SB 274 — Prohibiting parking fee for accessible parking space bearing international symbol of access

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION IntroducedCommittee FISCALSubstitute for Senate Bill 274 NOTE By Senator Martin [Introduced[Reported FebruaryMarch 12,18, 2025;2025, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure] CS for SB 274 A BILL to amend and reenact §17C-13-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to prohibiting public entities from requiring certain persons with a mobility impairment who are unable to walk from having to pay for accessible parking at parking meters that are inaccessible;

referreddefining toterms; the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure;

andspecifying thenparameters to the Committee on Finance] Intr SB 274 2025R2221 A BILL to amend and reenact §17C-13-6 of theprohibition Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to prohibiting public entities, including state, county, and municipalentitlement buildingsfor andpayment facilities,exemption; places of public accommodation, and commercial facilities from installing or maintaining a parking meter in an accessible parking space bearing the international symbol of access.

making penalty of false swearing applicable for false certification of inability to access parking meter without unreasonable effort;

prohibiting citations;

and providing for prima facie evidence.

STOPPING, STANDINGSTANDING, AND PARKING.

(4) The applicant shall submit, with the application, a certificate issued by any physician, chiropractor, advanced nurse practitioner, or physician'sphysician’s assistant who is licensed in this state, stating that the applicant has a mobility impairment, or that the applicant is an organization which regularly transports a person with a mobility impairment as defined in this section.

The physician, chiropractor, advanced nurse practitioner, or physician'sphysician’s assistant shall specify in the certificate 2 CS for SB 274 whether the disability is temporary or permanent.

A disability which is temporary is one expected to last for a limited duration and improve during the applicant'sapplicant’s life.

A disability which is permanent is one which is expected to last during the duration of the applicant'sapplicant’s life.

Intr SB 2025R2221 (5) Upon receipt of the completed application, the physician'sphysician’s certificatecertificate, and the regular registration fee for the applicant'sapplicant’s vehicle class, if the commissioner finds that the applicant qualifies for the special registration plate or a removable windshield placard as provided in this section, he or she shall issue to the applicant a special registration plate (upon remittance of the regular registration fee) or a removable windshield placard (red for temporary and blue for permanent), or both.

Upon request, the commissioner shall also issue to any otherwise qualified applicant one additional placard having the same expiration date as the applicant'sapplicant’s original placard.

(1) A person or applicant with a "mobility impairment" means a person who is a citizen of West Virginia and as determined by a physician, allopath,allopath or osteopath, chiropractor, advanced nurse practitioner, or physician'sphysician’s assistant licensed to practice in West Virginia:

3 CS for SB 274 (B) Cannot walk without the use of or assistance from a brace, cane, crutch, prosthetic device, wheelchair, other assistive device, or another person;

(C) Is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that the person'sperson’s force (respiratory) Intr SB 2025R2221 expiratory volume for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one liter or the arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 mm/hg on room air at rest;

(E) Has a cardiac condition to such an extent that the person'sperson’s functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to standards established by the American Heart Association;

4 CS for SB 274 (4) "Regular registration fee" means the standard registration fee for a vehicle of the same class as the applicant'sapplicant’s vehicle;

(5) "Public entity" means state or local government or any department, agency, special Intr SB 2025R2221 purpose district, or other instrumentality of a state or local government;

(J) Public or private nursery, elementary, secondary, undergraduate, or post-graduate schools or other places of learning and day care centers, senior citizen centers, homeless 5 CS for SB 274 shelters, food banks, adoption agencies, or other social services establishments;

Intr SB 2025R2221 (8) "Commercial facility" means a facility whose operations affect commerce and which are intended for nonresidential use by a private entity;

(9) "Accessible parking" formerly known as "handicapped parking" is the present phrase consistent with language within the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).(ADA);

Any person covered by this section who sells or gives away their officially issued windshield placard to any 6 CS for SB 274 person or organization not qualified to apply for or receive the placard and then reapplies for a new placard on the basis it was stolen is committing a fraudulent act and is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, in addition to any other penalty he or she, or they may otherwise Intr SB 2025R2221 incur, shall lose their right to receive or use a special placard or special license plate for a period of not less than five years.

After the commissioner receives the new application, signed by a certified physician, chiropractor, advanced nurse practitioner, or physician'sphysician’s assistant if required under this subsection, the commissioner shall issue:

Provided, That a new application under this subsection must not be accompanied by a certificate pursuant to §17C- 13-6(a)(4) of this code if a prior application is on file with the commissioner, such application includes a certificate issued pursuant to §17C-13-6(a)(4) of this code, such certificate specifies that the applicant'sapplicant’s disability is permanent for life, and such certificate was made within 10 years of the new application.

Permanent removable windshield placards are valid for the duration of the applicant'sapplicant’s life.

The identification card 7 CS for SB 274 shall be identical in design for both registration plates and removable windshield placards.

In Intr SB 2025R2221 particular, the parking space should be a minimum of eight feet wide with an adjacent eight-foot access aisle for vans having side mounted hydraulic lifts or ramps, or a five-foot access aisle for standard vehicles.

(i) NotwithstandingStopping, anystanding, provisionor ofparking thisplaces codemarked towith the contrary,international nosymbol publicof entityaccess mayshall installbe ordesignated maintainin aclose parkingproximity meterto inall anpublic accessibleentities, parkingincluding spacestate, bearingcounty, theand internationalmunicipal symbolbuildings and facilities, places of access.public accommodation, and commercial facilities.

(i) (j) Stopping, standing or parking places marked with the international symbol of access shall be designated in close proximity to all public entities, including state, county, and municipal buildings and facilities, places of public accommodation, and commercial facilities.

(j) (k) Any person whose vehicle properly displays a valid, unexpired special registration plate or removable windshield placard may park the vehicle for unlimited periods of time in parking Intr8 CS for SB 2025R2221274 zones unrestricted as to length of parking time permitted:

(k) (l) Any person whose vehicle does not display a valid, special registration plate or removable windshield placard may not stop, stand, or park a motor vehicle in an area designated, zoned, or marked for accessible parking with signs or instructions displaying the international symbol of access, either by itself or with explanatory text.

and upon third and subsequent Intr9 CS for SB 2025R2221274 convictions thereof, in addition to any other penalty he or she may otherwise incur, shall be fined $500.

(l) (m) All signs that designate areas as "accessible parking" or that display the international symbol of access shall also include the words "Up"up to $500 fine".

(m) (n) No person may stop, stand, or park a motor vehicle in an area designated or marked off as an access aisle adjacent to a van-accessible parking space or regular accessible parking space.

(n) (o) Parking enforcement personnel who otherwise enforce parking violations may issue citations for violations of this section and shall reference the number on the vehicle’s license plate, since the driver normally will not be present.

(o) (p) Law-enforcement agencies may establish a program to use trained volunteers to collect information necessary to issue citations to persons who illegally park in designated accessible parking spaces.

Intr10 CS for SB 2025R2221274 Volunteers shall be trained on the requirements for citations for vehicles parked in marked, zoned, or designated accessible parking areas by the supervising law-enforcement agency.

(p) (q) Local authorities who adopt the basic enforcement provisions of this section and issue their own local ordinances shall retain all fines and associated late fees.

These revenues shall be used first to fund the provisions of subsection (o) of this section, if adopted by local authorities, or otherwise shall go into the local authorities'authorities’ General Revenue Fund.