Legislature(2001 - 2002)
02/12/2002 01:36 PM Senate TRA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 206-DISABLED PARKING AND REGISTRATION PLATES
SENATOR DONLEY, sponsor SB 206, explained it was the result of
three years of work. Around the country there had been several
initiatives to improve on the current system states use for
disabled parking permits. He had personal friends who are
seriously disabled and they had over the years expressed their
dismay when they try to find a place to park and there are other
people in those spots that are not disabled but have permits. He
had done research and found several things that could be reformed
in Alaska. Three years ago he started the process of reaching
out to the various groups around the state that represent the
people that would use disabled license plates and solicited their
comments annually. Based on those comments and a meeting held
with Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) experts in that area,
members of the public and his staff, they suggested the existing
laws needed to be reformed. That is where SB 206 came from.
SENATOR DONLEY said SB 206 would beef up the penalty for someone
who illegally parks in a handicapped/disabled parking spot. It
would also for the first time have a separate penalty for someone
who misused a permit.
SEANTOR DONLEY described a time he caught someone misusing a
permit. Because he had been so interested in this issue he had
been watching and when walking back to the Legislative
Information Office in Anchorage he noticed an individual parked
in the disabled parking spot in front of the Federal Building.
He had a temporary Handicap Permit and jumped out of the car and
ran into the Forth Avenue Theater. He followed the young man and
found he was working there. He approached him and told him he
didn't understand, he was parked in a handicapped spot but did
not look disabled in any way. The man answered that he was not
disabled it was his friend's permit. Senator Donley asked why he
felt justified in using that space. He answered because he had a
permit. Senator Donley told him the permit was not his. He
said, yea, but his friend loaned it to him. Senator Donley said
that was not going to cut it and gave him the choice to move the
car or he would call the parking enforcement people and tell them
what he was doing. He chose to move his car. Senator Donley
said if as an individual walking down the street he can observe
this kind of behavior it certainly did indicate that something is
going on out there. He said he understood those in the disabled
community severely resent that kind of behavior.
This bill would, for the first time, clarify that people who are
not truly disabled should not be using disabled permits. Just
because they have a permit did not make it right for them to use
a disabled spot. This would tighten up the law and say to use a
disabled permit you need to have a disabled person with you in
the automobile that is actually going to be getting in and out of
the automobile.
SENATOR DONLEY explained another excuse they encountered was
people saying their friend had a disabled permit and they were
going to the store for them. In that case they should use a
regular parking spot. Just because they are serving a function
for somebody who could use disabled parking it did not give them
authority to use a disabled parking space. This bill would adopt
a new separate penalty for misusing a permit and it would be a
higher penalty because that was a more serious abuse than just
parking without a permit.
He said in working with DMV good progress had been made so some
of the elements of the original bill were not necessary. DMV had
been very good to work with and very supportive in the matter.
When somebody is issued a drivers license it will now have a code
indicating if they are eligible to use a disabled parking permit.
Police can identify whether that specific person is entitled to
use the permit. There are a lot of people who are legally
disabled who do not always look like they might be disabled.
This enforcement challenge was addressed with the cooperation of
DMV people who had also been helpful in developing the
legislation.
SENATOR DONLEY said this gave the committee an idea of what was
in the proposed CS. It was to toughen up and clarify the law.
It wasn't intended for people to use permits who are not truly
disabled. He wanted to insure those parking spots are reserved
for people who actually really need those spots.
SENATOR WARD moved to adopt the CS for SB 206. There being no
objection, the CS was adopted.
SENATOR WARD asked how many violations there are for handicapped
permits.
SENATOR DONLEY said he did not know because they are not coded.
He could probably get the number of tickets written but the
question becomes how many are the misuse of a permit verses how
many are people without a permit parked in the spots because they
are all treated the same.
SENATOR WARD asked why he did not propose in the adopted CS to go
directly to a $250 fine and four points instead of a tiered
approach.
SENATOR DONLEY thought there was the circumstance where somebody
could actually park one foot over the line. He was willing to
give everybody the benefit of the doubt the first time it
happened but the second time there was a much stronger case of
intentional abuse. They ought to take it more seriously when
somebody intentionally misuses a permit verses somebody who
negligently or illegally parks. There is more of an element of
fraud when somebody is sophisticated enough to actually misuse
somebody else's permit.
SENATOR WARD said first of all they passed laws and took away
parking spaces and designated them for disabled parking. He
asked if somebody was to drive someone disabled to a place that
had a disabled parking spot then they would be eligible to sit
there in the vehicle while they went in and did shopping.
SENATOR DONLEY said the way the bill is drafted the permit is
usable by somebody who gets in and out of the car. The whole
purpose of having the permit is because you are going someplace.
If the person getting in and out of the vehicle is not the
disabled person they should not be using the permit. That was
how they tried to narrow down the definition.
SENATOR WARD said his question was if somebody is chauffeuring
somebody around that has a permit, under this law is it
completely OK for him or her to park in the handicapped parking.
SENATOR DONLEY said not if the disabled person is not the person
getting in and out of the vehicle.
SENATOR WARD said he disagreed with that. He had taken his
mother to Carrs grocery store many times. He drives the car and
she makes him park right by the front door even though he is
fully capable of moving it into the general parking in the lot.
But whenever she comes out she wants the car right there because
she is out of breath.
SENATOR DONLEY said it would cover that circumstance because she
had gotten out of the car and gone in shopping.
SENATOR WARD asked even if she is not the driver, he is the
driver.
SENATOR DONLEY said it is OK if the disabled person is actually
getting in and out of the car.
SENATOR TAYLOR said what would not work is if his mother stayed
in the car.
SENATOR WARD said he could park anywhere but she wants to go
herself and this is something that he does twice a week. She
wants to park right by the door and go in and do her own
shopping. He sits there as a healthy person and it always makes
him feel a little funny too because it seems like everybody is
looking at him.
SENATOR DONLEY said he had the same situation with his dad. His
dad had a disabled permit and sometimes he would drive him but
his dad would always get out of the car when they used the
permit. The purpose of the disabled permit is for the disabled
person to have easier access. It is defined in the bill if the
disabled person is getting in and out of the vehicle that is
fine.
SENATOR TAYLOR asked what Senator Donley was doing on the
temporary permits and how do they eradicate those over time.
They are made out of good heavy plastic and last a long time.
These permits are for people who get injured, for example a
broken leg and have to be on crutches. They really are disabled
and have a hard time getting around. It is appropriate they have
the permit while they are healing but within six months or so
they are done with their rehabilitation and still have the permit
hanging off of the rearview mirror.
DON BRANDON, Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator (ADA),
Department of Labor, said the temporary permits are dated and are
different colors. The blue ones have a life of about three years
and the red ones have a life of anywhere from a month to no more
than ninety days. Enforcement officials can look and see the
date and see if it is being abused. He said it is made out of
plastic but intended to last for a short period of time.
SENATOR TAYLOR said part of his concern was the discretion
exercised by officers in the field. He related a circumstance
where he was using his car to transport people home from a
banquet where there had been considerable drinking going on and
he did not want anybody driving home. He pulled into the police
parking lot at 2:30 AM where there were six handicapped parking
spaces covered with snow and apparently he pulled into one of
those. He did not expect a big flood of handicapped people
showing up at the police department at 2:30 in the morning but he
got a $100 ticket. He said he would hate to think that all of a
sudden they would be hitting people with $250 fines and eight
hours of community service and four points on their drivers
license because some parking fairy decided they are six inches
over a line. He was concerned about that aspect of the bill.
SENATOR DONLEY said that was why this bill did not do that. This
proposal only invokes the $250 fine when somebody is actually
misusing a permit. He thought there was a whole other level of
culpability there.
SENATOR WARD asked how many citations had been issued in the last
year.
MR. BRANDON said the information could be gathered. He said the
question was a good one and if Senator Ward drove around with him
he could show him two or three violations a day but they don't
all get tickets. It is a real prevalent issue because a lot of
people are using the mentality that Senator Taylor was talking
about, where I am only going to be here a second. Often times
that 10 or 20 minutes they are parked there is the time when he
drives by and needs the accessible parking place and it is not
available.
SENATOR WARD said he had seen it right in the State Capital
Building parking lot every other day. He did not see a license
plate or the temporary permit but people are parking in that
handicapped space. He asked how many people had been charged
with it.
MR. BRANDON said DMV had a list of how many fines they have put
out so that information could be gathered.
SENATOR ELTON said he thought they should throw the book at them.
He thought one of the most egregious examples of abuse was from a
report about a year ago where seven or eight members of a college
football team, including the star quarterback, had gotten a hold
of these permits and were using them. He thought a $250 fine was
not nearly enough.
JAY. C. BUSH, Planner, Gov. Council on Disabilities and Special
Education, said at the request of the council he was testifying
in support of SB 206 and appreciated Senator Donley bringing it
forward.
JIM BRADY, Kenai Peninsula Independent Living Center, said there
was a lack of language that specifically required a qualified
permit holder to be getting out of the vehicle when using a
designated accessible space. He said there had been comment that
the bill did address that but he could not find that in the bill.
He said validly permitted individuals are dropping able-bodied
companions off in accessible spaces. The accessible space should
be for the use of individuals with disabilities who are exiting
their vehicle and the language in the bill should be clear.
He said there was also a need for clear prohibition of parking in
access isles adjacent to designated accessible parking space.
The access isles are necessary for the use of the parking space.
He witnessed on at least a weekly basis people, who because the
accessible space is occupied, park in the access isle because
they think that a valid parking permit allows them to do so. The
same penalty should apply to parking in an access isle as applies
to illegally parking in the accessible space. The penalty should
be assessed regardless of whether the vehicle or the operator has
a valid permit.
SENATOR DONLEY said Mr. Brady's first comment was one of the
comments they had previously received. The witness probably not
had a chance to see the CS where on page 4, lines 11 and 12 it
specifically references actually exiting or entering the vehicle.
He said he did not remember getting the second comment earlier so
had not examined the access isles.
SENATOR WARD said his understanding was the access isles are
considered a part of the handicapped parking so it did not need
to be clarified because it is a part of the space.
MR. BRADY said there is a validly parked vehicle in the
accessible space and someone else comes with an accessible plate
or permit and parks in the access isle, which makes the parking
space completely unusable. The access isle is designed so an
individual in a wheel chair or using a walker can get in and out
of the vehicle. If the access isle is blocked by a car, whether
or not it has a valid permit, it makes the space unusable.
SENATOR WARD asked if he was saying in wintertime they do not see
the stripping, it is covered up and they are parking as if the
van access isn't there. They think it is just another parking
spot.
MR. BRADY said it doesn't have to be in the wintertime, he sees
it in the summertime. People park there because they think they
have a right to park in the access space. A lot of people
consider the access isle as part of the parking space.
SENATOR TAYLOR clarified it was two people with handicapped
parking permits, one of them parking legally, the other one
parking in the walkway.
MR. BRANDON said Mr. Brady is exactly right. Two people are
qualified to use the accessible space and one is using it
errantly. Part of the reason for that is the need to define what
an accessible parking place looks like for Alaska. He said maybe
it is something that can be addressed in regulation if they
cannot get it in the bill.
The ADA, is the federal law that requires accessible parking in
public areas. It says the only thing that designates the space
is the sign that is viewable over a vehicle parked in the space.
It gives certain dimensions that are required but the blue lines
and blue bumpers and curbs are not a requirement. He thought
either in regulation or in the law itself giving a clear
definition of what the accessible space is would help.
MR. BRANDON explained sometimes people who are newly injured are
not using accessible parking correctly or it is not signed
appropriately.
He gave an example where a van accessible space looks to the
common driver like two spots. One space is painted blue with the
access space beside it. Fred Meyers painted all 16 feet of their
curb blue but did not demarcate it with lines. They hava one
sign up because it is supposed to be one van accessible space.
Someone parks in the accessible spot and someone that is not
disabled parks right beside it in the access isle not knowing
what it is there for.
MR. BRANDON said they do not have consistency for demarcating
what accessible parking spaces should look like throughout the
state. Some people think putting up the sign in a standard
parking place with no access isle is appropriate. He sees that
error a lot from parking owners that put the signs up wrongly.
He said some definition of what an accessible parking space for
the State of Alaska should look like should be included in the
regulation. They are not clearly marked and consistent.
SENATOR ELTON said that could be handled in regulation. The
statutes govern handicapped parking and he thought it would be
appropriate for DMV to address the different styles of handicap
parking including signage in regulation.
FRANK DILLION, speaking as an Anchorage citizen, wanted to voice
his support for SB 206. He saw handicapped spaces commonly
misused and felt increasing the penalty might help solve this
problem so the people who need those spaces could use them. He
suggested the access spaces could perhaps be posted no parking
period.
SENATOR TAYLOR thanked the sponsor and moved CSSB 206 (TRA) from
committee with individual recommendations. There being no
objection the motion carried.
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