CHAPTER 94

HB 1280 – FINAL VERSION

2014 SESSION

14-2357

03/04

HOUSE BILL 1280

AN ACT permitting physician assistants to authorize walking disability plates and placards.

SPONSORS: Rep. Gidge, Hills 33; Rep. Muns, Rock 21

COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs

ANALYSIS

This bill permits physician assistants to authorize walking disability plates and placards.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

14-2357

03/04

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fourteen

AN ACT permitting physician assistants to authorize walking disability plates and placards.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

94:1 Walking Disability Plates and Placards. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 261:88, I(c) to read as follows:

(c) “Walking disability” means a disability which limits or impairs a person’s ability to walk, as determined by a licensed physician, physician assistant, podiatrist, or advanced practice registered nurse, to such an extent that such person:

94:2 Walking Disability Plates and Placards. Amend RSA 261:88, III to read as follows:

III. An applicant for such special plates shall furnish the director with satisfactory proof, as the director may require, that the applicant meets the requirements of paragraph II. Such proof must be submitted every 5 years except in the case of a veteran who has been evaluated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to be permanently and totally disabled from service-connected disability. Such proof shall only have to be made upon initial application. Satisfactory proof of a walking disability, at a minimum, shall consist of the certification of a licensed physician, physician assistant, podiatrist, or advanced practice registered nurse that the applicant has a walking disability, as defined in paragraph I. Upon request and for the fee set forth in RSA 261:75, I, the director shall exchange special plates for regular plates currently issued to an applicant who qualifies for special plates.

94:3 Walking Disability Plates and Placards. Amend RSA 261:88, V-VI to read as follows:

V. Upon application, the department shall furnish a hanging windshield placard without charge to a person with a walking disability who satisfactorily furnishes proof of such disability to the director. Any nonprofit agency serving a person with a walking disability may apply to the department for a hanging windshield placard. An applicant for such placard shall furnish the director with satisfactory proof, as the director may require, that the applicant will use the placard solely for the transportation of a person with a walking disability. The quantity of placards issued under this paragraph shall be at the discretion of the director. This placard shall meet the standards set forth in 23 C.F.R. part 1235, appendix A. The removable windshield placard shall be displayed in such a manner that it may be viewed from the front and rear of the vehicle by hanging it from the front windshield rearview mirror of a vehicle utilizing a parking space reserved for persons with disabilities. When there is no rearview mirror, the placard shall be displayed on the dashboard. A request from any nonprofit agency for a placard shall be approved by the administrator of the nonprofit agency and any other application for such a placard shall be accompanied by the certification of a licensed physician, physician assistant, podiatrist, or advanced practice registered nurse that the applicant has a walking disability as defined in paragraph I. The placard shall expire 5 years from the date of issuance, and the expiration date shall be noted on the placard. The placard shall be renewed, upon application on forms provided by the director, if the director determines that the disability which necessitated the issuance of the placard continues. Upon request of the applicant, the director shall issue one additional placard to the applicant if the applicant does not have special license plates.

VI. Upon the application of a person with a temporary walking disability, the director shall issue a temporary removable windshield placard. The placard shall comply with the standards set forth in 23 C.F.R. part 1235, appendix B. The temporary removable windshield placard shall be displayed in such a manner that it may be viewed from the front and the rear of the vehicle by hanging it from the front windshield rearview mirror of a vehicle utilizing a parking space reserved for persons with disabilities. When there is no rearview mirror, the placard shall be displayed on the dashboard. Upon request, the director shall issue one additional temporary removable windshield placard to applicants. Application for a temporary removable windshield placard shall be accompanied by the certification of a licensed physician, physician assistant, podiatrist, or advanced practice registered nurse that the applicant has a walking disability as defined in paragraph I. The certification shall also include the period of time that the physician, physician assistant, podiatrist, or advanced practice registered nurse determines the applicant will have the disability, which period of time shall not exceed 6 months. The expiration date of the temporary placard shall be noted on the placard.

94:4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

Approved: June 11, 2014

Effective Date: August 10, 2014