in severity 36
as class III or class IV according to standards set by the 37
American Heart Association; or 38
(f) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (3) of 39
subsection 16 of this section, a person's age, in and of 40
itself, shall not be a factor in determining whether such 41
person is physically disabled or is otherwise entitled to 42
disabled license plates and/or disabled windshield hanging 43
placards within the meaning of sections 301.141 to 301.143; 44
(5) "Physician", a person licensed to practice 45
medicine pursuant to chapter 334; 46
(6) "Physician's statement", a statement personally 47
signed by a duly authorized person which certifies that a 48
person is disabled as defined in this section; 49
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(7) "Temporarily disabled person", a disabled person 50
as defined in this section whose disability or incapacity is 51
expected to last no more than one hundred eighty days; 52
(8) "Temporary windshield placard", a placard to be 53
issued to persons who are temporarily disabled persons as 54
defined in this section, certification of which shall be 55
indicated on the physician's statement; 56
(9) "Windshield placard", a placard to be issued to 57
persons who are physically disabled as defined in this 58
section, certification of which shall be indicated on the 59
physician's statement. 60
2. Other authorized health care practitioners may 61
furnish to a disabled or temporarily disabled person a 62
physician's statement for only those physical health care 63
conditions for which such health care practitioner is 64
legally authorized to diagnose and treat. 65
3. A physician's statement shall: 66
(1) Be on a form prescribed by the director of revenue; 67
(2) Set forth the specific diagnosis and medical 68
condition which renders the person physically disabled or 69
temporarily disabled as defined in this section; 70
(3) Include the physician's or other authorized health 71
care practitioner's license number; and 72
(4) Be personally signed by the issuing physician or 73
other authorized health care practitioner. 74
4. If it is the professional opinion of the physician 75
or other authorized health care practitioner issuing the 76
statement that the physical disability of the applicant, 77
user, or member of the applicant's household is permanent, 78
it shall be noted on the statement. Otherwise, the 79
physician or other authorized health care practitioner shall 80
note on the statement the anticipated length of the 81
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disability, which shall determine the expiration date for 82
the temporary windshield placard, and which period shall not 83
exceed one hundred eighty days. If the physician or health 84
care practitioner fails to record an expiration date on the 85
physician's statement, the director shall issue a temporary 86
windshield placard for a period of thirty days. 87
5. A physician or other authorized health care 88
practitioner who issues or signs a physician's statement so 89
that disabled plates or a disabled windshield placard may be 90
obtained shall maintain in such disabled person's medical 91
chart documentation that such a certificate has been issued, 92
the date the statement was signed, the diagnosis or 93
condition which existed that qualified the person as 94
disabled pursuant to this section and shall contain 95
sufficient documentation so as to objectively confirm that 96
such condition exists. 97
6. The medical or other records of the physician or 98
other authorized health care practitioner who issued a 99
physician's statement shall be open to inspection and review 100
by such practitioner's licensing board, in order to verify 101
compliance with this section. Information contained within 102
such records shall be confidential unless required for 103
prosecution, disciplinary purposes, or otherwise required to 104
be disclosed by law. 105
7. Owners of motor vehicles who are residents of the 106
state of Missouri, and who are physically disabled, owners 107
of motor vehicles operated at least fifty percent of the 108
time by a physically disabled person, or owners of motor 109
vehicles used to primarily transport physically disabled 110
members of the owner's household may obtain disabled person 111
license plates. Such owners, upon application to the 112
director accompanied by the documents and fees provided for 113
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in this section, a current physician's statement which has 114
been issued within ninety days proceeding the date the 115
application is made, and proof of compliance with the state 116
motor vehicle laws relating to registration and licensing of 117
motor vehicles, shall be issued motor vehicle license plates 118
for vehicles, other than commercial vehicles with a gross 119
weight in excess of twenty-four thousand pounds, upon which 120
shall be inscribed the international wheelchair 121
accessibility symbol and the word "DISABLED" in addition to 122
a combination of letters and numbers. Such license plates 123
shall be made with fully reflective material with a common 124
color scheme and design, shall be clearly visible at night, 125
and shall be aesthetically attractive, as prescribed by 126
section 301.130. If at any time an individual who obtained 127
disabled license plates issued under this subsection no 128
longer occupies a residence with a physically disabled 129
person, or no longer owns a vehicle that is operated at 130
least fifty percent of the time by a physically disabled 131
person, such individual shall surrender the disabled license 132
plates to the department within thirty days of becoming 133
ineligible for their use. 134
8. The director shall further issue, upon request, to 135
such applicant one, and for good cause shown, as the 136
director may define by rule and regulations, not more than 137
two, removable disabled windshield hanging placards for use 138
when the disabled person is occupying a vehicle or when a 139
vehicle not bearing the permanent handicap plate is being 140
used to pick up, deliver, or collect the physically disabled 141
person issued the disabled motor vehicle license plate or 142
disabled windshield hanging placard. 143
9. No additional fee shall be paid to the director for 144
the issuance of the special license plates provided in this 145
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section, except for special personalized license plates and 146
other license plates described in this subsection. Priority 147
for any specific set of special license plates shall be 148
given to the applicant who received the number in the 149
immediately preceding license period subject to the 150
applicant's compliance with the provisions of this section 151
and any applicable rules or regulations issued by the 152
director. If determined feasible by the advisory committee 153
established in section 301.129, any special license plate 154
issued pursuant to this section may be adapted to also 155
include the international wheelchair accessibility symbol 156
and the word "DISABLED" as prescribed in this section and 157
such plate may be issued to any applicant who meets the 158
requirements of this section and the other appropriate 159
provision of this chapter, subject to the requirements and 160
fees of the appropriate provision of this chapter. 161
10. Any physically disabled person, or the parent or 162
guardian of any such person, or any not-for-profit group, 163
organization, or other entity which transports more than one 164
physically disabled person, may apply to the director of 165
revenue for a removable windshield placard. The placard may 166
be used in motor vehicles which do not bear the permanent 167
handicap symbol on the license plate. Such placards must be 168
hung from the front, middle rearview mirror of a parked 169
motor vehicle and may not be hung from the mirror during 170
operation. These placards may only be used during the 171
period of time when the vehicle is being used by a disabled 172
person, or when the vehicle is being used to pick up, 173
deliver, or collect a disabled person, and shall be 174
surrendered to the department, within thirty days, if a 175
group, organization, or entity that obtained the removable 176
windshield placard due to the transportation of more than 177
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one physically disabled person no longer transports more 178
than one disabled person. When there is no rearview mirror, 179
the placard shall be displayed on the dashboard on the 180
driver's side. 181
11. The removable windshield placard shall conform to 182
the specifications, in respect to size, color, and content, 183
as set forth in federal regulations published by the 184
Department of Transportation. The removable windshield 185
placard shall be renewed every four years. The director may 186
stagger the expiration dates to equalize workload. Only one 187
removable placard may be issued to an applicant who has been 188
issued disabled person license plates. Upon request, one 189
additional windshield placard may be issued to an applicant 190
who has not been issued disabled person license plates. 191
12. A temporary windshield placard shall be issued to 192
any physically disabled person, or the parent or guardian of 193
any such person who otherwise qualifies except that the 194
physical disability, in the opinion of the physician, is not 195
expected to exceed a period of one hundred eighty days. The 196
temporary windshield placard shall conform to the 197
specifications, in respect to size, color, and content, as 198
set forth in federal regulations published by the Department 199
of Transportation. The fee for the temporary windshield 200
placard shall be two dollars. Upon request, and for good 201
cause shown, one additional temporary windshield placard may 202
be issued to an applicant. Temporary windshield placards 203
shall be issued upon presentation of the physician's 204
statement provided by this section and shall be displayed in 205
the same manner as removable windshield placards. A person 206
or entity shall be qualified to possess and display a 207
temporary removable windshield placard for six months and 208
the placard may be renewed once for an additional six months 209
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if a physician's statement pursuant to this section is 210
supplied to the director of revenue at the time of renewal. 211
13. A windshield placard shall be renewable only by 212
the person or entity to which the placard was originally 213
issued. Any placard issued pursuant to this section shall 214
only be used when the physically disabled occupant for whom 215
the disabled plate or placard was issued is in the motor 216
vehicle at the time of parking or when a physically disabled 217
person is being delivered or collected. A disabled license 218
plate and/or a removable windshield hanging placard are not 219
transferable and may not be used by any other person whether 220
disabled or not. 221
14. At the time the disabled plates or windshield 222
hanging placards are issued, the director shall issue a 223
registration certificate which shall include the applicant's 224
name, address, and other identifying information as 225
prescribed by the director, or if issued to an agency, such 226
agency's name and address. This certificate shall further 227
contain the disabled license plate number or, for windshield 228
hanging placards, the registration or identifying number 229
stamped on the placard. The validated registration receipt 230
given to the applicant shall serve as the registration 231
certificate. 232
15. The director shall, upon issuing any disabled 233
registration certificate for license plates and/or 234
windshield hanging placards, provide information which 235
explains that such plates or windshield hanging placards are 236
nontransferable, and the restrictions explaining who and 237
when a person or vehicle which bears or has the disabled 238
plates or windshield hanging placards may be used or be 239
parked in a disabled reserved parking space, and the 240
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penalties prescribed for violations of the provisions of 241
this act. 242
16. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this 243
subsection, every applicant for issuance of a disabled 244
license plate or placard shall be required to present a new 245
physician's statement dated no more than ninety days prior 246
to such application, and for renewal applications a 247
physician's statement dated no more than ninety days prior 248
to such application shall be required every eighth year. 249
(2) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the 250
contrary, if the applicant has presented proof of disability 251
in the form of a statement from the United States Department 252
of Veterans Affairs verifying that the person is permanently 253
disabled, the applicant shall not be required to provide a 254
physician's statement for the purpose of issuance or renewal 255
of disabled person license plates or windshield placards. 256
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (f) of 257
subdivision (4) of subsection 1 of this section, any person 258
seventy-five years of age or older who provided a 259
physician's statement with the original application shall 260
not be required to provide a physician's statement for the 261
purpose of renewal of disabled person license plates or 262
windshield placards. 263
17. The director of revenue upon receiving a 264
physician's statement pursuant to this subsection shall 265
check with the state board of registration for the healing 266
arts created in section 334.120, or the Missouri state board 267
of nursing established in section 335.021, with respect to 268
physician's statements signed by advanced practice 269
registered nurses, or the Missouri state board of 270
chiropractic examiners established in section 331.090, with 271
respect to physician's statements signed by licensed 272
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chiropractors, or with the board of optometry established in 273
section 336.130, with respect to physician's statements 274
signed by licensed optometrists, or the state board of 275
podiatric medicine created in section 330.100, with respect 276
to physician's statements signed by physicians of the foot 277
or podiatrists to determine whether the physician is duly 278
licensed and registered pursuant to law. 279
18. The boards shall cooperate with the director and 280
shall supply information requested pursuant to this 281
subsection. The director shall, in cooperation with the 282
boards which shall assist the director, establish a list of 283
all Missouri physicians and other authorized health care 284
practitioners and of any other information necessary to 285
administer this section. 286
19. Where the owner's application is based on the fact 287
that the vehicle is used at least fifty percent of the time 288
by a physically disabled person, the applicant shall submit 289
a statement stating this fact, in addition to the 290
physician's statement. The statement shall be signed by 291
both the owner of the vehicle and the physically disabled 292
person. The applicant shall be required to submit this 293
statement with each application for license plates. No 294
person shall willingly or knowingly submit a false statement 295
and any such false statement shall be considered perjury and 296
may be punishable pursuant to section 301.420. 297
20. The director of revenue shall retain all 298
physicians' statements and all other documents received in 299
connection with a person's application for disabled license 300
plates and/or disabled windshield placards. 301
21. The director of revenue shall enter into 302
reciprocity agreements with other states or the federal 303
government for the purpose of recognizing disabled person 304
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license plates or windshield placards issued to physically 305
disabled persons. 306
22. When a person to whom disabled person license 307
plates or a removable or temporary windshield placard or 308
both have been issued dies, the personal representative of 309
the decedent or such other person who may come into or 310
otherwise take possession of the disabled license plates or 311
disabled windshield placard shall return the same to the 312
director of revenue under penalty of law. Failure to return 313
such plates or placards shall constitute a class B 314
misdemeanor. 315
23. The director of revenue may order any person 316
issued disabled person license plates or windshield placards 317
to submit to an examination by a chiropractor, osteopath, or 318
physician, or to such other investigation as will determine 319
whether such person qualifies for the special plates or 320
placards. 321
24. If such person refuses to submit or is found to no 322
longer qualify for special plates or placards provided for 323
in this section, the director of revenue shall collect the 324
special plates or placards, and shall furnish license plates 325
to replace the ones collected as provided by this chapter. 326
25. In the event a removable or temporary windshield 327
placard is lost, stolen, or mutilated, the lawful holder 328
thereof shall, within five days, file with the director of 329
revenue an application and an affidavit stating such fact, 330
in order to purchase a new placard. The fee for the 331
replacement windshield placard shall be four dollars. 332
26. Fraudulent application, renewal, issuance, 333
procurement or use of disabled person license plates or 334
windshield placards shall be a class A misdemeanor. It is a 335
class B misdemeanor for a physician, chiropractor, 336
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podiatrist or optometrist to certify that an individual or 337
family member is qualified for a license plate or windshield 338
placard based on a disability, the diagnosis of which is 339
outside their scope of practice or if there is no basis for 340
the diagnosis. 341
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