HBA-ALS H.B. 1659 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1659 By: Coleman Transportation 4/19/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, the owner of a vehicle is exempt from paying a fee or penalty imposed by a municipality for parking at a meter, in a parking garage, or in a parking space with a time limit if the vehicle is being used by or for a disabled person and the vehicle displays a special placard or license plates. There is concern that fraudulent use of such placards costs municipalities millions of dollars a year and makes it more difficult for the truly disabled to find an accessible parking space. H.B. 1659 eliminates a vehicles owner's exemption from paying a fee or penalty imposed by a municipality for parking at a meter, in a parking garage, or in a parking space with a time limit if the vehicle is being used by or for a disabled person and the vehicle displays a special placard or license plates. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 681.006, Transportation Code, to delete language exempting the owner of a vehicle from the payment of a fee or penalty imposed by a governmental unit for parking at a meter, in a parking garage or lot, or in a space with a limitation on the length of time for parking if the vehicle is operated by or for a disabled person and the vehicle displays specified special license plates or a disabled parking placard. Deletes the provision that the exemption does not apply to a certain fees or penalties imposed by the United States government or by a governmental unit for parking within certain facilities of a municipality airport. Deletes language prohibiting this code from exempting an owner or operator of a vehicle from payment of fees or penalties imposed by a governmental unit for parking within certain boundaries of a municipality airport. SECTION 2. Amends Section 681.007, Transportation Code, to delete the exemption from the payment of a fee or penalty for a vehicle parked in the same manner as a vehicle that has displayed on the vehicle special license plates issued under Section 502.253, Transportation Code (Persons With Disabilities), or a disabled parking placard as provided by Section 681.006, Transportation Code (Parking Privileges: Persons With Disabilities), if there is displayed on the vehicle a license plate or placard that bears the international symbol of access and is issued by a state or by a state or province of a foreign country to the owner or operator of the vehicle for the transportation of a person with a disability. SECTION 3. Repealer: Section 681.008, Transportation Code (Parking Privileges: Veterans With Disabilities; Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients). SECTION 4.Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 5.Emergency clause.