CHAPTER 35
H.P. 563 - L.D. 718
An Act Concerning Disability Registration Plates and Placards
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §521, sub-§1, as repealed and replaced by PL 1995, c. 482, Pt. A, §4, is amended to read:
1. Definition. "Person with a disability" means a person whose disability limits or impairs the ability to walk, as determined and certified by a licensed physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner, to the extent that the person:
A. Can not walk 200 feet without stopping to rest;
B. Can not walk without assistance from another person or the use of a brace, cane, crutch, prosthetic device, wheelchair or other assistive device;
C. Is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that the person's forced expiratory volume for one second when measured by spirometry is less than 1 liter or when the arterial oxygen tension is less than 60m/hg on room air at rest;
D. Uses portable oxygen;
E. Has a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class 3 or Class 4 according to standards set by the American Heart Association; or
F. Is severely limited in the ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition.
Sec. 2. 29-A MRSA §521, sub-§5, as amended by PL 1999, c. 544, §1, is further amended to read:
5. Application; issuance. An application for a disability plate or placard must be accompanied by the certificate of a physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner attesting to that person's physical disability as defined in subsection 1. The Secretary of State shall issue to an eligible applicant disability plates and windshield placards upon request. Proof of a disability must be submitted every 4 years on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State, except, when the Secretary of State determines the disability to be permanent, the time may be extended. When the applicant's need for the disability placard terminates or the applicant dies, the plate or placard must be immediately returned to the Secretary of State.
Sec. 3. 29-A MRSA §521, sub-§6, ¶A, as repealed and replaced by PL 1995, c. 482, Pt. A, §4, is amended to read:
A. An application for a temporary placard must be accompanied by the certificate of a physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner attesting to the applicant's physical disability as defined in subsection 1 and the period of time that the physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner determines the applicant will have the disability. A temporary placard is not valid for a period of more than 6 months. The Secretary of State must give priority consideration to requests for temporary placards.
Effective September 21, 2001, unless otherwise indicated.
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