301.142. Definitions--plates for disabled and placard for windshield, issued when--physician statements, requirements--death of disabled person, effect--lost or stolen placard, replacement of, fee--re - Missouri Statutes

Definitions--plates for disabled and placard for windshield, issuedwhen--physician statements, requirements--death of disabledperson, effect--lost or stolen placard, replacement of,fee--recertification and review by director, when--penalties forcertain fraudulent acts.

301.142. 1. As used in sections 301.141 to 301.143, the followingterms mean:

(1) "Department", the department of revenue;

(2) "Director", the director of the department of revenue;

(3) "Other authorized health care practitioner" includes advancedpractice registered nurses licensed pursuant to chapter 335, RSMo,chiropractors licensed pursuant to chapter 331, RSMo, podiatrists licensedpursuant to chapter 330, RSMo, and optometrists licensed pursuant tochapter 336, RSMo;

(4) "Physically disabled", a natural person who is blind, as definedin section 8.700, RSMo, or a natural person with medical disabilities whichprohibits, limits, or severely impairs one's ability to ambulate or walk,as determined by a licensed physician or other authorized health carepractitioner as follows:

(a) The person cannot ambulate or walk fifty or less feet withoutstopping to rest due to a severe and disabling arthritic, neurological,orthopedic condition, or other severe and disabling condition; or

(b) The person cannot ambulate or walk without the use of, orassistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device,wheelchair, or other assistive device; or

(c) Is restricted by a respiratory or other disease to such an extentthat the person's forced respiratory expiratory volume for one second, whenmeasured by spirometry, is less than one liter, or the arterial oxygentension is less than sixty mm/hg on room air at rest; or

(d) Uses portable oxygen; or

(e) Has a cardiac condition to the extent that the person'sfunctional limitations are classified in severity as class III or class IVaccording to standards set by the American Heart Association; or

(f) A person's age, in and of itself, shall not be a factor indetermining whether such person is physically disabled or is otherwiseentitled to disabled license plates and/or disabled windshield hangingplacards within the meaning of sections 301.141 to 301.143;

(5) "Physician", a person licensed to practice medicine pursuant tochapter 334, RSMo;

(6) "Physician's statement", a statement personally signed by a dulyauthorized person which certifies that a person is disabled as defined inthis section;

(7) "Temporarily disabled person", a disabled person as defined inthis section whose disability or incapacity is expected to last no morethan one hundred eighty days;

(8) "Temporary windshield placard", a placard to be issued to personswho are temporarily disabled persons as defined in this section,certification of which shall be indicated on the physician's statement;

(9) "Windshield placard", a placard to be issued to persons who arephysically disabled as defined in this section, certification of whichshall be indicated on the physician's statement.

2. Other authorized health care practitioners may furnish to adisabled or temporarily disabled person a physician's statement for onlythose physical health care conditions for which such health carepractitioner is legally authorized to diagnose and treat.

3. A physician's statement shall:

(1) Be on a form prescribed by the director of revenue;

(2) Set forth the specific diagnosis and medical condition whichrenders the person physically disabled or temporarily disabled as definedin this section;

(3) Include the physician's or other authorized health carepractitioner's license number; and

(4) Be personally signed by the issuing physician or other authorizedhealth care practitioner.

4. If it is the professional opinion of the physician or otherauthorized health care practitioner issuing the statement that the physicaldisability of the applicant, user, or member of the applicant's householdis permanent, it shall be noted on the statement. Otherwise, the physicianor other authorized health care practitioner shall note on the statementthe anticipated length of the disability which period may not exceed onehundred eighty days. If the physician or health care practitioner fails torecord an expiration date on the physician's statement, the director shallissue a temporary windshield placard for a period of thirty days.

5. A physician or other authorized health care practitioner whoissues or signs a physician's statement so that disabled plates or adisabled windshield placard may be obtained shall maintain in such disabledperson's medical chart documentation that such a certificate has beenissued, the date the statement was signed, the diagnosis or condition whichexisted that qualified the person as disabled pursuant to this section andshall contain sufficient documentation so as to objectively confirm thatsuch condition exists.

6. The medical or other records of the physician or other authorizedhealth care practitioner who issued a physician's statement shall be opento inspection and review by such practitioner's licensing board, in orderto verify compliance with this section. Information contained within suchrecords shall be confidential unless required for prosecution, disciplinarypurposes, or otherwise required to be disclosed by law.

7. Owners of motor vehicles who are residents of the state ofMissouri, and who are physically disabled, owners of motor vehiclesoperated at least fifty percent of the time by a physically disabledperson, or owners of motor vehicles used to primarily transport physicallydisabled members of the owner's household may obtain disabled personlicense plates. Such owners, upon application, accompanied by thedocuments and fees provided for in this section, a current physician'sstatement which has been issued within ninety days proceeding the date theapplication is made and proof of compliance with the state motor vehiclelaws relating to registration and licensing of motor vehicles, shall beissued motor vehicle license plates for vehicles, other than commercialvehicles with a gross weight in excess of twenty-four thousand pounds, uponwhich shall be inscribed the international wheelchair accessibility symboland the word "DISABLED" in addition to a combination of letters andnumbers. Such license plates shall be made with fully reflective materialwith a common color scheme and design, shall be clearly visible at night,and shall be aesthetically attractive, as prescribed by section 301.130.

8. The director shall further issue, upon request, to such applicantone, and for good cause shown, as the director may define by rule andregulations, not more than two, removable disabled windshield hangingplacards for use when the disabled person is occupying a vehicle or when avehicle not bearing the permanent handicap plate is being used to pick up,deliver, or collect the physically disabled person issued the disabledmotor vehicle license plate or disabled windshield hanging placard.

9. No additional fee shall be paid to the director for the issuanceof the special license plates provided in this section, except for specialpersonalized license plates and other license plates described in thissubsection. Priority for any specific set of special license plates shallbe given to the applicant who received the number in the immediatelypreceding license period subject to the applicant's compliance with theprovisions of this section and any applicable rules or regulations issuedby the director. If determined feasible by the advisory committeeestablished in section 301.129, any special license plate issued pursuantto this section may be adapted to also include the international wheelchairaccessibility symbol and the word "DISABLED" as prescribed in this sectionand such plate may be issued to any applicant who meets the requirements ofthis section and the other appropriate provision of this chapter, subjectto the requirements and fees of the appropriate provision of this chapter.

10. Any physically disabled person, or the parent or guardian of anysuch person, or any not-for-profit group, organization, or other entitywhich transports more than one physically disabled person, may apply to thedirector of revenue for a removable windshield placard. The placard may beused in motor vehicles which do not bear the permanent handicap symbol onthe license plate. Such placards must be hung from the front, middlerearview mirror of a parked motor vehicle and may not be hung from themirror during operation. These placards may only be used during the periodof time when the vehicle is being used by a disabled person, or when thevehicle is being used to pick up, deliver, or collect a disabled person.When there is no rearview mirror, the placard shall be displayed on thedashboard on the driver's side.

11. The removable windshield placard shall conform to thespecifications, in respect to size, color, and content, as set forth infederal regulations published by the Department of Transportation. Theremovable windshield placard shall be renewed every four years. Thedirector may stagger the expiration dates to equalize workload. Only oneremovable placard may be issued to an applicant who has been issueddisabled person license plates. Upon request, one additional windshieldplacard may be issued to an applicant who has not been issued disabledperson license plates.

12. A temporary windshield placard shall be issued to any physicallydisabled person, or the parent or guardian of any such person who otherwisequalifies except that the physical disability, in the opinion of thephysician, is not expected to exceed a period of one hundred eighty days.The temporary windshield placard shall conform to the specifications, inrespect to size, color, and content, as set forth in federal regulationspublished by the Department of Transportation. The fee for the temporarywindshield placard shall be two dollars. Upon request, and for good causeshown, one additional temporary windshield placard may be issued to anapplicant. Temporary windshield placards shall be issued upon presentationof the physician's statement provided by this section and shall bedisplayed in the same manner as removable windshield placards. A person orentity shall be qualified to possess and display a temporary removablewindshield placard for six months and the placard may be renewed once foran additional six months if a physician's statement pursuant to thissection is supplied to the director of revenue at the time of renewal.

13. Application for license plates or windshield placards issuedpursuant to this section shall be made to the director of revenue and shallbe accompanied by a statement signed by a licensed physician or otherauthorized health care practitioner which certifies that the applicant,user, or member of the applicant's household is a physically disabledperson as defined by this section.

14. The placard shall be renewable only by the person or entity towhich the placard was originally issued. Any placard issued pursuant tothis section shall only be used when the physically disabled occupant forwhom the disabled plate or placard was issued is in the motor vehicle atthe time of parking or when a physically disabled person is being deliveredor collected. A disabled license plate and/or a removable windshieldhanging placard are not transferable and may not be used by any otherperson whether disabled or not.

15. At the time the disabled plates or windshield hanging placardsare issued, the director shall issue a registration certificate which shallinclude the applicant's name, address, and other identifying information asprescribed by the director, or if issued to an agency, such agency's nameand address. This certificate shall further contain the disabled licenseplate number or, for windshield hanging placards, the registration oridentifying number stamped on the placard. The validated registrationreceipt given to the applicant shall serve as the registration certificate.

16. The director shall, upon issuing any disabled registrationcertificate for license plates and/or windshield hanging placards, provideinformation which explains that such plates or windshield hanging placardsare nontransferable, and the restrictions explaining who and when a personor vehicle which bears or has the disabled plates or windshield hangingplacards may be used or be parked in a disabled reserved parking space, andthe penalties prescribed for violations of the provisions of this act.

17. Every new applicant for a disabled license plate or placard shallbe required to present a new physician's statement dated no more thanninety days prior to such application. Renewal applicants will be requiredto submit a physician's statement dated no more than ninety days prior tosuch application upon their first renewal occurring on or after August 1,2005. Upon completing subsequent renewal applications, a physician'sstatement dated no more than ninety days prior to such application shall berequired every fourth year. Such physician's statement shall state theexpiration date for the temporary windshield placard. If the physicianfails to record an expiration date on the physician's statement, thedirector shall issue the temporary windshield placard for a period ofthirty days. The director may stagger the requirement of a physician'sstatement on all renewals for the initial implementation of a four-yearperiod.

18. The director of revenue upon receiving a physician's statementpursuant to this subsection shall check with the state board ofregistration for the healing arts created in section 334.120, RSMo, or theMissouri state board of nursing established in section 335.021, RSMo, withrespect to physician's statements signed by advanced practice registerednurses, or the Missouri state board of chiropractic examiners establishedin section 331.090, RSMo, with respect to physician's statements signed bylicensed chiropractors, or with the board of optometry established insection 336.130, RSMo, with respect to physician's statements signed bylicensed optometrists, or the state board of podiatric medicine created insection 330.100, RSMo, with respect to physician's statements signed byphysicians of the foot or podiatrists to determine whether the physician isduly licensed and registered pursuant to law. If such applicant obtaininga disabled license plate or placard presents proof of disability in theform of a statement from the United States Veterans' Administrationverifying that the person is permanently disabled, the applicant shall beexempt from the four-year certification requirement of this subsection forrenewal of the plate or placard. Initial applications shall be accompaniedby the physician's statement required by this section. Notwithstanding theprovisions of paragraph (f) of subdivision (4) of subsection 1 of thissection, any person seventy-five years of age or older who provided thephysician's statement with the original application shall not be requiredto provide a physician's statement for the purpose of renewal of disabledpersons license plates or windshield placards.

19. The boards shall cooperate with the director and shall supplyinformation requested pursuant to this subsection. The director shall, incooperation with the boards which shall assist the director, establish alist of all Missouri physicians and other authorized health carepractitioners and of any other information necessary to administer thissection.

20. Where the owner's application is based on the fact that thevehicle is used at least fifty percent of the time by a physically disabledperson, the applicant shall submit a statement stating this fact, inaddition to the physician's statement. The statement shall be signed byboth the owner of the vehicle and the physically disabled person. Theapplicant shall be required to submit this statement with each applicationfor license plates. No person shall willingly or knowingly submit a falsestatement and any such false statement shall be considered perjury and maybe punishable pursuant to section 301.420.

21. The director of revenue shall retain all physicians' statementsand all other documents received in connection with a person's applicationfor disabled license plates and/or disabled windshield placards.

22. The director of revenue shall enter into reciprocity agreementswith other states or the federal government for the purpose of recognizingdisabled person license plates or windshield placards issued to physicallydisabled persons.

23. When a person to whom disabled person license plates or aremovable or temporary windshield placard or both have been issued dies,the personal representative of the decedent or such other person who maycome into or otherwise take possession of the disabled license plates ordisabled windshield placard shall return the same to the director ofrevenue under penalty of law. Failure to return such plates or placardsshall constitute a class B misdemeanor.

24. The director of revenue may order any person issued disabledperson license plates or windshield placards to submit to an examination bya chiropractor, osteopath, or physician, or to such other investigation aswill determine whether such person qualifies for the special plates orplacards.

25. If such person refuses to submit or is found to no longer qualifyfor special plates or placards provided for in this section, the directorof revenue shall collect the special plates or placards, and shall furnishlicense plates to replace the ones collected as provided by this chapter.

26. In the event a removable or temporary windshield placard is lost,stolen, or mutilated, the lawful holder thereof shall, within five days,file with the director of revenue an application and an affidavit statingsuch fact, in order to purchase a new placard. The fee for the replacementwindshield placard shall be four dollars.

27. Fraudulent application, renewal, issuance, procurement or use ofdisabled person license plates or windshield placards shall be a class Amisdemeanor. It is a class B misdemeanor for a physician, chiropractor,podiatrist or optometrist to certify that an individual or family member isqualified for a license plate or windshield placard based on a disability,the diagnosis of which is outside their scope of practice or if there is nobasis for the diagnosis.

(L. 1977 H.B. 367, et al. § 1, A.L. 1981 H.B. 511, A.L. 1982 H.B. 1489, A.L. 1983 H.B. 149, et al., A.L. 1986 H.B. 1062 & 929, A.L. 1987 H.B. 605, A.L. 1991 S.B. 177, A.L. 1995 S.B. 70, A.L. 1997 H.B. 389, A.L. 1998 H.B. 1092 merged with H.B. 1410 merged with S.B. 649, A.L. 1999 H.B. 343 merged with S.B. 19, A.L. 2001 S.B. 111, A.L. 2003 H.B. 491, A.L. 2004 S.B. 1233, et al., A.L. 2006 H.B. 1762, A.L. 2007 S.B. 82)

Effective 1-01-08

CROSS REFERENCE:

Designated disabled parking spaces, use of, when, RSMo 304.079

(2006) Collection of fee for removable windshield placards is a discriminatory surcharge under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Klingler v. Director, Department of Revenue, 433 F.3d 1078 (8th Cir.).