Florida Senate - 2015                              CS for SB 132
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Transportation; and Senators Joyner and Dean
       
       
       
       
       
       596-01500-15                                           2015132c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to disabled parking permits; amending
    3         s. 320.0848, F.S.; authorizing certain veterans to
    4         provide the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
    5         Vehicles alternative documentation for renewal or
    6         replacement of a disabled parking permit; providing an
    7         effective date.
    8          
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) and paragraphs
   12  (d), (e), and (f) of subsection (2) of section 320.0848, Florida
   13  Statutes, are amended to read:
   14         320.0848 Persons who have disabilities; issuance of
   15  disabled parking permits; temporary permits; permits for certain
   16  providers of transportation services to persons who have
   17  disabilities.—
   18         (1)
   19         (d) Beginning October 1, 2012, The department shall renew
   20  the disabled parking permit of any person certified as
   21  permanently disabled on the application if the person provides a
   22  certificate of disability issued within the last 12 months
   23  pursuant to this subsection. A veteran who has been previously
   24  evaluated and certified by the United States Department of
   25  Veterans Affairs or any branch of the United States Armed Forces
   26  as permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected
   27  disability may provide a United States Department of Veterans
   28  Affairs Form Letter 27-333, or its equivalent, issued within the
   29  last 12 months in lieu of a certificate of disability.
   30         (2) DISABLED PARKING PERMIT; PERSONS WITH LONG-TERM
   31  MOBILITY PROBLEMS.—
   32         (d) If an applicant who is a disabled veteran, is a
   33  resident of this state, has been honorably discharged, and
   34  either has been determined by the Department of Defense or the
   35  United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its predecessor
   36  to have a service-connected disability rating for compensation
   37  of 50 percent or greater or has been determined to have a
   38  service-connected disability rating of 50 percent or greater and
   39  is in receipt of both disability retirement pay from the United
   40  States Department of Veterans Affairs, he or she must still
   41  provide a signed physician’s statement of qualification for the
   42  disabled parking permits.
   43         (d)(e) To obtain a replacement for a disabled parking
   44  permit that has been lost or stolen, a person must submit an
   45  application on a form prescribed by the department, provide a
   46  certificate of disability issued within the last 12 months
   47  pursuant to subsection (1), and pay a replacement fee in the
   48  amount of $1, to be retained by the issuing agency. If the
   49  person submits with the application a police report documenting
   50  that the permit was stolen, there is no replacement fee. A
   51  veteran who has been previously evaluated and certified by the
   52  United States Department of Veterans Affairs or any branch of
   53  the United States Armed Forces as permanently and totally
   54  disabled from a service-connected disability may provide a
   55  United States Department of Veterans Affairs Form Letter 27-333,
   56  or its equivalent, issued within the last 12 months in lieu of a
   57  certificate of disability.
   58         (e)(f) A person who qualifies for a disabled parking permit
   59  under this section may be issued an international wheelchair
   60  user symbol license plate under s. 320.0843 in lieu of the
   61  disabled parking permit; or, if the person qualifies for a “DV”
   62  license plate under s. 320.084, such a license plate may be
   63  issued to him or her in lieu of a disabled parking permit.
   64         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.