SESSION OF 1999

SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2035

As Amended by Senate Committee on

Brief⁽¹⁾

H.B. 2035, as amended, concerns accessible parking for persons with disabilities. The bill:

changes the definition of a "person with a disability" to mean any individual who cannot walk 100 feet without stopping to rest or is severely limited in such person's ability to walk at least 100 feet because of an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition (the current walking distance standard is 200 feet);

requires an identification card issued on and after July 1, 2000, to have the disabled person's date of birth and sex;

applies the same requirement of displaying the placard currently found in K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 8-1,125;

clarifies that another state's official disability identification device would expire 60 days after the person moves to Kansas;

allows healing arts licensed practitioners in any state to submit proof of an applicant's disability;

makes it an unclassified misdemeanor for a person to possess rather than utilize an expired, revoked, or suspended accessible parking identification device;

limits disability parking in time-restricted zones to 24 hours;

exempts a motor vehicle operated by or used to transport a disabled person from all parking fees;

removes the present height requirement for vertically mounted signs bearing the international symbol of access; and

prohibits blocking a disability parking stall or access aisle.

Background

H.B. 2035 was requested by the investigator of the Americans with Disabilities Act Enforcement Office, Third Judicial District. The investigator testified the changes were intended to strengthen current law regarding accessible parking for the disabled. Representatives of the following groups testified in support of the bill: Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities, Commission on Disability Concerns, the statewide ADA Coordinator, and Kansas Advocacy and Protective Services, Inc. No one appeared in opposition to the bill.

The House Committee amendments:

change the walking distance standard for qualifying as a person with a disability from 50 to 100 feet;

allow physicians in any state to submit proof of an applicant's disability; and

require the telephone number of the person who certifies the cardholder's disability on a disabled person's identification card.

In the Senate Transportation and Tourism Committee the proponents who appeared before the House Committee also appeared before the Senate Committee. In addition, the representatives of the following groups testified principally against the provision which would have required the name, address, and telephone number of the person who certified the cardholder's disability: Topeka Independent Living Resource Center; Living Independently in Northeast Kansas; Center for Independent Living for Southwest Kansas; Independent Connection/OOCK, Inc.; and Southeast Kansas Independent Living Center.

The Senate Transportation and Tourism Committee removed the provision which would have required identification cards to contain the name, telephone number, and address of the person who certified the cardholder's disability.

The Department of Revenue's Information Systems Bureau estimates that approximately 596 hours of contract Application Programmer/Analyst III time would be required to make necessary program modifications to the Vehicle Information Processing System (VIPS) if this bill were enacted. At a contract rate per hour of $93, the administrative fiscal impact of H.B. 2035 on the Department of Revenue would be approximately $55,428.

1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html.