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A2332
ASSEMBLY, No. 2332
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman WILLIAM F. MOEN, JR.
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
SYNOPSIS
���� Permits qualified person with post-traumatic stress
disorder to obtain handicapped parking placard.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning handicapped parking and amending
P.L.1949, c.280.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� Section 1 of P.L.1949,
c.280 (C.39:4-204) is amended to read as follows:
���� 1.��� The phrase "person
with a disability" means:
���� a.���� any person who has lost
the use of one or more limbs as a consequence of paralysis, amputation, or
other permanent disability or who has a permanent disability as to be unable to
ambulate without the aid of an assisting device or whose mobility is otherwise
limited as certified by a physician with a plenary license to practice medicine
and surgery in this State or a bordering State; a podiatrist licensed to
practice in this State or a bordering state; a physician stationed at a
military or naval installation located in this State who is licensed to
practice in any state; a chiropractic physician licensed to practice in this
State or a bordering state; a physician assistant licensed to practice in this
State or a bordering state; or a nurse practitioner licensed to practice in
this State or a bordering state;
[
or
]
���� b.��� any citizen and resident
of this State honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances
from active service in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States who
is adjudicated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, or its
successor, as being permanently 100 percent disabled
; or
����
c.���� any person diagnosed
with post-traumatic stress disorder, as certified by a psychiatrist or
psychologist licensed in this State or a bordering state, or a psychiatrist or
psychologist stationed at a military or naval installation located in this
State who is licensed to practice in any state
.
(cf: P.L.2017, c.166, s.1)
���� 2.��� Section 2 of P.L.1949,
c.280 (C.39:4-205) is amended to read as follows:
���� 2.��� The Chief Administrator
of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall issue, at the expense of the
State of New Jersey, person with a disability identification cards upon the
application of qualifying persons with disabilities and after an investigation
of the qualifying status of each applicant.� The card shall, amongst other
things, identify the persons with disabilities and the registration number of
the vehicle for which any wheelchair symbol license plates have been issued
under the provisions of section 3 of P.L.1949, c.280 (C.39:4-206) and shall
state that he is a person with a disability validly qualified to receive a
card, that the card is for the exclusive use of the person to whom it has been
duly issued, is nontransferable and will be forfeited if presented by any other
person, and that any abuse of any privilege, benefit, precedence, or
consideration granted to any person to whom the card may be issued will be
sufficient cause for revocation of the card, corresponding windshield placard and
wheelchair symbol license plates, and the same may be forfeited or revoked
accordingly, and in the absence of forfeiture or revocation the card shall be
valid until the last day of the 36th calendar month following the calendar
month in which that card was issued.
���� Every application for the
issuance or renewal of a person with a disability identification card shall
contain a statement signed by a physician, podiatrist, chiropractic physician,
physician assistant,
[
or
]
nurse
practitioner
, psychiatrist, or psychologist
licensed to practice in this
State or a bordering state or a physician
, psychiatrist, or psychologist
stationed at a military or naval installation located in this State who is
licensed to practice in any state, certifying that the applicant's stated
disability qualifies the applicant to meet the definition of "person with
a disability" pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1949, c.280 (C.39:4-204).� A
person who qualifies as a veteran with a permanent disability pursuant to
subsection b. of section 1 of P.L.1949, c.280 (C.39:4-204) may submit, in lieu
of a statement signed by a certified medical professional, an application that
contains a statement signed by a representative of the United States Department
of Veterans Affairs certifying that the person is permanently 100 percent
disabled.
���� In order to be approved, the
application for a person with a disability identification card shall be
submitted to the commission not more than 60 days following the date upon which
a physician, podiatrist, chiropractic physician, physician assistant, nurse
practitioner,
[
or
]
representative of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
,
psychiatrist, or psychologist
certifies that the applicant meets the
definition of "person with a disability" pursuant to section 1 of
P.L.1949, c.280 (C.39:4-204).� The application shall also include any
additional information pertinent to the certification which the chief
administrator, in the chief administrator's discretion, may require, including,
but not limited to, the National Provider Identifier or state-issued licensing
number of the physician, podiatrist, chiropractic physician, physician
assistant,
[
or
]
nurse
practitioner
, psychiatrist, or psychologist
who certifies the
applicant's eligibility for a person with a disability identification card.
(cf: P.L.2017, c.166, s.2)
���� 3.��� Section 3 of P.L.1949,
c.280 (C.39:4-206) is amended to read as follows:�
���� 3.��� The chief administrator
shall issue to
[
such
]
an
applicant, also, a placard of
[
such
]
a
size
and design as shall be determined by the chief administrator in consultation
with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services in the Department of
Labor and Workforce Development and the Division of Disability Services in the
Department of Human Services, indicating that a person with a disability
identification card has been issued to the person designated therein, which
shall be displayed in
[
such
]
a
manner as the chief administrator shall determine on the motor vehicle used to
transport the person with a disability, when the vehicle is parked overtime or
in special parking places established for use by persons with disabilities.� If
issued in conjunction with a person with a disability identification card
pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1949, c.280 (C.39:4-205), the placard issued
pursuant to this paragraph shall be valid until the last day of the 36th
calendar month following the calendar month in which
[
such
]
the
placard was issued.�
If the placard is issued following the date on which the chief administrator
issued the applicant a person with a disability identification card pursuant to
section 2 of P.L.1949, c.280 (C.39:4-205), then that placard shall be valid up
until the date on which the person with a disability identification card is
deemed invalid.� Any placard issued by the chief administrator shall display,
in a clearly visible manner, the date on which it shall become invalid.� The
placard may be renewed upon application in accordance with the requirements of
this chapter.
���� Any placard issued prior to
the effective date of P.L.2013, c.3 shall be deemed invalid on the last day of
the 36th calendar month following the calendar month in which
[
such
]
the
effective date occurs. The chief administrator may recall any placard deemed
invalid pursuant to this section.
���� Notwithstanding any provision
of P.L.1949, c.280 (C.39:4-204 et seq.) to the contrary, the chief of police of
each municipality in this State shall issue a temporary placard of not more
than six months' duration to any person who�
(1)
has temporarily lost
the use of one or more limbs or has a temporary disability as to be unable to
ambulate without the aid of an assisting device or whose mobility is otherwise
temporarily limited, as certified by a physician with a plenary license to practice
medicine and surgery in this State or a bordering state; a podiatrist licensed
to practice in this State or a bordering state; a physician stationed at a
military or naval installation located in this State who is licensed to
practice in any state; a chiropractic physician licensed to practice in this
State or a bordering state; a physician assistant licensed to practice in this
State or a bordering state; or a nurse practitioner licensed to practice in
this State or a bordering state
, or (2) any person diagnosed with
post-traumatic stress disorder, as certified by a psychiatrist or psychologist
licensed in this State or a bordering state or a psychiatrist or psychologist stationed
at a military or naval installation located in this State who is licensed to
practice in any state
.� Each temporary placard issued under the provisions
of this section shall display, in a clearly visible manner, the date on which
it shall become invalid.
���� The temporary placard shall be
granted upon written certification by a physician with a plenary license to
practice medicine and surgery in this State or a bordering state; a podiatrist
licensed to practice in this State or a bordering state; a physician stationed
at a military or naval installation located in this State who is licensed to
practice in any state; a chiropractic physician licensed to practice in this
State or a bordering state
[
,
]
;
a
physician assistant licensed to practice in this State or a bordering state;
[
or
]
a nurse
practitioner licensed to practice in this State or a bordering state
; a psychiatrist
or psychologist licensed in this State or a bordering state; or a psychiatrist
or psychologist stationed at a military or naval installation located in this
State who is licensed to practice in any state
that the person meets the
conditions constituting temporary disability as provided in this section.� This
certification shall be provided on a standard form to be developed by the chief
administrator in consultation with local chiefs of police and representatives
of persons with disabilities.� The form shall contain only those conditions
constituting temporary disability as are provided in this section.� The
physical presence of the person with a disability shall not be required for the
issuance of a temporary placard.
���� The temporary placard may be
renewed one time at the discretion of the issuing authority for a period of not
more than six months' duration.� The placard shall be displayed on the motor
vehicle used by the person with a temporary disability and shall give the
person the right to park overtime or to use special parking places established
for use by persons with disabilities in any municipality of this State.
���� The fee for the issuance of a
temporary placard issued pursuant to this section shall be $4.00 and payable to
the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.�
[
No
]
A
fee
shall
not
be charged for the issuance of a permanent placard issued
pursuant to this section.
���� The chief administrator may,
in addition, issue license plates bearing the national wheelchair symbol for:
���� a.���� Not more than two motor
vehicles owned, operated or leased by a person with a disability or by any
person furnishing transportation on his behalf; or
���� b.��� Any two motorcycles
owned, operated or leased by a person with a disability.
(cf: P.L.2013, c.3, s.3)
���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of
enactment, but the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle
Commission may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof
as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
���� This bill would permit a
person diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to obtain a
handicapped parking placard.
���� To qualify for the handicapped
parking placard, a psychiatrist or psychologist licensed in this State or a
bordering state, or a psychiatrist or psychologist stationed at a military or
naval installation located in New Jersey who is licensed to practice in any
state, would certify the person�s diagnosis of PTSD.