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An Act To Require the Bureau of Motor Vehicles To Accept Certification of Disability from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §521, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2007, c. 703, §12, is further 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, nurse practitioner or registered nurse or by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, 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;
 
F.  Is severely limited in the ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition; or
 
G.  Is recovering from childbirth.
Sec. 2. 29-A MRSA §521, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2009, c. 143, §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, nurse practitioner or registered nurse or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs 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 an eligible applicant requests that the disability plate or placard expire upon the expiration date of that person's driver's license or nondriver identification card issued by this State, whichever is applicable. 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 amended by PL 2007, c. 703, §14, is further amended to read:
 
A.  An application for a temporary placard must be accompanied by the certificate of a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner or registered nurse or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs attesting to the applicant's physical disability as defined in subsection 1 and the period of time that the physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner or registered nurse or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs 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 shall give priority consideration to requests for temporary placards.
 
A temporary placard issued pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph G is valid, after the birth of a child, for a period of not more than:
 
(1) One week after cesarean section delivery; or
 
(2) A time to be determined by the patient's physician after the birth of a preterm infant.
 
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles to accept certification of a person's disability from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs for the purpose of obtaining a disability registration plate or disability placard.