06 LC
25 4202
House
Bill 995
By:
Representative Greene of the
149th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to motor
vehicles and traffic, so as to change certain provisions relating to free
license plates and revalidation decals for certain disabled veterans; to change
certain provisions relating to special license plates for disabled veterans not
qualified under Code Section 40-2-69; to change certain provisions relating to
parking permits for persons with disabilities; to repeal conflicting laws; and
for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Title
40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to motor vehicles and
traffic, is amended in Code Section 40-2-69, relating to free license plates and
revalidation decals for certain disabled veterans, by adding a new subsection to
read as follows:
∀(d)
The signature of any applicant or licensed physician submitted for purposes of
an application under this Code section shall not be required to be
notarized.∀
SECTION
2.
Said
title is further amended in Code Section 40-2-70, relating to special license
plates for disabled veterans not qualified under Code Section 40-2-69, by
designating the existing provisions as subsection (a) thereof and adding a new
subsection to read as follows:
∀(b)
The signature of any applicant or licensed physician submitted for purposes of
an application under this Code section shall not be required to be
notarized.∀
SECTION
3.
Said
title is further amended by striking subsections (a), (b), and (c) of Code
Section 40-6-222, relating to parking permits for persons with disabilities, and
inserting in lieu thereof the following:
∀(a)
The Department of Motor Vehicle Safety shall issue parking permits for persons
with disabilities at every place where it issues
driverś
licenses. The department shall also receive applications for and issue parking
permits for persons with disabilities by mail and shall by regulation require
such proof of disability or incapacity as is necessary to issue such permits by
mail. The
signature of any applicant or licensed physician submitted for purposes of an
application under this Code section shall not be required to be
notarized. Permits shall be in such form
as the department prescribes but shall be of sufficient size and sufficiently
distinctively marked to be easily visible when placed on or affixed to the
driveŕs
side of the dashboard or hung from the rearview mirror of the parked vehicle.
Permits shall be made of plastic or heavyweight cardboard and shall be of
sufficient quality to ensure that the coloring of the permit and the ink used
thereon will resist fading for a period of at least four years. Permits shall
be issued to individuals, and the name of the individual and an identification
number shall appear on the permit. The individual to whom a permit is issued may
use the permit for any vehicle he or she is operating or in which he or she is a
passenger. Permits shall also be issued to institutions when the primary
purpose of a vehicle operated by the institution is to transport individuals
with disabilities. The name of the institution, the license number of the
particular vehicle, and an identification number shall appear on the permit.
The institution may use such permit only for a vehicle which is operated by the
institution and which is used primarily to transport individuals with
disabilities.
(b)
The department shall issue a temporary permit to any temporarily disabled person
upon presentation of
an
affidavit of
a
certification by a practitioner of the
healing arts stating that such person is a temporarily disabled person, the
specific disability that limits or impairs the
persońs
ability to walk or that he or she is a person with disabilities as specified in
subparagraph (G) of paragraph (5) of Code Section 40-6-221, and a date until
which such person is likely to remain disabled. The temporary permit shall be
predominantly red in color and shall show prominently on its face an expiration
date the same as the date specified by the physician for the likely termination
of the disability, which date shall not be more than 180 days after the date the
permit is issued. The expiration date shall be printed in a size of print that
is legible when the permit is hung from the rearview mirror or displayed on the
driveŕs
side of the dashboard.
(c)
The department shall issue a permanent permit to any person who is obviously
permanently disabled and to any other permanently disabled person upon
presentation of
an
affidavit of
a
certification by a practitioner of the
healing arts stating that such person is a permanently disabled person. The
affidavit
certificate
shall further state the specific disability that limits or impairs the
persońs
ability to walk or that he or she is a person with disabilities as specified in
subparagraph (G) of paragraph (5) of Code Section 40-6-221. The department shall
also issue a permanent permit to an institution which operates vehicles used
primarily for the transportation of individuals with disabilities, upon
presentation of a certification from the institution regarding use of its
vehicles. The institution shall receive permits only for the number of vehicles
so used and shall affix the permits to the
driveŕs
side of the dashboards of such vehicles. The permanent permit shall be
predominantly blue in color and shall show prominently on its face an expiration
date four years from the date it is issued. The expiration date shall be
printed in a size of print that is legible when the permit is hung from the
rearview mirror or displayed on the
driveŕs
side of the
dashboard.∀
SECTION
4.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.