STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 350-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 2769

H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred H.B. No. 2769 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PARKING FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to clarify certain segments of the disabled parking law. Among other things, this bill:

(1) Provides that only vehicles that properly display a valid parking placard may be parked legally in a parking space reserved for a person with a disability;

(2) Adds a new definition of "law enforcement officer" to mean any public servant, duly commissioned police officer, special commissioned police officer, or volunteer enforcement officer, whether employed by the State, a political subdivision, or by the United States, vested by law with a duty to:

(A) Maintain public order;

(B) Make arrests for offenses;

(D) Enforce traffic law, regulations, and ordinances,

whether that duty extends to all offenses or is limited to a specific class of offenses;

(3) Modifies penalties for fraudulent verification of an applicant as a person with a disability;

(4) Provides for the recognition of placards from the District of Columbia and the possessions of the United States;

(5) Allows for the replacement of confiscated placards;

(6) Clarifies requirements for displaying of placards; and

(7) Clarifies requirements to provide parking for persons with disabilities and penalties incurred.

Advocates for Consumer Rights, the Vice Chair of the Maui County Council, and a concerned citizen testified in support of this bill. The Disability and Communications Access Board (DCAB) supported the intent of this bill. The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) opposed the measure.

Disabled parking allows many individuals with physical limitations to conduct daily activities. Laws and regulations have been enacted to enhance the provision of this vital benefit for the disabled. This measure seeks to clarify some of these laws.

However, your Committee shares the concerns of HPD regarding the apparent criminalization of the failure to comply with laws and rules regulating the provision of parking spaces for persons with disabilities. Your Committee also shares DCAB's concern that individuals who fraudulently submit applications for disabled parking passes are not subject to penalties.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that only vehicles that properly display a valid parking permit may be parked legally in a parking space reserved for persons with disabilities;

(2) Providing that individuals who fraudulently submit an application for a disabled parking placard shall be guilty of a misdemeanor;

(3) Reinserting language that clarifies that any action taken to impose or collect penalties for failure to comply with laws and rules regulating the provision of parking spaces for persons with disabilities shall be considered a civil action; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

Although your Committee has some concerns regarding the new definition of law enforcement officer, this is beyond the scope and purview of this Committee and your Committee respectfully requests that the Committee on Judiciary carefully consider this matter.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2769, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2769, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation,

		____________________________ JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair