| 1 | 1 | | 81R12419 JD-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: King of Zavala H.B. No. 4349 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to certification of a person as eligible for disabled |
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| 8 | 8 | | parking privileges. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 681.001(5), Transportation Code, is |
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| 11 | 11 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (5) "Mobility problem that substantially impairs a |
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| 13 | 13 | | person's ability to ambulate" means that the person: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (A) cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to |
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| 15 | 15 | | rest; |
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| 16 | 16 | | (B) cannot walk without the use of or assistance |
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| 17 | 17 | | from an assistance device, including a brace, a cane, a crutch, |
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| 18 | 18 | | another person, or a prosthetic device; |
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| 19 | 19 | | (C) cannot ambulate without a wheelchair or |
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| 20 | 20 | | similar device; |
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| 21 | 21 | | (D) is restricted by lung disease to the extent |
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| 22 | 22 | | that the person's forced respiratory expiratory volume for one |
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| 23 | 23 | | second, measured by spirometry, is less than one liter, or the |
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| 24 | 24 | | arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 millimeters of mercury on |
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| 25 | 25 | | room air at rest; |
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| 26 | 26 | | (E) uses portable oxygen; |
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| 27 | 27 | | (F) has a cardiac condition to the extent that |
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| 28 | 28 | | the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as |
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| 29 | 29 | | Class III or Class IV according to standards set by the American |
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| 30 | 30 | | Heart Association; |
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| 31 | 31 | | (G) is severely limited in the ability to walk |
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| 32 | 32 | | because of an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition; |
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| 33 | 33 | | (H) has a disorder of the foot that, in the |
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| 34 | 34 | | opinion of a person licensed to practice podiatry in this state or |
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| 35 | 35 | | in a state adjacent to this state, limits or impairs the person's |
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| 36 | 36 | | ability to walk; or |
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| 37 | 37 | | (I) has another debilitating condition that |
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| 38 | 38 | | limits or impairs the person's ability to walk, in the opinion of: |
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| 39 | 39 | | (i) a physician licensed to practice |
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| 40 | 40 | | medicine in this state or a state adjacent to this state, or |
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| 41 | 41 | | authorized by applicable law to practice medicine in a hospital or |
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| 42 | 42 | | other health facility of the Veterans Administration; or |
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| 43 | 43 | | (ii) a physician assistant licensed to |
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| 44 | 44 | | practice in this state acting as the agent of a licensed physician |
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| 45 | 45 | | under Section 204.202(e), Occupations Code[, limits or impairs the |
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| 46 | 46 | | person's ability to walk]. |
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| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 2. Section 681.003(c), Transportation Code, is |
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| 48 | 48 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 49 | 49 | | (c) Subject to Subsection (e), the first application must be |
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| 50 | 50 | | accompanied by a notarized written statement or written |
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| 51 | 51 | | prescription of a physician licensed to practice medicine in this |
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| 52 | 52 | | state or a state adjacent to this state[,] or authorized by |
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| 53 | 53 | | applicable law to practice medicine in a hospital or other health |
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| 54 | 54 | | facility of the Veterans Administration or a physician assistant |
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| 55 | 55 | | licensed to practice in this state acting as the agent of a licensed |
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| 56 | 56 | | physician under Section 204.202(e), Occupations Code, certifying |
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| 57 | 57 | | and providing evidence acceptable to the department that the person |
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| 58 | 58 | | making the application or on whose behalf the application is made is |
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| 59 | 59 | | legally blind or has a mobility problem that substantially impairs |
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| 60 | 60 | | the person's ability to ambulate. The statement or prescription |
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| 61 | 61 | | must include a certification of whether the disability is temporary |
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| 62 | 62 | | or permanent and information acceptable to the department to |
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| 63 | 63 | | determine the type of disabled parking placard for which the |
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| 64 | 64 | | applicant is eligible. The department shall determine a person's |
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| 65 | 65 | | eligibility based on evidence provided by the applicant |
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| 66 | 66 | | establishing legal blindness or mobility impairment. |
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| 67 | 67 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 68 | 68 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 69 | 69 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 70 | 70 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 71 | 71 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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