BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: SB 1123
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: De león
VERSION: 4/17/12
Analysis by: Mark Stivers FISCAL: YES
Hearing date: April 24, 2012
SUBJECT:
Misuse of disabled parking placards
DESCRIPTION:
This bill suspends for 30 days the driver's license of a person
who misuses a disabled parking placard and allows cities and
counties to charge disabled persons for parking at 10-hour
meters.
ANALYSIS:
Under current law, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issues
both disabled license plates and disabled parking placards.
Persons with permanent disabilities may obtain a disabled
license plate. Because persons with permanent disabilities
often travel in vehicles other than their own, they may also
obtain a permanent disabled parking placard, which DMV
automatically renews every two years. Persons with temporary
disabilities may obtain a temporary parking placard that is
valid for up to six months or the expected length of the
disability as determined by a medical professional, whichever is
shorter. In each case, a medical professional must certify the
disability. A holder of a temporary parking placard may renew
the placard a maximum of six times with a new medical
certification at each application. A disabled parking placard
or plate entitles the owner or a person transporting the owner
to park in disabled parking spaces and to park in other spaces
at no cost and with no time limit.
Current law prohibits an owner of a disabled parking placard
from lending or knowingly permitting the use of a disabled
parking placard by anyone other than the owner or a person
transporting the owner. Current law also prohibits any person
from displaying a disabled parking placard that does not belong
to him or her unless he or she is transporting the placard
owner. A violator of either prohibition is subject to a civil
SB 1123 (DE LEÓN) Page 2
penalty between $250 and $1000 or a criminal misdemeanor. In
addition, a peace officer may confiscate a placard used by a
person other than the owner, unless that person is transporting
the owner. After verification with the DMV that the user of the
placard is not the owner, the enforcement agency must notify DMV
of the misuse, and DMV may cancel the placard. The disabled
person whose placard was canceled may subsequently reapply for a
new placard.
This bill :
Suspends for 30 days the driver's license of a person found in
violation of the prohibition against lending or knowingly
permitting the use of a disabled parking placard by an
unauthorized person or the prohibition against the
unauthorized display of a disabled parking placard.
Allows a city or county that has installed parking meters that
allow 10 or more hours of parking and that are in compliance
with the Americans with Disabilities Act to require a disabled
person to pay for parking, provided that the parking space has
signage to that effect.
Requires a person with a permanent disability, when renewing a
permanent disabled parking placard every two years, to submit
a new medical certificate.
Requires an applicant for a new or renewal permanent disabled
parking placard and the medical professional signing the
medical certification to sign the application and
certification under penalty of perjury.
Allows a person with a permanent disability to apply for a
replacement permanent disabled parking placard without having
to obtain a new medical certification only if the person
reported the original placard lost or stolen to DMV within 10
days of the date the placard was lost or stolen.
Clarifies that DMV must print on each permanent disabled
parking placard the maximum fines both for owners who lend or
knowingly permit the use of their placard and for unauthorized
SB 1123 (DE LEÓN) Page 3
persons who misuse the placard.
Requires DMV to print on each permanent disabled parking
placard that the penalty for misuse includes suspension of the
person's driver's license for 30 days.
Requires, rather than authorizes, DMV to cancel a temporary or
permanent disabled parking placard that has been misused.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose of the bill . According to the author, reports
indicate widespread abuse of disabled parking placards in
California's highly populated urban areas. Placard abusers
steal millions of dollars in much-needed parking meter revenue
from cities; merchants listen to their customers who complain
about not being able to find parking, reducing their chances
of returning; and most importantly, drivers with genuine
physical disabilities are suffering as they are often unable
to find suitable designated disabled parking spaces in areas
proximate to the entrances or exits of facilities they are
seeking to access. When all the curb spaces near their
destinations are occupied, drivers are forced to circle the
surrounding streets in an attempt to find an open space,
causing traffic congestion and pollution. Those who have
difficulty walking may have to park much farther away or even
abandon their trips.
2.License suspensions . DMV believes that 99% of disabled
placard misuse is by family members or caretakers. This bill
seeks to address this problem by suspending for 30 days the
driver's license of any person found in violation of the
prohibition against lending or knowingly permitting the use of
a disabled parking placard by an unauthorized person or the
prohibition against the unauthorized display of a disabled
parking placard. This penalty would clearly increase the
deterrent effect against placard misuse. On the other hand,
suspending a driver's license, particularly for a first
offense, is a serious penalty that can very negatively affect
a person's ability to work, go to school, or attend to medical
necessities. The committee may wish to consider whether
license suspension is an appropriate penalty for misuse of a
disabled parking placard, especially for a first offense.
SB 1123 (DE LEÓN) Page 4
3.Charging disabled parkers at 10-hour meters . The greatest
incentive driving the misuse of disabled parking placards is
the fact that a person legally displaying such a placard may
park for free for an unlimited amount of time at metered
parking spaces. Presumably, this benefit recognizes the fact
that it may be difficult for disabled persons to access a
meter and return to the vehicle to feed a meter and that
disabled persons may take longer to accomplish every-day
tasks. In addition, a disproportionate percentage of persons
with disabilities is low-income, and the law is intended to be
a financial benefit as well. While the benefit is in no way
limited to persons of low-income, the disability community has
historically argued that requiring a means test to obtain free
parking would discourage qualified individuals from seeking
and enjoying the benefit.
This bill seeks to lessen the incentive for abuse in a limited
way by allowing a city or county that has installed parking
meters that allow 10 or more hours of parking and that are in
compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act to require
a disabled person to pay for parking, provided that the
parking space has signage to that effect. The bill, however,
does not give cities and counties the authority to charge
disabled persons for parking at other meters or at spaces
specifically designated for disabled parkers (i.e.,
blue-painted spaces). The committee may wish to consider
whether lessening disabled persons' right to free parking is
an appropriate way to curb abuse of disabled parking placards.
4.Penalty of perjury provisions . Current law gives DMV the
authority to require that any application or document it
receives be signed under penalty of perjury. The current form
for disabled parking placards already requires signature under
penalty of perjury from both the applicant and the medical
professional. With respect to disabled parking placards, this
bill simply coverts DMV's authority into a mandate.
5.Arguments in opposition . The California Foundation for
Independent Living Centers believes that the provisions of
this bill allowing cities and counties to charge disabled
persons for parking in certain circumstances will have no
impact on the level of abuse of disabled parking placards but
will make parking less accessible to persons with
disabilities. The Foundation argues that the vast majority of
SB 1123 (DE LEÓN) Page 5
people with disabilities live in poverty or are very
low-income individuals and that they should not be required to
pay parking expenses at a time when federal and state
budget-driven decisions are cutting back or eliminating vital
programs and services.
6.Author amendments . The author will offer amendments in
committee to remove the portions of the bill that 1) require
the holder of a permanent disabled parking placard to submit a
new medical certification every two years, and 2) require the
holder of a permanent disabled parking placard to report the
placard lost or stolen within 10 days in order to obtain a
replacement placard without a new medical certification.
7.Technical amendments .
An enforcement agency may cite misuse of a disabled
parking placard either as a civil offense or a criminal
offense. In the case of civil offenses, the citations are
issued and treated like parking tickets. As a result,
there is no current mechanism to inform DMV of the
violation, which means that DMV cannot suspend the license.
The bill should include a requirement for an enforcement
agency or a court to notify DMV of violations relating to
the misuse of disabled parking placards.
The language allowing cities and counties to charge
disabled persons for parking at 10-hour meters needs to be
rewritten to clarify that this authority only applies to
10-hour meters.
The language relating to applicants and medical
professionals signing documents under penalty of perjury
and the language relating to new information about
penalties on the placards should apply to temporary
disabled parking placards in addition to permanent disabled
parking placards.
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, April 18,
2012)
SUPPORT: None received.
SB 1123 (DE LEÓN) Page 6
OPPOSED: California Foundation for Independent Living
Centers