2005 Idaho Code - 49-410 — SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES AND PLACARDS FOR PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY -- PARKING PRIVILEGES -- PLACARDS FOR CERTAIN TEMPORARILY DISABLED PERSONS -- ENFORCEMENT

                                  TITLE  49
                                MOTOR VEHICLES
                                  CHAPTER 4
                          MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION
    49-410.  SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES AND PLACARDS FOR PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY
-- PARKING PRIVILEGES -- PLACARDS FOR CERTAIN TEMPORARILY DISABLED PERSONS --
ENFORCEMENT. (1) Any person with a disability as defined in section 49-117,
Idaho Code, or any parent or guardian of a dependent child with a disability
as defined in section 49-117, Idaho Code, without regard to the age of the
dependent child, shall be eligible for the use of special license plates
bearing the international accessible symbol, for any vehicle owned by such
person or owned by a qualified parent or guardian, but excluding any
commercial vehicle with a registered maximum gross weight over twenty-six
thousand (26,000) pounds. The parking privileges granted under the provisions
of subsection (7) of this section shall apply to any vehicle displaying
special license plates or placard issued pursuant to this section.
    (2)  Registration and license plate fees for vehicles owned by a person
with a disability or qualified parent or guardian of a dependent child with a
disability, shall be as provided, respectively, in sections 49-402, 49-434(1)
and 49-450, Idaho Code. Nothing in this section shall be construed as
abrogating provisions of section 49-445, Idaho Code. The use of the special
placard issued under the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, shall
not exempt the owner of a motor vehicle from otherwise properly registering
and licensing the motor vehicle.
    (3)  Special license plates for persons with a disability and for the
parent or guardian of a dependent child with a disability, shall be the same
size and color as other license plates, and shall have displayed upon them the
registration numbers assigned to the vehicle and to the owner. The plates
shall be numbered in a manner prescribed by the department, but the plates
shall display the international accessible symbol.




                       International Accessible Symbol
    (4)  The department shall issue a special placard bearing the
international accessible symbol and other information the department may
require, to:
    (a)  Any qualified person with a disability who does not own a motor
    vehicle;
    (b)  Any qualified person with a disability who owns a motor vehicle,
    without regard to weight or use of the vehicle;
    (c)  Any parent or guardian of a dependent child with a disability who
    owns a motor vehicle without regard to weight or use of the vehicle;
    (d)  Any business entity which is engaged in transportation of persons
    with a disability, which business shall not be required to submit a
    physician's certification. In addition to other application requirements,
    a business applicant shall sign a declaration that he is engaged in the
    transportation of persons with a disability. A business entity may
    include, but not be limited to, hospitals, nursing homes, federal, state
    and local governmental agencies and taxicabs.
    (5)  Any person or business issued a special placard shall affix the
special placard to a motor vehicle in a conspicuous place designated by the
department. The placard shall bear distinguishing marks, letters or numerals
indicating the vehicle is utilized by a permanently disabled person. When the
placard is affixed to a motor vehicle and the motor vehicle is transporting a
person with a disability, special parking privileges are granted as provided
in subsection (7) of this section.
    (6)  Application for special license plates, a special placard, or both as
applicable and at the option of the applicant, shall be made upon a form
furnished by the department and shall include a written certification by a
licensed physician, licensed physician assistant, or licensed advanced
practice professional nurse verifying that the applicant's stated impairment
qualifies as a disability according to the provisions of section 49-117, Idaho
Code.
    (7)  Any motor vehicle displaying special license plates for a person with
a disability, without regard to the state of residence or displaying the
special placard provided in subsections (4) and (8) of this section, shall be
allowed to park for unlimited periods of time in parking zones or areas which
are otherwise restricted as to the length of time parking is permitted, to
park in spaces and zones designated for persons with a disability, and to park
in any public parking space with metered parking without being required to pay
any parking meter fee. The provisions of this subsection shall not be
applicable to those zones or areas in which the stopping, parking, or standing
of all vehicles is prohibited or which are reserved for special types of
vehicles, to areas where vehicular parking is prohibited for periods in excess
of forty-eight (48) hours, or to areas where parking is prohibited for certain
periods of time in order to allow snow removal, street construction or
maintenance or for other emergency purposes. Nothing herein shall prohibit the
designation of parking spaces for use by disabled persons for unlimited
periods of time.
    (8)  Any person who shall submit satisfactory proof to the department that
he is so temporarily disabled as defined in section 49-117(7)(b), Idaho Code,
shall be entitled to receive for one (1)  motor vehicle only, a special
placard to be affixed to a motor vehicle in a conspicuous place designated by
the department, bearing distinguishing marks, letters or numerals indicating
that the vehicle is utilized by a temporarily disabled person. This special
temporary placard shall be valid between one (1) and six (6) months depending
on the written authorization of the licensed physician, licensed physician
assistant, or licensed advanced practice professional nurse and as specified
by the department on the placard.
    (9)  Any use of the plate or placard by any person other than those
meeting the definition of disability under section 49-117(7)(b), Idaho Code,
or as otherwise authorized by this section, to obtain parking shall constitute
an infraction punishable by a fine of one hundred dollars ($100).
    (10) Any person who unlawfully possesses, sells, copies, duplicates,
distributes, manufactures or aids and abets in the unlawful possession, sale,
copying, duplicating, distributing or manufacturing of a special plate or
placard is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one
thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period
not to exceed thirty (30) days or by both. The court shall also impose as a
term of the sentence a period not to exceed forty (40) hours of community
service provided to a nonprofit organization which serves people with
disabilities. The unlawfully obtained special plate or placard shall be
subject to confiscation by law enforcement officials. Following conviction or
dismissal, the special plate or placard confiscated by law enforcement shall
be sent to the department.
    Law enforcement officials and/or their designees as authorized by a city
or county shall enforce the provisions of subsections (1) through (9) of this
section and are empowered, using reasonable discretion, to check personal
identification to determine if the user of the plate or placard is authorized
to use accessible parking privileges. Any fines collected shall be retained by
the city or county whose law enforcement official issued the citation.