38.01.420 Parking Privileges for Mobility Impaired; Certification Revocations; Ongoing Appropriations; Penalties

(a) Any mobility-impaired person who displays prominently upon an automobile parked by that person or under that person's direction and for that person's use, the distinguishing certificate specified in subsection (b).

(b) A mobility-impaired person as used in this section includes any person who uses portable oxygen, requires personal assistance or the use of crutches, a wheelchair, or a walker to walk two hundred feet without rest; is restricted by cardiac, pulmonary, or vascular disease from walking two hundred feet without rest, has a forced expiratory volume of less than on liter for one second or an arterial oxygen tension of less than sixty millimeters of mercury on room air while at rest and is classified III or IV by standards for cardiac disease set by the American Heart Association; or has an orthopedic, neurological or other medical condition that makes it impossible for the person to walk two hundred feet without assistance or rest.

(c) The Turtle Mountain Motor Vehicle Department may issue, for a fee per year or part of a year, a special identifying certificate to any mobility impaired applicant upon submission by the applicant of a completed application and a written statement issued by a qualified physician to the Turtle Mountain Motor Vehicle Department that the applicant is a mobility- impaired person within the criteria of Subsection (b). The Turtle Mountain Motor Vehicle Department shall waive the requirement for a written statement from a qualified physician if the applicant has previously submitted an application containing certification that the impairment is not reversible. The application must include the information required by the Turtle Mountain Motor Vehicle Department. The physician's statement must describe how the impairment limits the applicant's mobility and daily life functions of the applicant. The certificate is valid for a period, not to exceed three years, as determined by the Turtle Mountain Motor Vehicle Department. A Physician who provides a false statement that a person is mobility impaired for the purpose of that person to obtain the certificate under this subsection is guilty of an infraction for which a minimum fine of one hundred dollars must be imposed. A certificate issued under this subsection must be 5 inches in height and 3.5 inches in width and must bear, in white (color) on blue (color), the internationally accepted symbol of access for the mobility impaired. The certificate must bear the expiration date and registration number assigned by the Turtle Mountain Motor Vehicle Department. This Department shall adopt rules governing the issuance of the certificate. A temporary certificate valid for an initial period not to exceed three (3) months may be issued by this Department for a fee of three dollars ($3) upon application supported by a physician's statement. One additional temporary certificate may be issued if lost, stolen or mutilated for a cost three dollars ($3). The temporary certificate may be extended an additional period, not to exceed three months, upon application supported by a physician's statement that the extension is warranted. Temporary certificates will measure 5 inches in height and 3.5 inches in width and white on blue (color).

(d) A certificate issued under this section must be hung from the rearview mirror of the motor vehicle whenever the vehicle is occupying a space reserved for the mobility impaired and is being used by a mobility impaired or another person for the purposes of transporting the mobility- impaired person. No part of the certificate must be obscured. A fee of five dollars ($5) may be imposed for a violation of this Subsection.

(e) An applicant may appeal a decision denying issuance of the certificate to the Director of the Turtle Mountain Motor Vehicle Department. Written notice of the appeal must be received within ten business days following receipt by the applicant of notice of denial. The applicant has sixty (60) days to provide additional supportive materials to the Director for purposes of deciding the appeal. The Director shall affirm or reverse the decision to deny issuance of the certificate within thirty days after receipt of the supportive material. Written notice of the decision must be given to the applicant.

(f) If a law enforcement officer finds that the certificate is being improperly used, the officer may report to the Turtle Mountain Motor Vehicle Department any such violation, and this Department may remove the privilege. Any person who is not mobility-impaired and who exercises the privilege granted a mobility-impaired person under subsection (a) is guilty of an infraction for which a fine of one hundred dollars ($100) must be imposed.

(g) Whenever any public or private entity designates parking spaces for use by motor vehicles operated by mobility-impaired persons, those reserved spaces must comply with the requirements of the American with Disabilities Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities as contained in the appendix to Title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, part 36 (28 CFR 36) and must be indicated by blue paint on the curb or edge of the paved portion of the street or parking lot adjacent to the space. In addition to blue paint, each reserved space must be indicated by an official sign bearing the internationally accepted symbol of access for the mobility-impaired. The sign must indicate that unauthorized use of the space is a non-moving violation for which a fee of one hundred dollars must be imposed. For particular events, a public or private entity may reserve additional parking spaces. In that case, each temporarily reserved space must be indicated by a sign or other suitable means. A sign indicating that a space is reserved for the mobility-impaired and blue paint on the curb or edge of the paved portion of the street or parking lot adjacent to the space, unless the space is a temporary mobility-impaired parking space, is sufficient basis for the enforcement of this section. A law enforcement officer shall enforce this section in any parking lot or parking facility, whether publicly or privately owned.

(h) A person may not stop, stand, or park any vehicle in any designated parking space that is reserved for the mobility-impaired unless the vehicle displays a identifiable certificate for that person. A mobility- impaired person may not permit the use of a certificate issued under this section by a person who is not mobility-impaired when that use is not in connection with the transport of the mobility-impaired person. The registered owner of a vehicle may not allow that vehicle to be used in a manner that violates this Subsection. Proof of intent is not required to prove a registered owner's violation of this Subsection.

(i) Any motor vehicle licensed in another state or tribe which displays a special authorized vehicle designation issued by the licensing authority of that state or tribe for vehicles used in the transportation of mobility-impaired persons must be accorded the same privilege provided in this section for similar vehicles licensed on the Turtle Mountain Reservation if the laws of the other state provide the same privileges Turtle Mountain motor vehicles displaying the special identifying certificate authorized in this section if the laws of the other state provide the same privileges Turtle Mountain motor vehicles displaying the special identifying certificate authorized in this section.

(j) An entity that violates the requirements of Subsection (g) is guilty of an infraction if the entity does not comply with subsection (g) within sixty days after receiving official notification of the violation.

(k) Special plates and placard for mobility-impaired persons. The Director of the Turtle Mountain Motor Vehicle Department may issue, for a minimal fee upon application (including doctors statement) and regular license fee, with emblem displaying internationally accepted symbol of access for the mobility impaired to any motor vehicle owner who possesses a parking certificate issued under subsection (b). However, this does not apply to applicants who possess more than one parking certificate issued under Subsection (b).