Pursuant to his authority under Ark. Code Ann. §
25-15-201 et seq. (1987) and Act
656 of 1991, the Commissioner of Revenues for the State of Arkansas does hereby
promulgate the following regulation. This regulation is to be read in
conjunction with previous regulations and laws of the Department of Finance and
Administration and the State of Arkansas.
(a) EFFECTIVE DATE. The effective date of
this Regulation is July 15, 1991.
(b) "PERSON WITH A DISABILITY" DEFINED.
"Person with a disability" means any individual who, as determined by a
licensed physician:
(1) Cannot walk one
hundred (100) feet without stopping to rest;
(2) Cannot walk without the use of, or
assistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device,
wheelchair, or other assistive device;
(3) Is restricted by lung disease to such an
extent that the person's forced (respiratory) expiratory volume for one second,
when measured by spirometry, is less than one (1) liter, or the arterial oxygen
tension is less than sixty (60) mm/hg on room air at rest;
(4) Uses portable oxygen;
(5) Has a cardiac condition to the extent
that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class
III of Class IV according to standards set by the American Heart Association;
or
(6) Is severely limited in the
ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic
condition.
(c)
APPLICABILITY.
(1) The provisions of this
Regulation shall only apply to:
(A) Passenger
vehicles including automobiles;
(B)
Light trucks, including vans, with a three-fourths (3/4) ton or less
manufacturers rated capacity if the vehicle is specially adapted for use by
disabled persons through the use of lift, ramp, hand controls, or other similar
assistive devices.
(2)
The provisions of this section may be waived if the applicant can document that
a larger vehicle or special purpose vehicle would otherwise be eligible to
display the special license plate or special certificate for a person with a
disability.
(d) SPECIAL
LICENSE PLATES AND CERTIFICATES.
(1) An owner
of a motor vehicle described in Section (c) of this Regulation may apply to the
Office for issuance of one (1) special license plate, to be affixed to his
vehicle if the applicant, a dependent of the applicant, or any individual who
depends primarily on the applicant for more than sixty percent (60%) of his
transportation is a person with a disability as defined in Subsection (2) of
Section (b) of this Regulation, or if the applicant is an organization owning
the vehicle for which the special license is to be affixed, and the
organization's vehicle is primarily used to transport persons with disabilities
as defined in Subsection (2) of Section (b).
(2)
(A) The
special license plate issued by the Office shall contain the international
symbol of access, and a white figure on "international blue"
background.
(B) The special license
plate shall be issued at no additional charge.
(3)
(A) A
person with a disability may apply to the Office for a special
certificate.
(B) The special
certificate shall conform in size, color, and construction as may be specified
by federal rules issued by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, pursuant to
Public Law
100-641.
(C) When the
special certificate is displayed on the inside rearview mirror, or on the
dashboard if the vehicle is of a type that does not have an inside rearview
mirror, of a vehicle described in Section (c) of this Regulation that is
transporting the person to whom the special certificate was issued, the owner
or operator of the motor vehicle shall be entitled to the same parking
privileges as the owner or operator of a vehicle bearing a special license
plate provided under Subsection (1) of this Section.
(D) The special certificate shall be issued
free of charge, and shall expire five (5) years from the last day of the month
in which it is issued. The applicant shall not be required to obtain
recertification of his qualifying disability in order to renew his special
certificate.
(e) APPLICATION FOR A LICENSE.
(1) Each applicant for either a special
license plate or a special certificate for a person with a disability under Act
656 of 1991 shall complete an application form, to be developed and provided by
the Office of Motor Vehicle of the Arkansas Department of Finance and
Administration ("Office"). This application form shall contain a space for the
applicant's Social Security Number, which shall be used for identification and
recordkeeping purposes, and which shall be held in strict confidence by the
Office.
(2) In addition to the
application form for a special license plate or certificate, the applicant must
provide, on a form to be provided by the Office, a certification or sworn
statement by a licensed physician verifying the specific medical condition
entitling the applicant to a special license plate or special certificate.
Every applicant must provide this certification, regardless of whether he has
certified under previous law. This medical information shall be held in strict
confidence by the Office. Upon approval of the certification by the Office, the
medical certification form will be either destroyed by the Office or returned
to the applicant.
(3) The Office
shall maintain accurate records of the annual number of special license plates
and special certificates issued and in inventory.
(4) The Office shall enter into the computer
record of each applicant the special license number or special certificate
number, and type of allowable disability of the applicant in a manner that will
allow retrieval of the information for statistical use.
(f) TEMPORARY SPECIAL CERTIFICATE.
(1)
(A) A
person with a disability which, as determined by a licensed physician, is
temporary in nature as opposed to permanent, may apply to the Office for a
temporary special certificate, and, upon request, one (1) additional temporary
special certificate. A person who has been issued a special license plate or
special certificate may obtain one (1) temporary special certificate.
(B) The temporary special certificate shall
conform in size, color, and construction as may be specified by federal rules
issued by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation pursuant to Public Law
100-641.
(C) When the temporary
special certificate is displayed on the inside rearview mirror, or on the
dashboard if the vehicle is of a type that does not have an inside rearview
mirror, of a vehicle described in Section (c) of this Regulation that is
transporting the person to whom the temporary special certificate was issued,
the owner or operator of the motor vehicle shall be entitled to the same
parking privileges as the owner or operator of a vehicle bearing a special
license plate provided under Subsection (1) of Section (d) of this
Regulation.
(D) The temporary
special certificate shall be issued free of charge, and shall expire three (3)
months from the last day of the month in which it is issued. Any person seeking
to renew this temporary special certificate must present a current medical
certification form as provided in Section (c)(2) of this Regulation upon each
application for renewal.
(g) RECERTIFICATION. The Office may require
any person issued a special license plate or special certificate under Act 656
of 1991 to obtain recertification of the person's qualifying disability upon
the formal recommendation of a law enforcement officer.
(h) RENEWAL DATE ADJUSTMENT. The Office shall
review the current information concerning holders of decals, placards and
license plates for disabled persons under previous law in order to provide for
an orderly schedule of issuing the special license plates and certificates
under Act 656 of 1991. The Office shall also provide for an orderly schedule of
renewal of special certificates.
FINDING OF IMMINENT PERIL AND STATEMENT OF REASONS
Act 656 of 1991 was signed by the Governor of the State of
Arkansas on March 20, 1991, and will be in full force and effect from and after
July 15, 1991. The Act provides for the issuance of special license plates and
certificates for persons with disabilities.
Section 5 of Act 656 of 1991 provides that the Office of Motor
Vehicle of the Department of Finance and Administration shall adopt procedures
and promulgate rules to advise and inform the general public of the provisions
of the Act and the availability of special license plates and certificates.
To ensure understanding of and compliance with Act 656 of 1991
and to prescribe procedures for the implementation of the law with regard to
the issuance of special license plates and certificates, emergency regulations
as authorized by Section 3 of Act 434 of 1967 (Ark. Code Ann. §
25-15-204) to be effective
immediately upon filing thereof with the Secretary of State, are
necessary.
For the above reasons, it is found that there exists an
imminent peril to the welfare of the State of Arkansas and the attached
emergency regulation, regarding the application of this Act, is
necessary.
