Bill Text: NC S361 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Handicapped License Plates/Organizations
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-23 - Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate [S361 Detail]
Download: North_Carolina-2017-S361-Amended.html
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2017
S 1
SENATE BILL 361
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Short Title: Handicapped License Plates/Organizations. |
(Public) |
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Sponsors: |
Senator Pate (Primary Sponsor). |
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Referred to: |
Rules and Operations of the Senate |
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March 23, 2017
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to authorize the division of motor vehicles to issue a distinguishing license plate for each motor vehicle owned by an organization that regularly transports handicapped persons.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 20‑37.6 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑37.6. Parking privileges for handicapped drivers and passengers.
…
(b) Handicapped Car
Owners; Drivers and Passengers; Distinguishing License Plates. – If
the handicapped person is a registered owner of a vehicle, the owner may apply
for and display a distinguishing license plate. This Any organization
that, as determined and certified by the State Vocational Rehabilitation
Agency, regularly transports handicapped persons may also apply for and display
a distinguishing license plate. These organizations may receive one
distinguishing license plate, free of charge, for each transporting vehicle. Except
as otherwise provided in this subsection, a distinguishing license plate issued
under this subsection shall be issued for the normal fee applicable to
standard license plates. Any vehicle owner who qualifies for a distinguishing
license plate shall be notified by the Division at the time the plate is issued
that the applicant is also eligible to receive one removable windshield placard
and, upon request, shall be issued a placard at that time.
(c) Handicapped Drivers and
Passengers; Distinguishing Placards. – Handicapped Drivers and Passengers;
Distinguishing Placards. – A handicapped person may apply for the issuance of a
removable windshield placard or a temporary removable windshield placard. Upon
request, one additional placard may be issued to applicants who do not have a
distinguishing license plate. Any organization which, that, as
determined and certified by the State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency,
regularly transports handicapped persons may also apply. These organizations
may receive one removable windshield placard for each transporting vehicle.
When the removable windshield or temporary removable windshield placard is
properly displayed, all parking rights and privileges extended to vehicles
displaying a distinguishing license plate issued pursuant to subsection (b)
shall apply. The removable windshield placard or the temporary removable
windshield placard shall be displayed so that it may be viewed from the front
and rear of the vehicle by hanging it from the front windshield rearview mirror
of a vehicle using a parking space allowed for handicapped persons. When there
is no inside rearview mirror, or when the placard cannot reasonably be hung
from the rearview mirror by the handicapped person, the placard shall be
displayed on the driver's side of the dashboard. A removable windshield placard
placed on a motorized wheelchair or similar vehicle shall be displayed in a
clearly visible location. The Division shall establish procedures for the
issuance of the placards and may charge a fee sufficient to pay the actual cost
of issuance, but in no event less than five dollars ($5.00) per placard. The
Division shall issue a placard registration card with each placard issued to a
handicapped person. The registration card shall bear the name of the person to
whom the placard is issued, the person's address, the placard number, and an
expiration date. The registration card shall be in the vehicle in which the
placard is being used, and the person to whom the placard is issued shall be
the operator or a passenger in the vehicle in which the placard is displayed.
(c1) Application and Renewal;
Physician's Certification. – The Except for organizations applying in
accordance with subsection (b) or (c) of this section, the initial
application for a distinguishing license plate, removable windshield placard,
or temporary removable windshield placard shall be accompanied by a
certification of a licensed physician, a licensed ophthalmologist, a licensed
optometrist, or the Division of Services for the Blind that the applicant is
handicapped or by a disability determination by the United States Department of
Veterans Affairs that the applicant is handicapped. The initial application
submitted by an organization in accordance with subsection (b) or (c) of this
section shall include certification in a form acceptable to the Division that
the organization is certified by the State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency. The
application for a temporary removable windshield placard shall contain
additional certification to include the period of time the certifying authority
determines the applicant will have the disability. Distinguishing license
plates shall be renewed annually, but subsequent applications shall not require
a medical certification that the applicant is handicapped. Removable windshield
placards shall be renewed every five years, and, except for an organization
that received a placard in accordance with subsection (c) of this section or a
person certified as totally and permanently disabled at the time of the initial
application or a prior renewal under this subsection, the renewal shall require
a medical recertification that the person is handicapped. Renewal for an
organization that received a placard in accordance with subsection (c) of this
section shall require recertifying in a form acceptable to the Division that
the organization is still certified by the State Vocational Rehabilitation
Agency. Temporary removable windshield placards shall expire no later than
six months after issuance.
…."
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective July 1, 2017.
