BILL NUMBER: AB 1855	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 20, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 25, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Yamada

                        FEBRUARY 12, 2010

   An act to amend Section 22511.55 of the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1855, as amended, Yamada. Vehicles: disabled person or disabled
veteran placard.
   Existing law authorizes a disabled person or disabled veteran to
apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles for the issuance of a
distinguishing placard that may be used in lieu of the special
license plate or plates issued for parking in a disabled person's
parking space, when the placard is suspended from the rearview mirror
or, if there is no rearview mirror, when it is displayed on the
dashboard of the vehicle.
   Existing law exempts a disabled veteran who applies for a special
license plate or plates from payment of the fee that would be charged
for registration  ,  except for fees for duplicate plates,
certificates, or cards.
   This bill would require the department to advise in writing an
applicant for a disabled person's or disabled veteran's placard that
he or she may be eligible to apply for a special license plate or
plates that are exempt from the payment of the registration fee 
and license fee  .
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 22511.55 of the Vehicle Code is amended to
read:
   22511.55.  (a) (1) A disabled person or disabled veteran may apply
to the department for the issuance of a distinguishing placard. The
placard may be used in lieu of the special license plate or plates
issued under Section 5007 for parking purposes described in Section
22511.5 when suspended from the rearview mirror or, if there is no
rearview mirror, when displayed on the dashboard of a vehicle. It is
the intent of the Legislature to encourage the use of distinguishing
placards because they provide law enforcement officers with a more
readily recognizable symbol for distinguishing vehicles qualified for
the parking privilege. The placard shall be the size, shape, and
color determined by the department and shall bear the International
Symbol of Access adopted pursuant to Section 3 of Public Law 100-641,
commonly known as the "wheelchair symbol." The department shall
incorporate instructions for the lawful use of a placard, and a
summary of the penalties for the unlawful use of a placard, into the
identification card issued to the placard owner.
   (2) (A) The department may establish procedures for the issuance
and renewal of the placards. The procedures shall include, but are
not limited to, advising an applicant in writing on the application
for a placard of the procedure to apply for a special license plate
or plates, as described in Section 5007, and the fee 
exemption established pursuant to Section 9105. The placards shall
  exemptions established pursuant to Section 9105 and
  in subdivision (a) of Section 10783 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code. The placards shall  have a fixed expiration date
of June 30 every two years. A portion of the placard shall be printed
in a contrasting color that shall be changed every two years. The
size and color of this contrasting portion of the placard shall be
large and distinctive enough to be readily identifiable by a law
enforcement officer in a passing vehicle.
   (B) As used in this section, "year" means the period between the
inclusive dates of July 1 through June 30.
   (C) Prior to the end of each year, the department shall, for the
most current three years available, compare its record of disability
placards issued against the records of the Bureau of Vital Statistics
of the State Department of Health Care Services, or its successor,
and withhold any renewal notices that otherwise would have been sent
 ,  for a placardholder identified as deceased.
   (3) Except as provided in paragraph (4), a person is not eligible
for more than one placard at a time.
   (4) Organizations and agencies involved in the transportation of
disabled persons or disabled veterans may apply for a placard for
each vehicle used for the purpose of transporting disabled persons or
disabled veterans.
   (b) (1) Prior to issuing an original distinguishing placard to a
disabled person or disabled veteran, the department shall require the
submission of a certificate, in accordance with paragraph (2),
signed by the physician and surgeon, or to the extent that it does
not cause a reduction in the receipt of federal aid highway funds, by
a nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, or physician
assistant, substantiating the disability, unless the applicant's
disability is readily observable and uncontested. The disability of a
person who has lost, or has lost use of, one or more lower
extremities or one hand, for a disabled veteran, or both hands, for a
disabled person, or who has significant limitation in the use of
lower extremities, may also be certified by a licensed chiropractor.
The blindness of an applicant shall be certified by a licensed
physician and surgeon who specializes in diseases of the eye or a
licensed optometrist. The physician and surgeon, nurse practitioner,
certified nurse midwife, physician assistant, chiropractor, or
optometrist certifying the qualifying disability shall provide a full
description of the illness or disability on the form submitted to
the department.
   (2) The physician and surgeon, nurse practitioner, certified nurse
midwife, physician assistant, chiropractor, or optometrist who signs
a certificate submitted under this subdivision shall retain
information sufficient to substantiate that certificate and, upon
request of the department, shall make that information available for
inspection by the Medical Board of California or the appropriate
regulatory board.
   (3) The department shall maintain in its records all information
on an applicant's certification of permanent disability and shall
make that information available to eligible law enforcement or
parking control agencies upon a request pursuant to Section 22511.58.

   (c) A person who is issued a distinguishing placard pursuant to
subdivision (a) may apply to the department for a substitute placard
without recertification of eligibility, if that placard is lost or
stolen.
   (d) The distinguishing placard shall be returned to the department
not later than 60 days after the death of the disabled person or
disabled veteran to whom the placard was issued.
   (e) The department shall print on any distinguishing placard
issued on or after January 1, 2005, the maximum penalty that may be
imposed for a violation of Section 4461. For purposes of this
subdivision, the "maximum penalty" is the amount derived from adding
all of the following:
   (1) The maximum fine that may be imposed under Section 4461.
   (2) The penalty required to be imposed under Section 70372 of the
Government Code.
   (3) The penalty required to be levied under Section 76000 of the
Government Code.
   (4) The penalty required to be levied under Section 1464 of the
Penal Code.
   (5) The surcharge required to be levied under Section 1465.7 of
the Penal Code.
   (6) The penalty authorized to be imposed under Section 4461.3.