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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the issuance and renewal of 2
permanent disabled parking permits; amending s. 3
320.0848, F.S.; requiring the Department of Highway 4
Safety and Motor Vehicles to issue a permanent 5
disabled parking permit to a person who has a long -6
term mobility impairment; removing provisions that 7
require such a person to renew a disabled parking 8
permit and that require such permit to bear a 9
validation sticker; re vising provisions relating to 10
the appearance of disabled parking permits; conforming 11
provisions to changes made by the act; amending ss. 12
320.08035, 320.084, 320.0842, and 320.0843, F.S.; 13
conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 14
providing an effective date. 15
16
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 17
18
Section 1. Section 320.0848, Florida Statutes, is amended 19
to read: 20
320.0848 Persons who have disabilities; issuance of 21
permanent or temporary disabled parking permits; temporary 22
permits; permits for certain providers of transportation 23
services to persons who have disabilities. — 24
(1) ISSUANCE OF DISABLED PARKING PERMIT; REQUIREMENTS. — 25
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(a) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles or 26
its authorized agents shall, upon application and receipt of the 27
appropriate fee, issue a permanent disabled parking permit to a 28
for a period of up to 4 years, which period ends on the 29
applicant's birthday, to any person who has a long-term mobility 30
impairment, or a temporary disabled park ing permit for a period 31
of up not to exceed 6 months to a any person who has a temporary 32
mobility impairment. A No person is not will be required to pay 33
a fee for a temporary disabled parking permit for disabled 34
persons more than once in a 12 -month period from the date of the 35
prior fee payment. 36
(b)1. The person must be currently certified as being 37
legally blind or as having any of the following disabilities 38
that render him or her unable to walk 200 feet without stopping 39
to rest: 40
a. Inability to walk wit hout the use of or assistance from 41
a brace, cane, crutch, prosthetic device, or other assistive 42
device, or without the assistance of another person. If the 43
assistive device significantly restores the person's ability to 44
walk to the extent that the person is able to can walk without 45
severe limitation, the person is not eligible for a disabled the 46
exemption parking permit. 47
b. The need to permanently use a wheelchair. 48
c. Restriction by lung disease to the extent that the 49
person's forced (respiratory) expir atory volume for 1 second, 50
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when measured by spirometry, is less than 1 liter, or the 51
person's arterial oxygen is less than 60 mm/hg on room air at 52
rest. 53
d. Use of portable oxygen. 54
e. Restriction by cardiac condition to the extent that the 55
person's functional limitations are classified in severity as 56
Class III or Class IV according to standards set by the American 57
Heart Association. 58
f. Severe limitation in the person's ability to walk due 59
to an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition. 60
2. The certificate certification of disability which is 61
required under subparagraph 1. must be provided by a physician 62
licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459, or chapter 460, by a 63
podiatric physician licensed under chapter 461, by an 64
optometrist licensed under chapter 463, by an advanced practice 65
registered nurse licensed under chapter 464 under the protocol 66
of a licensed physician as stated in this subparagraph, by a 67
physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, 68
or by a similarly licensed physi cian from another state if the 69
application is accompanied by documentation of the physician's 70
licensure in the other state and a form signed by the out -of-71
state physician verifying his or her knowledge of this state's 72
eligibility guidelines. 73
(c) The certificate of disability must include, but need 74
not be limited to: 75
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1. The disability of the applicant; the certifying 76
practitioner's name and address; the practitioner's 77
certification number; the eligibility criteria for the disabled 78
parking permit; the penalty for falsification by either the 79
certifying practitioner or the applicant; the duration of the 80
disability condition that entitles the person to the disabled 81
parking permit; and, if applicable, justification for the 82
issuance of an additional disabled parking permit placard 83
pursuant to paragraph (2)(c) subsection (2). 84
2. The statement, in bold letters: "A disabled parking 85
permit may be issued only for a medical necessity that severely 86
affects mobility." 87
3. The signatures of: 88
a. The applicant's physician or other certifying 89
practitioner. 90
b. The applicant or the applicant's parent or guardian. 91
c. The employee of the department's authorized agent , 92
which employee is processing the application. 93
(d) The department shall renew the disa bled parking permit 94
of any person certified as permanently disabled on the 95
application if the person provides a certificate of disability 96
issued within the last 12 months pursuant to this subsection. A 97
veteran who has been previously evaluated and certifie d by the 98
United States Department of Veterans Affairs or any branch of 99
the United States Armed Forces as permanently and totally 100
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disabled from a service -connected disability may provide a 101
United States Department of Veterans Affairs Form Letter 27 -333, 102
or its equivalent, issued within the last 12 months in lieu of a 103
certificate of disability. 104
(e) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles 105
shall, in consultation with the Commission for the 106
Transportation Disadvantaged, adopt rules , in accordance with 107
chapter 120, for the issuance of a disabled parking permit to 108
any organization that can adequately demonstrate a bona fide 109
need for such a permit because the organization provides regular 110
transportation services to persons who have disa bilities and are 111
certified as provided in this subsection. 112
(2) PERMANENT DISABLED PARKING PERMIT; PERSONS WITH LONG -113
TERM MOBILITY IMPAIRMENT PROBLEMS.— 114
(a) The permanent disabled parking permit is a placard 115
that can be placed in a motor vehicle so as t o be visible from 116
the front and rear of the vehicle. Each side of the placard must 117
have the international symbol of accessibility in a contrasting 118
color in the center so as to be visible. One side of the placard 119
must display the applicant's driver license number or state 120
identification card number along with a warning that the 121
applicant must possess have such identification at all times 122
while using the placard parking permit. However, in those cases 123
in which where the severity of the disability prevents a 124
disabled person from physically visiting or being transported to 125
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a driver license or tax collector's collector office to obtain a 126
driver license or identification card, a certifying physician 127
may sign the exemption section of the department's disabled 128
person parking permit application to exempt the disabled person 129
from the requirement that his or her being issued a driver 130
license or identification card for the number to be displayed on 131
the placard parking permit. A validation sticker must also be 132
issued with each disabled parking permit, showing the month and 133
year of expiration on each side of the placard. Validation 134
stickers must be of the size specified by the Department of 135
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and must be affixed to the 136
disabled parking permit s. The disabled parking permits must use 137
the same colors as license plate validations. 138
(b) License plates issued under ss. 320.084, 320.0842, 139
320.0843, and 320.0845 are valid for the same parking privileges 140
and other privileges provided under ss. 316.195 5, 316.1964, and 141
526.141(5)(a). 142
(c) The department may shall not issue an additional 143
disabled parking permit unless the applicant states that he or 144
she is a frequent traveler or a quadriplegic. The department may 145
not issue to any one eligible applicant m ore than two disabled 146
parking permits except to an organization in accordance with 147
paragraph (1)(e). Subsections (1), (5), and (6), and (7) apply 148
to this subsection. 149
(d) To obtain a replacement for a disabled parking permit 150
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that has been lost or stolen, a person must submit an 151
application on a form prescribed by the department, provide a 152
certificate of disability issued within the last 12 months 153
pursuant to subsection (1), and pay a replacement fee in the 154
amount of $1, to be retained by the issuing agency . If the 155
person submits with the application a police report documenting 156
that the permit was stolen, there is no replacement fee. A 157
veteran who has been previously evaluated and certified by the 158
United States Department of Veterans Affairs or any branch of 159
the United States Armed Forces as permanently and totally 160
disabled from a service -connected disability may provide a 161
United States Department of Veterans Affairs Form Letter 27 -333, 162
or its equivalent, issued within the last 12 months in lieu of a 163
certificate of disability. 164
(e) A person who qualifies for a disabled parking permit 165
under this section may be issued an international wheelchair 166
user symbol license plate under s. 320.0843 in lieu of the 167
disabled parking permit; or, if the person qualifies for a "DV" 168
license plate under s. 320.084, such a license plate may be 169
issued to him or her in lieu of a disabled parking permit. 170
(3) DISABLED PARKING PERMIT; TEMPORARY. — 171
(a) The temporary disabled parking permit is a placard of 172
a different color different from the color of the permanent 173
long-term disabled parking permit placard , and must clearly 174
display the date of expiration in large print and with color 175
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coding, but is identical to the permanent long-term disabled 176
parking permit placard in all other respec ts, including, but not 177
limited to, the inclusion of a state identification card number 178
or driver license number on one side of the placard temporary 179
permit. Validation stickers must also be issued with each The 180
temporary disabled parking permit so as placard must be designed 181
to conspicuously display the month and year of expiration date 182
of the permit on each side the front and back of the placard. 183
Validation stickers must be of the size specified by the 184
department, must use the same colors as license plate validation 185
stickers, and must be affixed to the placard. 186
(b) The department shall issue the temporary disabled 187
parking permit for the period of the disability as stated by the 188
certifying physician, but not to exceed 6 months. 189
(c) The fee for a temporar y disabled parking permit is 190
$15. 191
(4) FEE DISTRIBUTION.—From the proceeds of the temporary 192
disabled parking permit fees: 193
(a) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles 194
must receive $3.50 for each temporary permit, to be deposited 195
into the Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund and used for 196
implementing the real -time disabled parking permit database and 197
for administering the disabled parking permit program. 198
(b) The tax collector, for processing, must receive $2.50 199
for each temporary permit. 200
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(c) The remainder must be distributed monthly as follows: 201
1. To be deposited in the Grants and Donations Trust Fund 202
of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Department 203
of Education for the purpose of improving employment and 204
training opportunitie s for persons who have disabilities, with 205
special emphasis on removing transportation barriers, $4. 206
2. To be deposited in the Transportation Disadvantaged 207
Trust Fund to be used for funding matching grants to counties 208
for the purpose of improving transpor tation of persons who have 209
disabilities, $5. 210
(5) REQUIRED STATEMENT.—The applications for permanent 211
disabled parking permits and temporary disabled parking permits 212
are official state documents. The following statement must 213
appear on each application form immediately below the 214
physician's signature and immediately below the applicant's 215
signature: "Knowingly providing false information on this 216
application is a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as 217
provided in s. 775.082, Florida Statutes, or s. 775.083, Florida 218
Statutes. The penalty is up to 1 year in jail or a fine of 219
$1,000, or both." 220
(6) PENALTIES.— 221
(a) A Any person who knowingly makes a false or misleading 222
statement in an application or certification under this section 223
commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as 224
provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 225
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(b)(7) A Any person who fraudulently obtains or unlawfully 226
displays a disabled parking permit that belongs to another 227
person while occupying a disabled parking space or an access 228
aisle as defined in s. 553.5041 while the permitholder owner of 229
the permit is not being transported in the motor vehicle or who 230
uses an unauthorized replica of such a disabled parking permit 231
with the intent to deceive commits is guilty of a misdemeanor of 232
the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 233
775.083. 234
(7)(8) CONFISCATION OF DISABLE D PARKING PERMIT.—A law 235
enforcement officer or a parking enforcement specialist may 236
confiscate the disabled parking permit from a any person who 237
fraudulently obtains or unlawfully uses such a permit. A law 238
enforcement officer or a parking enforcement speci alist may 239
confiscate a any disabled parking permit that is expired, 240
reported as lost or stolen, or defaced or that does not display 241
a personal identification number. 242
(a) The permit number of each confiscated disabled parking 243
permit must be submitted to the department, and the fact that 244
the disabled parking permit has been confiscated must be noted 245
on the permitholder's record. If two disabled parking permits 246
issued to the same person have been confiscated, the department 247
shall refer the information to the central abuse hotline of the 248
Department of Children and Families for an investigation of 249
potential abuse, neglect, or exploitation of the permitholder 250
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
permit owner. 251
(b) A confiscated disabled parking permit must be held as 252
evidence until a judicial decision about the violation has been 253
made. After a finding of guilt has been made or a plea of nolo 254
contendere has been entered, the charging agency shall destroy 255
the confiscated disabled parking permit. A confiscated disabled 256
parking permit may not, under any circumstances, be returned to 257
the permitholder its registered owner after a finding of guilt 258
has been made or a plea of nolo contendere has been entered in 259
court. If a finding of guilt has been made or a plea of nolo 260
contendere has been entered for fraudulent or other unlawful use 261
of a disabled parking permit after a prior finding of guilt or 262
plea of nolo contendere for fraudulent or other unlawful use of 263
a disabled parking permit issued to the same registered 264
permitholder, the permitholder may not apply for a new disabled 265
parking permit for 4 years. The permit number of each destroyed 266
permit must be reported to the department, and the department 267
must record in the real -time disabled parking permit database 268
that the permit has been invalidated. 269
(8)(9) REVIEW.— 270
(a) At least once every 6 months, the department shall 271
randomly review disabled parking permitholders to ensure that 272
all required criteria for the ownership and possession of such 273
permit remain valid. As a component o f the review, the 274
department shall, at a minimum: 275
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1. Review death records maintained by the Department of 276
Health to ensure that the permitholder is not deceased has not 277
died. 278
2. Review the number of times the permit has been 279
confiscated for fraudulent or unlawful use, if at all. 280
3. Determine whether if the permit has ever been reported 281
lost or stolen and, if so, determine the current status of the 282
permit. 283
(b) At least annually, the department shall verify that 284
the holder owner of each disabled parki ng permit is not deceased 285
has not died. Such verification shall include, but need not be 286
limited to, consultation of death records maintained by the 287
Department of Health. If a disabled parking permitholder is 288
found to be deceased, the department shall prom ptly invalidate 289
the decedent's disabled parking permit. 290
(9)(10) REPORTS OF ABUSE.—The department shall develop and 291
implement a means by which persons may can report abuse of 292
disabled parking permits by telephone hotline or by submitting a 293
form online or by mail. 294
(10)(11) FURTHER DISCIPLINARY ACTION. —A violation of this 295
section is grounds for disciplinary action under s. 458.331, s. 296
459.015, s. 460.413, s. 461.013, s. 463.016, or s. 464.018, as 297
applicable. 298
Section 2. Section 320.08035, Florida Statutes, is amended 299
to read: 300
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
320.08035 Persons who have disabilities; reduced dimension 301
license plate.—The owner or lessee of a motorcycle, moped, or 302
motorized disability access vehicle who resides in this state 303
and qualifies for a permanent disabled parking permit for a 304
person who has a disability under s. 320.0848, upon application 305
and payment of the appropriate license tax and fees under s. 306
320.08(1), must be issued a license plate that has reduced 307
dimensions as provided under s. 320.06(3)(a). The pla te must be 308
stamped with the international symbol of accessibility after the 309
numeric and alpha serial number of the license plate. The plate 310
entitles the person to all privileges afforded by a permanent 311
disabled parking permit issued under s. 320.0848. 312
Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section 313
320.084, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 314
320.084 Free motor vehicle license plate to certain 315
disabled veterans.— 316
(5) A county or municipality, or any agency thereof, may 317
not impose upon any pe rson who is issued a license plate with 318
the international accessibility symbol, under this section, any 319
fee or penalty for parking in any metered or timed parking space 320
except: 321
(b) When the person is parked without a permanent disabled 322
parking permit issued under s. 320.0848 in a space designated 323
for use by persons who have disabilities. 324
Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 325
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320.0842, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 326
320.0842 Free motor vehicle license plates to veterans who 327
use wheelchairs.— 328
(2) In order to be eligible for the motor vehicle license 329
plate described in subsection (1), a person must comply with the 330
following provisions: 331
(b) The veteran must offer, in addition to the proof 332
required by s. 320.084(1), proof that d ue to a service-connected 333
disability he or she permanently uses a wheelchair or proof, in 334
the form of an application that conforms to the requirements set 335
forth in s. 320.0848, that he or she qualifies for a permanent 336
disabled parking permit under that sec tion. The license plate 337
entitles the person to all privileges afforded by a permanent 338
disabled parking permit issued under s. 320.0848. 339
Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 320.0843, Florida 340
Statutes, is amended to read: 341
320.0843 License plates for p ersons with disabilities 342
eligible for permanent disabled parking permits. — 343
(1) Any owner or lessee of a motor vehicle who resides in 344
this state and qualifies for a permanent disabled parking permit 345
under s. 320.0848(2), upon application to the department and 346
payment of the license tax for a motor vehicle registered under 347
s. 320.08(2), (3)(a), (b), (c), or (e), (4)(a) or (b), (6)(a), 348
or (9)(c) or (d), shall be issued a license plate as provided by 349
s. 320.06 which, in lieu of the serial number prescribed by s. 350
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320.06, shall be stamped with the international wheelchair user 351
symbol after the serial number of the license plate. The license 352
plate entitles the person to all privileges afforded by a 353
permanent disabled parking permit issued under s. 320.0848. When 354
more than one registrant is listed on the registration issued 355
under this section, the eligible applicant shall be noted on the 356
registration certificate. 357
Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 358