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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 526
2025-2026
Representatives Ray, Sims
To
amend section 4503.44 of the Revised Code
to
require the issuance of orange removable windshield placards
imprinted with International Symbol of Access in certain
circumstances.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
section 4503.44 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec.
4503.44.
(A)
As used in this section and in section 4511.69 of the Revised Code:
(1)
"Person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to
walk" means any person who, as determined by a health care
provider, meets any of the following criteria:
(a)
Cannot walk two hundred feet without stopping to rest;
(b)
Cannot walk without the use of, or assistance from, a brace, cane,
crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other
assistive device;
(c)
Is restricted by a lung disease to such an extent that the person's
forced (respiratory) expiratory volume for one second, when measured
by spirometry, is less than one liter, or the arterial oxygen tension
is less than sixty millimeters of mercury on room air at rest;
(d)
Uses portable oxygen;
(e)
Has a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional
limitations are classified in severity as class III or class IV
according to standards set by the American heart association;
(f)
Is severely limited in the ability to walk due to an arthritic,
neurological, or orthopedic condition;
(g)
Is blind, legally blind, or severely visually impaired.
(2)
"Organization" means any private organization or
corporation, or any governmental board, agency, department, division,
or office, that, as part of its business or program, transports
persons with disabilities that limit or impair the ability to walk on
a regular basis in a motor vehicle that has not been altered for the
purpose of providing it with accessible equipment for use by persons
with disabilities. This definition does not apply to division (I) of
this section.
(3)
"Health care provider" means a physician, physician
assistant, advanced practice registered nurse, optometrist, or
chiropractor as defined in this section except that an optometrist
shall only make determinations as to division (A)(1)(g) of this
section.
(4)
"Physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine or
surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery under Chapter 4731. of
the Revised Code.
(5)
"Chiropractor" means a person licensed to practice
chiropractic under Chapter 4734. of the Revised Code.
(6)
"Advanced practice registered nurse" means a certified
nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified registered
nurse anesthetist, or certified nurse-midwife who holds a certificate
of authority issued by the board of nursing under Chapter 4723. of
the Revised Code.
(7)
"Physician assistant" means a person who is licensed as a
physician assistant under Chapter 4730. of the Revised Code.
(8)
"Optometrist" means a person licensed to engage in the
practice of optometry under Chapter 4725. of the Revised Code.
(9)
"Removable windshield placard" includes a standard
removable windshield placard, a temporary removable windshield
placard, or a permanent removable windshield placard, unless
otherwise specified.
(B)(1)
An organization, or a person with a disability that limits or impairs
the ability to walk, may apply for the registration of any motor
vehicle the organization or person owns or leases. When an adaptive
mobility vehicle is owned or leased by someone other than a person
with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk, the
owner or lessee may apply to the registrar of motor vehicles or a
deputy registrar for registration under this section. The application
for registration of a motor vehicle owned or leased by a person with
a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk shall be
accompanied by a signed statement from the applicant's health care
provider certifying that the applicant meets at least one of the
criteria contained in division (A)(1) of this section and that the
disability is expected to continue for more than six consecutive
months. The application for registration of an adaptive mobility
vehicle that is owned by someone other than a person with a
disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk shall be
accompanied by such documentary evidence of vehicle specifications or
alterations as the registrar may require by rule.
(2)
When an organization, a person with a disability that limits or
impairs the ability to walk, or a person who does not have a
disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk but owns a
motor vehicle that has been altered for the purpose of providing it
with accessible equipment for a person with a disability that limits
or impairs the ability to walk first submits an application for
registration of a motor vehicle under this section and every fifth
year thereafter, the organization or person shall submit a signed
statement from the applicant's health care provider, a completed
application, and any required documentary evidence of vehicle
specifications or alterations as provided in division (B)(1) of this
section, and also a power of attorney from the owner of the motor
vehicle if the applicant leases the vehicle. Upon submission of these
items, the registrar or deputy registrar shall issue to the applicant
appropriate vehicle registration and a set of license plates and
validation stickers, or validation stickers alone when required by
section 4503.191 of the Revised Code. In addition to the letters and
numbers ordinarily inscribed thereon, the license plates shall be
imprinted with the international symbol of access. The license plates
and validation stickers shall be issued upon payment of the regular
license fee as prescribed under section 4503.04 of the Revised Code
and any motor vehicle tax levied under Chapter 4504. of the Revised
Code, and the payment of a service fee equal to the amount
established under section 4503.038 of the Revised Code.
(C)(1)
A person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk
may apply to the registrar for a removable windshield placard by
completing and signing an application provided by the registrar.
(2)
The person shall include with the application a prescription from the
person's health care provider prescribing such a placard for the
person based upon a determination that the person meets at least one
of the criteria contained in division (A)(1) of this section. The
health care provider shall state on the prescription the length of
time the health care provider expects the applicant to have the
disability that limits or impairs the person's ability to walk. If
the length of time the applicant is expected to have the disability
is six consecutive months or less, the applicant shall submit an
application for a temporary removable windshield placard. If the
length of time the applicant is expected to have the disability is
permanent, the applicant shall submit an application for a permanent
removable windshield placard. All other applicants shall submit an
application for a standard removable windshield placard.
(3)
In addition to one placard or one or more sets of license plates, a
person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk
is entitled to one additional placard, but only if the person applies
separately for the additional placard, states the reasons why the
additional placard is needed, and the registrar, in the registrar's
discretion determines that good and justifiable cause exists to
approve the request for the additional placard.
(4)
An organization may apply to the registrar of motor vehicles for a
standard removable windshield placard by completing and signing an
application provided by the registrar. The organization shall comply
with any procedures the registrar establishes by rule. The
organization shall include with the application documentary evidence
that the registrar requires by rule showing that the organization
regularly transports persons with disabilities that limit or impair
the ability to walk.
(5)
The registrar or deputy registrar shall issue to an applicant a
standard removable windshield placard, a temporary removable
windshield placard, or a permanent removable windshield placard, as
applicable, upon receipt of all of the following:
(a)
A completed and signed application for a removable windshield
placard;
(b)
The accompanying documents required under division (C)(2) or (4) of
this section;
(c)
Payment of a service fee equal to the amount established under
section 4503.038 of the Revised Code for a standard removable
windshield placard or a temporary removable windshield placard, or
payment of fifteen dollars for a permanent removable windshield
placard.
(6)
The removable windshield placard shall display the date of expiration
on both sides of the placard, or the word "permanent" if
the placard is a permanent removable windshield placard, and shall be
valid until expired, revoked, or surrendered. Except for a permanent
removable windshield placard, which has no expiration, a removable
windshield placard expires on the earliest of the following two
dates:
(a)
The date that the person issued the placard is expected to no longer
have the disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk, as
indicated on the prescription submitted with the application for the
placard;
(b)
Ten years after the date of issuance on the placard.
In
no case shall a removable windshield placard be valid for a period of
less than sixty days.
(7)
Standard removable windshield placards shall be renewable upon
application and upon payment of a service fee equal to the amount
established under section 4503.038 of the Revised Code. The registrar
shall provide the application form and shall determine the
information to be included thereon.
(8)
The registrar shall determine the form and size of each type of the
removable windshield placard, the material of which it is to be made,
any differences in color between each type of placard to make them
readily identifiable, and any other information to be included
thereon, and shall adopt rules relating to the issuance, expiration,
revocation, surrender, and proper display of such placards. A
temporary removable windshield placard shall display the word
"temporary" in letters of such size as the registrar shall
prescribe. Any placard issued after October 14, 1999, shall be
manufactured in a manner that allows the expiration date of the
placard to be indicated on it through the punching, drilling, boring,
or creation by any other means of holes in the placard.
(9)
In addition to the design of the removable windshield placard
specified in division (C)(8) of this section, the registrar shall
provide for and issue an orange removable windshield placard with a
white international symbol of access imprinted on it. A person with a
disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk whose
disability is not readily apparent to another person may apply to the
registrar for a placard in accordance with division (C)(9) of this
section. The placard shall otherwise be created with the same form,
size, and material, and shall display the same information as the
placard issued in accordance with division (C)(8) of this section.
All other requirements established under this section and under rules
relating to the issuance, expiration, revocation, surrender, and
proper display of a placard shall apply. Nothing in this division
shall be construed to require a person to apply for and obtain a
placard issued in accordance with division (C)(9) of this section.
(9)
(10)
At the time a removable windshield placard is issued to a person with
a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk, the
registrar or deputy registrar shall enter into the records of the
bureau of motor vehicles the last date on which the person will have
that disability, as indicated on the accompanying prescription. For a
standard removable windshield placard, not less than thirty days
prior to that date and any renewal dates, the bureau shall send a
renewal notice to that person at the person's last known address as
shown in the records of the bureau, informing the person that the
person's removable windshield placard will expire on the indicated
date, and that the person is required to renew the placard by
submitting to the registrar or a deputy registrar another
prescription, and by complying with the renewal provisions. If such a
prescription is not received by the registrar or a deputy registrar
by that date, the placard issued to that person expires and no longer
is valid, and this fact shall be recorded in the records of the
bureau.
(10)
(11)
At least once every year, on a date determined by the registrar, the
bureau shall examine the records of the office of vital statistics,
located within the department of health, that pertain to deceased
persons, and also the bureau's records of all persons who have been
issued removable windshield placards. If the records of the office of
vital statistics indicate that a person to whom a removable
windshield placard has been issued is deceased, the bureau shall
cancel that placard, and note the cancellation in its records.
The
office of vital statistics shall make available to the bureau all
information necessary to enable the bureau to comply with division
(C)(10)
(C)(11)
of this section.
(11)
(12)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a person or
organization to apply for a removable windshield placard or
accessible license plates if the accessible license plates issued to
the person or organization under prior law have not expired or been
surrendered or revoked.
(D)
Any active-duty member of the armed forces of the United States,
including the reserve components of the armed forces and the national
guard, who has an illness or injury that limits or impairs the
ability to walk may apply to the registrar or a deputy registrar for
a temporary removable windshield placard. With the application, the
person shall present evidence of the person's active-duty status and
the illness or injury. Evidence of the illness or injury may include
a current department of defense convalescent leave statement, any
department of defense document indicating that the person currently
has an ill or injured casualty status or has limited duties, or a
prescription from any health care provider prescribing the placard
for the applicant. Upon receipt of the application and the necessary
evidence, the registrar or deputy registrar shall issue the applicant
the temporary removable windshield placard without the payment of any
service fee.
(E)
If an applicant for a removable windshield placard is a veteran of
the armed forces of the United States whose disability, as defined in
division (A)(1) of this section, is service-connected, the registrar
or deputy registrar, upon receipt of the application, presentation of
a signed statement from the applicant's health care provider
certifying the applicant's disability, and presentation of such
documentary evidence from the department of veterans affairs that the
disability of the applicant meets at least one of the criteria
identified in division (A)(1) of this section and is
service-connected as the registrar may require by rule, but without
the payment of any service fee, shall issue the applicant a removable
windshield placard that is valid until expired, surrendered, or
revoked.
(F)(1)
Upon a conviction of a violation of division (H) or (I) of this
section, the court shall report the conviction, and send the placard,
if available, to the registrar, who thereupon shall revoke the
privilege of using the placard and send notice in writing to the
placardholder at that holder's last known address as shown in the
records of the bureau, and the placardholder shall return the placard
if not previously surrendered to the court, to the registrar within
ten days following mailing of the notice.
(2)
Whenever a person to whom a removable windshield placard has been
issued moves to another state, the person shall surrender the placard
to the registrar; and whenever an organization to which a placard has
been issued changes its place of operation to another state, the
organization shall surrender the placard to the registrar.
(3)
If a person no longer requires a permanent removable windshield
placard, the person shall notify and surrender the placard to the
registrar or deputy registrar within ten days of no longer requiring
the placard. The person may still apply for a standard removable
windshield placard or temporary removable windshield placard, if
applicable.
(G)
Subject to division (F) of section 4511.69 of the Revised Code, the
operator of a motor vehicle displaying a removable windshield placard
or the accessible license plates authorized by this section is
entitled to park the motor vehicle in any accessible parking location
reserved for persons with disabilities that limit or impair the
ability to walk.
(H)
No person or organization that is not eligible for the issuance of
license plates or any placard under this section shall willfully and
falsely represent that the person or organization is so eligible.
No
person or organization shall display license plates issued under this
section unless the license plates have been issued for the vehicle on
which they are displayed and are valid.
(I)
No person or organization to which a removable windshield placard is
issued shall do either of the following:
(1)
Display or permit the display of the placard on any motor vehicle
when having reasonable cause to believe the motor vehicle is being
used in connection with an activity that does not include providing
transportation for persons with disabilities that limit or impair the
ability to walk;
(2)
Refuse to return or surrender the placard, when required.
(J)
If a removable windshield placard or parking card is lost, destroyed,
or mutilated, the placardholder or cardholder may obtain a duplicate
by doing both of the following:
(1)
Furnishing suitable proof of the loss, destruction, or mutilation to
the registrar;
(2)
Paying a service fee equal to the amount paid when the placardholder
obtained the original placard.
Any
placardholder who loses a placard and, after obtaining a duplicate,
finds the original, immediately shall surrender the original placard
to the registrar.
(K)(1)
The registrar shall pay all fees received under this section for the
issuance of removable windshield placards or duplicate removable
windshield placards into the state treasury to the credit of the
public safety - highway purposes fund created in section 4501.06 of
the Revised Code.
(2)
In addition to the fees collected under this section, the registrar
or deputy registrar shall ask each person applying for a removable
windshield placard or duplicate removable windshield placard or
license plate issued under this section, whether the person wishes to
make a two-dollar voluntary contribution to support rehabilitation
employment services. The registrar shall transmit the contributions
received under this division to the treasurer of state for deposit
into the rehabilitation employment fund, which is hereby created in
the state treasury. A deputy registrar shall transmit the
contributions received under this division to the registrar in the
time and manner prescribed by the registrar. The contributions in the
fund shall be used by the opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities
agency to purchase services related to vocational evaluation, work
adjustment, personal adjustment, job placement, job coaching, and
community-based assessment from accredited community rehabilitation
program facilities.
(L)
For purposes of enforcing this section, every peace officer is deemed
to be an agent of the registrar. Any peace officer or any authorized
employee of the bureau of motor vehicles who, in the performance of
duties authorized by law, becomes aware of a person whose removable
windshield placard or parking card has been revoked pursuant to this
section, may confiscate that placard or parking card and return it to
the registrar. The registrar shall prescribe any forms used by law
enforcement agencies in administering this section.
No
peace officer, law enforcement agency employing a peace officer, or
political subdivision or governmental agency employing a peace
officer, and no employee of the bureau is liable in a civil action
for damages or loss to persons arising out of the performance of any
duty required or authorized by this section. As used in this
division, "peace officer" has the same meaning as in
division (B) of section 2935.01 of the Revised Code.
(M)
All applications for registration of motor vehicles and removable
windshield placards issued under this section, all renewal notices
for such items, and all other publications issued by the bureau that
relate to this section shall set forth the criminal penalties that
may be imposed upon a person who violates any provision relating to
accessible license plates issued under this section, the parking of
vehicles displaying such license plates, and the issuance,
procurement, use, and display of removable windshield placards issued
under this section.
(N)
Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the
fourth degree.
Section
2.
That
existing section 4503.44 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.
Section
3.
Section
4503.44 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite
of the section as amended by both H.B. 33 and H.B. 195 of the 135th
General Assembly. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated
in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments
are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation,
finds that the composite is the resulting version of the section in
effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in
this act.