HB5790ham001 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Silvana Tabares

Filed: 3/19/2014

09800HB5790ham001 LRB098 18962 MLW 57088 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5790

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5790 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing Sections 1-159.1 and 11-1301.2 as follows:

(625 ILCS 5/1-159.1) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 1-159.1)

Sec. 1-159.1. Person with disabilities. A natural person who, as determined by a licensed physician, ophthalmologist, optometrist, or by a physician assistant who has been delegated the authority to make this determination by his or her supervising physician, or by an advanced practice nurse who has a written collaborative agreement with a collaborating physician that authorizes the advanced practice nurse to make this determination: (1) cannot walk without the use of, or assistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive device; (2) is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that his or her forced (respiratory) 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; (3) uses portable oxygen; (4) has a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV, according to standards set by the American Heart Association; (5) is severely limited in the person's ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological, oncological, or orthopedic condition; (6) cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest because of one of the above 5 conditions; or (7) is missing a hand or arm or has permanently lost the use of a hand or arm; or (8) is blind, defined as a vision acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the use of a correcting lens, or an eye that is limited in its field of vision so that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees.

(Source: P.A. 98-405, eff. 1-1-14.)

(625 ILCS 5/11-1301.2) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 11-1301.2)

Sec. 11-1301.2. Special decals for parking; persons with disabilities.

(a) The Secretary of State shall provide for, by administrative rules, the design, size, color, and placement of a person with disabilities motorist decal or device and shall provide for, by administrative rules, the content and form of an application for a person with disabilities motorist decal or device, which shall be used by local authorities in the issuance thereof to a person with temporary disabilities, provided that the decal or device is valid for no more than 90 days, subject to renewal for like periods based upon continued disability, and further provided that the decal or device clearly sets forth the date that the decal or device expires. The application shall include the requirement of an Illinois Identification Card number or a State of Illinois driver's license number. This decal or device may be used by the authorized holder to designate and identify a vehicle not owned or displaying a registration plate as provided in Sections 3-609 and 3-616 of this Act to designate when the vehicle is being used to transport said person or persons with disabilities, and thus is entitled to enjoy all the privileges that would be afforded a person with disabilities licensed vehicle. Person with disabilities decals or devices issued and displayed pursuant to this Section shall be recognized and honored by all local authorities regardless of which local authority issued such decal or device.

The decal or device shall be issued only upon a showing by adequate documentation that the person for whose benefit the decal or device is to be used has a disability as defined in Section 1-159.1 of this Code and the disability is temporary.

(b) The local governing authorities shall be responsible for the provision of such decal or device, its issuance and designated placement within the vehicle. The cost of such decal or device shall be at the discretion of such local governing authority.

(c) The Secretary of State may, pursuant to Section 3-616(c), issue a person with disabilities parking decal or device to a person with disabilities as defined by Section 1-159.1. Any person with disabilities parking decal or device issued by the Secretary of State shall be registered to that person with disabilities in the form to be prescribed by the Secretary of State. The person with disabilities parking decal or device shall not display that person's address. One additional decal or device may be issued to an applicant upon his or her written request and with the approval of the Secretary of State. The written request must include a justification of the need for the additional decal or device.

(c-5) Beginning January 1, 2014, the Secretary shall provide by administrative rule for the issuance of a separate and distinct parking decal or device for persons with disabilities as defined by Section 1-159.1 of this Code and who meet the qualifications under this subsection. The authorized holder of a decal or device issued under this subsection (c-5) shall be exempt from the payment of fees generated by parking in a metered space, a parking area subject to paragraph (10) of subsection (a) of Section 11-209 of this Code, or a publicly owned parking area.

The Secretary shall issue a meter-exempt decal or device to a person with disabilities who: (i) has been issued registration plates under subsection (a) of Section 3-609 or Section 3-616 of this Code or a special decal or device under this Section, (ii) holds a valid Illinois driver's license, and (iii) is unable to do one or more of the following:

(1) manage, manipulate, or insert coins, or obtain tickets or tokens in parking meters or ticket machines in parking lots, due to the lack of fine motor control of both hands;

(2) reach above his or her head to a height of 42 inches from the ground, due to a lack of finger, hand, or upper extremity strength or mobility;

(3) approach a parking meter due to his or her use of a wheelchair or other device for mobility; or

(4) walk more than 20 feet due to an orthopedic, neurological, cardiovascular, or lung condition in which the degree of debilitation is so severe that it almost completely impedes the ability to walk.

The application for a meter-exempt parking decal or device shall contain a statement certified by a licensed physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice nurse attesting to the permanent nature of the applicant's condition and verifying that the applicant meets the physical qualifications specified in this subsection (c-5).

Notwithstanding the requirements of this subsection (c-5), the Secretary shall issue a meter-exempt decal or device to:

(1) a person who has been issued registration plates under Section 3-616 of this Code or a special decal or device under this Section, if the applicant is the parent or guardian of a person with disabilities who is under 18 years of age and incapable of driving; .

(2) a person, suffering blindness defined as having a central vision acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the use of a correcting lens, or with an eye that is limited in its field of vision so that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees, if the applicant submits from his or her treating ophthalmologist or optometrist a vision specialist report certifying the applicant's visual disability and limited mobility, and is incapable of driving without the assistance of another person; or

(3) a parent or guardian of a person suffering blindness as defined in the preceding clause (2), if the applicant submits from an ophthalmologist or optometrist a vision specialist report certifying the person's visual disability or limited mobility, and the person's inability of driving without the assistance of another person.

(d) Replacement decals or devices may be issued for lost, stolen, or destroyed decals upon application and payment of a $10 fee. The replacement fee may be waived for individuals that have claimed and received a grant under the Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons Property Tax Relief Act.

(Source: P.A. 97-689, eff. 6-14-12; 97-845, eff. 1-1-13; 98-463, eff. 8-16-13; 98-577, eff. 1-1-14.)".