HB 4036 — Relating to stricter enforcement for parking in a handicapped designated spot

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION IntroducedENGROSSED FISCAL House Bill 4036 NOTE By Delegates Mallow and Kump [Introduced January 14, 2026;

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary] IntrEng HB 2026R15014036 A BILL to amend and reenact §17C-13-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to designated accessible parking for persons with a mobility impairment;

(4) The applicant shall submit, with the application, a certificate issued by any physician, chiropractor, advanced nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant who is licensed in this state, stating that the applicant has a mobility impairment, or that the applicant is an organization which IntrEng HB 2026R15014036 regularly transports a person with a mobility impairment as defined in this section.

Eng HB 4036 (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, or osteopath, chiropractor, advanced Intr HB 2026R1501 nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant licensed to practice in West Virginia:

Eng HB 4036 (B) An identification number measuring one inch in height;

Intr HB 2026R1501 and (D) The seal or other identifying symbol of the issuing authority;

Eng HB 4036 (H) Museums, libraries, galleries, or other places of public display or collection;

Intr HB 2026R1501 (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 shelters, food banks, adoption agencies, or other social services establishments;

Any person who fabricates, Eng HB 4036 uses, or sells unofficially issued labels imprinted with a future expiration date to any person or organization is committing a fraudulent act and is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction Intr HB 2026R1501 thereof, in addition to any other penalty he or she may otherwise incur, shall be fined $700 $1,000.

Eng HB 4036 (e) The commissioner shall issue to each applicant who is granted a special registration plate or windshield placard an identification card bearing the applicant’s name, assigned Intr HB 2026R1501 identification number, and expiration date.

These parking Eng HB 4036 places shall be reserved solely for persons with a mobility impairment and disabled veterans at all times.

Intr HB 2026R1501 (j) 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 zones unrestricted as to length of parking time permitted:

Accessible parking spaces for vans having an Eng HB 4036 eight-foot adjacent access aisle should be designated as "van accessible" but may be used by any vehicle displaying a valid special registration plate or removable windshield placard.

Any person who violates the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and, Intr HB 2026R1501 upon conviction thereof, shall be fined $200 $300;

The volunteers shall photograph the illegally parked vehicle and complete a form, to be developed by supervising law-enforcement agencies, that includes the vehicle’s license plate number, date, time, and location of the illegally Eng HB 4036 parked vehicle.

Within the discretion of the supervising law-enforcement agency, the volunteers may issue citations or the volunteers may submit the photographs of the illegally Intr HB 2026R1501 parked vehicle and the form to the supervising law-enforcement agency, who may issue a citation, which includes the photographs and the form, to the owner of the illegally parked vehicle.

Eng HB 4036 (A) The prohibitions in this section against illegally parking, stopping, standing or blocking access to a designated accessible parking space and the penalties for violation of the provisions of this section;

Intr HB 2026R1501 (C) The prohibitions in this section against illegally creating, obtaining, and using of special plates or windshield cards issued to mobility impaired personspersons; (D) The consequences of illegally parking, stopping, standing or blocking access to a designated accessible parking space with regard to disabled persons denied access thereto, including inconvenience, hardship and possible delay or denial of medical care, which may result in injury, illness or even death;

(D) The consequences of illegally parking, stopping, standing or blocking access to a designated accessible parking space with regard to disabled persons denied access thereto, including inconvenience, hardship and possible delay or denial of medical care, which may result in injury, illness or even death;

Such letter shall specify whether the Eng HB 4036 inability to walk is permanent or temporary.

(2) By displaying a parking certification in the windshield of a vehicle that is parked in an accessible parking space with an expired parking meter, the person is swearing under penalty of Intr HB 2026R1501 false swearing that he or she is unable to access the parking meter without unreasonable effort.

NOTE:

The purpose of this bill is to increase certain criminal penalties for unlawful use of designated accessible parking spaces for mobility impaired persons and unlawful creation and use of special plates or placards issued to mobility impaired persons and establishing a program to increase public awareness for unlawful use of designated accessible parking spaces for mobility impaired persons and unlawful creation and use of special plates or placards issued to mobility impaired persons Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.