84R1281 JXC-D
By: Fletcher H.B. No. 126
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to parking placards for vehicles of persons with
disabilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 681.003(b), (c), and (e),
Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) An application for a disabled parking placard must be:
(1) on a form furnished by the department;
(2) submitted to the county assessor-collector of the
county in which the person with the disability:
(A) resides if the person has a permanent
disability and is a resident of this state;
(B) resides or is seeking medical treatment if
the person has a temporary disability and is a resident of this
state; or
(C) [in which the applicant] is seeking medical
treatment if the person [applicant] is not a resident of this state;
and
(3) accompanied by a fee of $5 if the application is
for a temporary placard.
(c) Subject to Subsections (e) and (f), the first
application must be accompanied by a notarized written statement or
written prescription of a physician licensed to practice medicine
in this state or a state adjacent to this state, or authorized by
applicable law to practice medicine in a hospital or other health
facility of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs,
certifying and providing evidence acceptable to the department that
the person making the application or on whose behalf the
application is made is legally blind or has a mobility problem that
substantially impairs the person's ability to ambulate. The
statement or prescription must include a certification of whether
the disability is temporary or permanent and information acceptable
to the department to determine the type of disabled parking placard
for which the person [applicant] is eligible. The department shall
determine a person's eligibility based on evidence provided by the
applicant establishing legal blindness or mobility impairment.
(e) If a first application for a disabled parking placard
under this section is made by or on behalf of a person with:
(1) a mobility problem caused by a disorder of the
foot, the notarized written statement or written prescription
required by Subsection (c) may be issued by a person licensed to
practice podiatry in this state or a state adjacent to this state;
[or]
(2) a disability caused by an impairment of vision as
provided by Section 681.001(2), the notarized written statement or
written prescription required by Subsection (c) may be issued by a
person licensed to engage in the practice of optometry or the
practice of therapeutic optometry in this state or a state adjacent
to this state; or
(3) a temporary mobility problem that substantially
impairs the person's ability to ambulate, the notarized written
statement or written prescription required by Subsection (c) may be
issued by a person licensed to practice chiropractic, as described
by Section 201.002, Occupations Code, in this state or a state
adjacent to this state.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.