0001| HOUSE CONSUMER AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR | 0002| HOUSE BILLS 933, 31 & 557 | 0003| 43rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 1997 | 0004| | 0005| | 0006| | 0007| | 0008| | 0009| | 0010| | 0011| AN ACT | 0012| RELATING TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES; CREATING A PLACARD ABUSE | 0013| PREVENTION PROGRAM; AUTHORIZING VOLUNTEER ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS; | 0014| CHANGING CERTAIN PROVISIONS RELATED TO DESIGNATED DISABLED | 0015| PARKING; INCREASING THE PENALTY FOR PARKING IN A DESIGNATED | 0016| DISABLED PARKING SPACE ILLEGALLY; AMENDING AND ENACTING | 0017| SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION. | 0018| | 0019| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO: | 0020| Section 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--Sections 1 | 0021| through 4 of this act may be cited as the "Placard Act". | 0022| Section 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITION.--As used in the | 0023| Placard Act, "parking placard" means a display device issued by | 0024| the taxation and revenue department that indicates that the | 0025| driver or passenger of a motor vehicle has a severe mobility | 0001| impairment as defined in Subsection H of Section 66-3-16 NMSA | 0002| 1978 that allows him to park in a designated disabled parking | 0003| space. | 0004| Section 3. [NEW MATERIAL] PROGRAM CREATED.--The "placard | 0005| abuse prevention program" is created in the governor's | 0006| committee on concerns of the handicapped. The program shall: | 0007| A. monitor the system of eligibility and use of | 0008| parking placards to identify barriers to the goal of providing | 0009| safe and close parking for persons with severe mobility | 0010| impairments; | 0011| B. provide training and public awareness to address | 0012| the barriers to safe and close parking for persons with severe | 0013| mobility impairments; | 0014| C. pursue revocation of parking placards held by | 0015| persons who appear to be ineligible or permit misuse of their | 0016| parking placards; | 0017| D. contract with advocates for the rights of | 0018| persons with disabilities to conduct the activities described | 0019| in Subsections A through C of this section and to make | 0020| recommendations for improvements in governing statutes or | 0021| operating policies of entities involved with the parking | 0022| placard issuance and parking enforcement systems; and | 0023| E. provide technical assistance and training to law | 0024| enforcement agencies regarding implementation of a volunteer | 0025| enforcement program. | 0001| Section 4. [NEW MATERIAL] VOLUNTEER ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS | 0002| AUTHORIZED.-- | 0003| A. A law enforcement agency authorized to enforce | 0004| parking statutes or ordinances may appoint placard abuse | 0005| volunteers to issue citations for violations of Sections 66-3-16.1 | 0006| and 66-7-352.5 NMSA 1978 and any local parking ordinances that | 0007| make parking in a designated disabled parking space illegal. | 0008| Volunteers appointed pursuant to this subsection shall be at least | 0009| twenty-one years of age. The law enforcement agency appointing | 0010| the placard abuse prevention volunteers may establish any other | 0011| qualifications the agency deems necessary. | 0012| B. A law enforcement agency appointing placard abuse | 0013| volunteers pursuant to this section shall provide training to the | 0014| placard abuse prevention volunteers before authorizing them to | 0015| issue citations. | 0016| C. A citation issued by a placard abuse prevention | 0017| volunteer pursuant to this section shall have the same effect as a | 0018| citation issued by a police officer for the same offense. | 0019| Section 5. A new section of the Motor Vehicle Code is | 0020| enacted to read: | 0021| "[NEW MATERIAL] NURSING HOME PLACARDS--DEPOSITS-- | 0022| MISDEMEANOR PENALTIES.-- | 0023| A. Upon application to the division, accompanied by a | 0024| payment of two hundred fifty dollars ($250), a nursing home | 0025| administrator as defined in Section 61-13-2 NMSA 1978 may be | 0001| granted one parking placard for each nursing home in this state | 0002| under his direct supervision for use in the transport of persons | 0003| with severe mobility impairments as defined in Subsection H of | 0004| Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 in situations where it is impractical | 0005| for the person being transported to obtain and use his own parking | 0006| placard. | 0007| B. Money received pursuant to Subsection A of this | 0008| section shall be deposited in the fund for the handicapped to be | 0009| used for the parking placard abuse prevention program. | 0010| C. A person who uses a nursing home administrator's | 0011| parking placard when not engaged in the transport of a person with | 0012| a severe mobility impairment or an administrator who willfully | 0013| allows such use of the parking placard is guilty of a misdemeanor | 0014| and shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of Section | 0015| 66-8-7 NMSA 1978." | 0016| Section 6. Section 3-51-46 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, | 0017| Chapter 22, Section 3) is amended to read: | 0018| "3-51-46. PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLE OF DISABLED PERSON-- | 0019| PARKING PRIVILEGE.--Passenger motor vehicles owned by [disabled] | 0020| persons with severe mobility impairment and carrying special | 0021| registration plates or passenger motor vehicles carrying persons | 0022| with severe mobility impairment with parking placards issued | 0023| pursuant to Section [64-3-12.3 NMSA 1953] 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 shall | 0024| be permitted to park for unlimited periods of time in parking | 0025| zones restricted as to length of time parking is normally | 0001| permitted and are exempt from payment of any parking meter or | 0002| parking authorization fee of the state or its political | 0003| subdivisions. The provisions of this section shall prevail over | 0004| any other law, regulation or local ordinance but do not apply to | 0005| zones where stopping, standing or parking is prohibited, zones | 0006| reserved for special types of vehicles, zones where parking is | 0007| prohibited during certain hours of the day in order to facilitate | 0008| traffic during those hours when parking is prohibited and zones | 0009| subject to similar regulation because parking presents a traffic | 0010| hazard." | 0011| Section 7. Section 66-1-4.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1990, | 0012| Chapter 120, Section 2) is amended to read: | 0013| "66-1-4.1. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor Vehicle Code: | 0014| A. "abandoned vehicle" means a vehicle or motor | 0015| vehicle that has been determined by a New Mexico law enforcement | 0016| agency: | 0017| (1) to have been left unattended on either | 0018| public or private property for at least thirty days; | 0019| (2) not to have been reported stolen; | 0020| (3) not to have been claimed by any person | 0021| asserting ownership; and | 0022| (4) not to have been shown by normal record | 0023| checking procedures to be owned by any person; | 0024| B. "access aisle" means an accessible pedestrian space | 0025| of at least sixty inches in width that allows side access the | 0001| length of its adjacent designated disabled parking space and | 0002| marked with blue striping; provided that van-accessible access | 0003| aisles shall be at least ninety-six inches in width; | 0004| [B.] C. "additional place of business", for dealers | 0005| and wreckers of vehicles, means locations in addition to an | 0006| established place of business as defined in Section 66-1-4.5 NMSA | 0007| 1978 and meeting all the requirements of an established place of | 0008| business, except Paragraph (5) of Subsection B of Section 66-1-4.5 | 0009| NMSA 1978, but "additional place of business" does not mean a | 0010| location used solely for storage and that is not used for | 0011| wrecking, dismantling, sale or resale of vehicles; | 0012| [C.] D. "alcoholic beverages" means any and all | 0013| distilled or rectified spirits, potable alcohol, brandy, whiskey, | 0014| rum, gin, aromatic bitters or any similar alcoholic beverage, | 0015| including all blended or fermented beverages, dilutions or | 0016| mixtures of one or more of the foregoing containing more than one- | 0017| half of one percent alcohol but excluding medicinal bitters; and | 0018| [D.] E. "authorized emergency vehicle" means any fire | 0019| department vehicle, police vehicle, ambulance and any emergency | 0020| vehicles of municipal departments or public utilities that are | 0021| designated or authorized as emergency vehicles by the director of | 0022| the New Mexico state police division of the department of public | 0023| safety or local authorities." | 0024| Section 8. Section 66-1-4.4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1990, | 0025| Chapter 120, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read: | 0001| "66-1-4.4. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor Vehicle Code: | 0002| A. "day" means calendar day, unless otherwise provided | 0003| in the Motor Vehicle Code; | 0004| B. "dealer", except as herein specifically excluded, | 0005| means any person who sells or solicits or advertises the sale of | 0006| new or used motor vehicles, manufactured homes or trailers subject | 0007| to registration in this state; "dealer" does not include: | 0008| (1) receivers, trustees, administrators, | 0009| executors, guardians or other persons appointed by or acting under | 0010| judgment, decree or order of any court; | 0011| (2) public officers while performing their | 0012| duties as such officers; | 0013| (3) persons making casual sales of their own | 0014| vehicles; | 0015| (4) finance companies, banks and other lending | 0016| institutions making sales of repossessed vehicles; or | 0017| (5) licensed brokers under the Manufactured | 0018| Housing Act who, for a fee, commission or other valuable | 0019| consideration, engage in brokerage activities related to the sale, | 0020| exchange or lease purchase of pre-owned manufactured homes on a | 0021| site installed for a consumer; | 0022| C. "declared gross weight" means the maximum gross | 0023| vehicle weight or combination gross vehicle weight at which a | 0024| vehicle or combination will be operated during the registration | 0025| period, as declared by the registrant for registration and fee | 0001| purposes; the vehicle or combination shall have only one declared | 0002| gross weight for all operating considerations; | 0003| D. "department" means the taxation and revenue | 0004| department, the secretary of taxation and revenue or any employee | 0005| of the department exercising authority lawfully delegated to that | 0006| employee by the secretary; | 0007| E. "designated disabled parking space" means any space | 0008| marked and reserved for the parking of a passenger vehicle that | 0009| carries registration plates or a placard indicating disability in | 0010| accordance with Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978; such a place shall be | 0011| designated by a conspicuously posted sign bearing the | 0012| international disabled symbol of a wheelchair [or] and by a | 0013| clearly visible depiction of this symbol painted on the pavement | 0014| of the space, and an access aisle adjacent to the space; provided | 0015| that two designated disabled parking spaces may share a common | 0016| access aisle; | 0017| F. "director" means the secretary; | 0018| G. "disqualification" means a prohibition against | 0019| driving a commercial motor vehicle; | 0020| H. "distinguishing number" means the number assigned | 0021| by the department to a vehicle whose identifying number has been | 0022| destroyed or obliterated or the number assigned by the department | 0023| to a vehicle that has never had an identifying number; | 0024| I. "distributor" means any person who distributes or | 0025| sells new or used motor vehicles to dealers and who is not a | 0001| manufacturer; | 0002| J. "division", without further specification, | 0003| "division of motor vehicles" or "motor vehicle division" means the | 0004| department; | 0005| K. "driver" means every person who drives or is in | 0006| actual physical control of a motor vehicle, including a | 0007| motorcycle, upon a highway, who is exercising control over or | 0008| steering a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle or who operates | 0009| or is in actual physical control of an off-highway motor vehicle; | 0010| L. "driver's license" means a license or a class of | 0011| license issued by a state or other jurisdiction to an individual | 0012| that authorizes the individual to drive a motor vehicle; and | 0013| M. "driveaway-towaway operation" means any operation | 0014| in which any motor vehicle, new or used, is the item being | 0015| transported when one set or more of wheels of any such motor | 0016| vehicle is on the roadway during the course of transportation, | 0017| whether or not the motor vehicle furnishes the motive power." | 0018| Section 9. Section 66-1-4.14 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1990, | 0019| Chapter 120, Section 15, as amended) is amended to read: | 0020| "66-1-4.14. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Motor Vehicle | 0021| Code: | 0022| A. "park" or "parking" means the standing of a | 0023| vehicle, whether occupied or not, other than temporarily for the | 0024| purpose of and while actually engaged in loading and unloading; | 0025| B. "parking lot" means a parking area [containing | 0001| fifteen or more parking spaces] provided for the [free] use of | 0002| patrons of any office of state or local government or of any | 0003| public accommodation, retail or commercial establishment; | 0004| C. "parts car" means a motor vehicle generally in | 0005| nonoperable condition that is owned by a collector to furnish | 0006| parts that are usually nonobtainable from normal sources, thus | 0007| enabling a collector to preserve, restore and maintain a motor | 0008| vehicle of historic or special interest; | 0009| D. "pedestrian" means any natural person on foot; | 0010| E. "person" means every natural person, firm, | 0011| copartnership, association, corporation or other legal entity; | 0012| F. "personal information" means information that | 0013| identifies an individual, including an individual's photograph, | 0014| social security number, driver identification number, name, | 0015| address other than zip code, telephone number and medical or | 0016| disability information, but "personal information" does not | 0017| include information on vehicles, vehicle ownership, vehicular | 0018| accidents, driving violations or driver status; | 0019| G. "pneumatic tire" means every tire in which | 0020| compressed air is designed to support the load; | 0021| H. "pole trailer" means any vehicle without motive | 0022| power, designed to be drawn by another vehicle and attached to the | 0023| towing vehicle by means of a reach or pole or by being boomed or | 0024| otherwise secured to the towing vehicle and ordinarily used for | 0025| transporting long or irregularly shaped loads such as poles, | 0001| structures, pipes and structural members capable, generally, of | 0002| sustaining themselves as beams between the supporting connections; | 0003| I. "police or peace officer" means every officer | 0004| authorized to direct or regulate traffic or to make arrests for | 0005| violations of the Motor Vehicle Code; | 0006| J. "private road or driveway" means every way or place | 0007| in private ownership used for vehicular travel by the owner and | 0008| those having express or implied permission from the owner, but not | 0009| other persons; and | 0010| K. "property owner" means the owner of a piece of land | 0011| or the agent of that property owner." | 0012| Section 10. Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, | 0013| Chapter 35, Section 36, as amended) is amended to read: | 0014| "66-3-16. SPECIAL REGISTRATION PLATES--DISABLED | 0015| PERSONS--[DISPLAY DEVICE] PARKING PLACARDS.-- | 0016| A. The division shall issue distinctive registration | 0017| plates to any [disabled] person with severe mobility impairment | 0018| who so requests and who proves satisfactorily to the division that | 0019| he has suffered the loss, or the complete and total loss of use | 0020| of, one or both legs at or above the ankle or of one or both arms | 0021| at or above the wrist for use on motor vehicles owned by the | 0022| person. No fee in addition to the regular registration fee, if | 0023| any, applicable to the motor vehicle shall be collected for | 0024| issuance of special registration plates pursuant to this section. | 0025| B. No person shall falsely represent himself to [be | 0001| disabled] have a severe mobility impairment so as to be eligible | 0002| to be issued special registration plates or [display devices] a | 0003| parking placard pursuant to this section when he is in fact not | 0004| [disabled] severely mobility impaired. | 0005| C. Upon notice and opportunity to be heard, scheduled | 0006| within forty-five days of a complaint filed by the governor's | 0007| committee on concerns of the handicapped or another concerned | 0008| person, the division may revoke and demand return of any placard | 0009| when it is found that: | 0010| (1) it was issued in error or with false | 0011| information; | 0012| (2) the person receiving the placard is no | 0013| longer eligible; or | 0014| (3) the placard is being used by ineligible | 0015| persons. | 0016| [C.] D. Upon written application to the division | 0017| accompanied by a medical statement by a licensed physician | 0018| attesting to the [disability] severe mobility impairment, a | 0019| resident of the state who has a [disability] severe mobility | 0020| impairment that limits or impairs the ability to walk, as provided | 0021| in Subsection [G] H of this section, may apply for and be granted | 0022| the issuance of [a placard] not more than two parking placards for | 0023| display upon a motor vehicle registered to him or motor vehicle | 0024| owned by another person who is transporting him. The director may | 0025| charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of the placard and of | 0001| its issuance. The fee shall be retained by the division and shall | 0002| be appropriated to the division for expenditures incurred in the | 0003| implementation of the placard replacement program. The | 0004| application shall provide for a certification of permanence of the | 0005| mobility impairment that, if indicated by the signing physician, | 0006| shall preclude the necessity of subsequent medical certifications | 0007| on renewals. The application for a parking placard shall be | 0008| deemed to be a waiver of the doctor-patient privilege of | 0009| confidentiality to the minimum extent necessary to verify the | 0010| information contained in the application, and the application | 0011| shall advise the applicant of this waiver. | 0012| [D.] E. A parking placard issued pursuant to this | 0013| section shall expire [in no more than two years] on the same date | 0014| that the holder's driver's license or identification card expires. | 0015| [E.] F. The division shall issue two-sided | 0016| hanger-style parking placards with the following characteristics: | 0017| (1) the international symbol of access shall be | 0018| displayed on both sides of the parking placard and shall be at | 0019| least three inches in height, centered on the parking placard and | 0020| white on a blue [shield] field; | 0021| (2) [an identification number enabling the | 0022| division to identify] an indelible imprinting of the driver's | 0023| license or identification card number of the holder of each | 0024| parking placard. The division shall maintain this information, | 0025| including permanence of the mobility impairment, in a readily | 0001| retrievable format in the same data base as used for recording | 0002| driver's license information and make it available on demand to | 0003| any law enforcement agency or the governor's committee on concerns | 0004| of the handicapped; | 0005| (3) the date of expiration; and | 0006| (4) the division seal or other identification of | 0007| the issuing authority. | 0008| [F.] G. Upon written application to the division | 0009| accompanied by a medical statement from a licensed physician | 0010| attesting to a temporary [disability] severe mobility impairment, | 0011| a person, whether resident or nonresident, who has a temporary | 0012| [disability] severe mobility impairment that limits or impairs the | 0013| ability to walk may be issued a temporary parking placard, which | 0014| shall be distinguishable in color and in appearance from parking | 0015| placards valid for [two] four years. The medical statement shall | 0016| include the period of time that the physician determines the | 0017| applicant will have the [disability] severe mobility impairment. | 0018| A temporary parking placard issued pursuant to this section shall | 0019| be valid no more than six months. | 0020| [G.] H. For the purpose of obtaining a parking | 0021| placard, a person with a ["disability that limits or impairs the | 0022| ability to walk"] "severe mobility impairment" means the person: | 0023| (1) cannot walk one hundred feet without | 0024| stopping to rest; | 0025| (2) cannot walk without the use of a brace, a | 0001| cane, a crutch, another person, a prosthetic device, a wheelchair | 0002| or another assistive device; | 0003| (3) is restricted by lung disease to such an | 0004| extent that the person's forced respiratory volume, when exhaling | 0005| for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one | 0006| liter or the arterial oxygen tension is less than sixty | 0007| millimeters on room air at rest; | 0008| (4) uses portable oxygen; | 0009| (5) has a severe cardiac condition; or | 0010| (6) is so severely limited in his ability to | 0011| walk due to an arthritic, neurologic or orthopedic condition that | 0012| the person cannot ascend or descend more than ten stair steps. | 0013| [H.] I. Special registration plates or parking | 0014| placards issued to the [disabled] person with severe mobility | 0015| impairment by another state or foreign jurisdiction shall be | 0016| granted reciprocity while the vehicle [and disabled operator are] | 0017| or parking placard holder is in this state. [for a period not to | 0018| exceed thirty days | 0019| I.] J. All parking placards shall be issued in | 0020| accordance with this section beginning on July 1, [1995] 1997. | 0021| All placards issued prior to July 1, 1995 [shall expire on July 1, | 0022| 1996] are void. Two-year placards issued between July 1, 1995 and | 0023| July 1, 1997 shall be renewed for a period to expire on the same | 0024| date as the holder's driver's license expires." | 0025| Section 11. Section 66-3-16.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995, | 0001| Chapter 129, Section 2) is amended to read: | 0002| "66-3-16.1. PROVIDING FALSE INFORMATION--FALSE USE OF | 0003| PLACARD--PENALTY--PLACARD CONFISCATED.-- | 0004| A. Any person who provides false information in order | 0005| to acquire, or who assists an unqualified person in acquiring, a | 0006| special registration plate or [special] parking placard as | 0007| provided in Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 is guilty of a misdemeanor | 0008| and shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of Section | 0009| [31-19-1] 66-8-7 NMSA 1978. | 0010| B. Except as provided in Section 5 of this act, a | 0011| person who uses a parking placard to park in a designated disabled | 0012| parking space and is neither the holder of the parking placard nor | 0013| assisting in the transportation of the holder is guilty of a | 0014| misdemeanor and shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of | 0015| Section 66-8-7 NMSA 1978. When a law enforcement officer finds | 0016| that a person is using a parking placard that does not belong to | 0017| him or his passenger, the officer may confiscate the placard. The | 0018| law enforcement agency shall return the parking placard to the | 0019| division. The division shall hold the parking placard until it | 0020| receives a written request for its return from the parking placard | 0021| holder. The division shall retain a record of the identification | 0022| numbers of confiscated parking placards. Failure to surrender the | 0023| parking placard on demand of a law enforcement officer is a petty | 0024| misdemeanor and punishable by a fine not to exceed three hundred | 0025| dollars ($300)." | 0001| Section 12. Section 66-5-408 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, | 0002| Chapter 35, Section 335, as amended) is amended to read: | 0003| "66-5-408. FEES.-- | 0004| A. Upon application for an identification card, there | 0005| shall be paid to the division a fee of five dollars ($5.00), but | 0006| no fee shall be charged to an applicant for an identification card | 0007| if the applicant is at least seventy-five years of age or eligible | 0008| for a registration plate or parking placard pursuant to Section | 0009| 66-3-16 NMSA 1978. | 0010| B. The department with the approval of the governor | 0011| may increase the amount of the identification card fee by an | 0012| amount not to exceed three dollars ($3.00) for the purpose of | 0013| implementing an enhanced licensing system. The additional amounts | 0014| collected pursuant to this subsection are appropriated to the | 0015| division to defray the expense of the new system of licensing." | 0016| Section 13. Section 66-7-352.4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1983, | 0017| Chapter 45, Section 4) is amended to read: | 0018| "66-7-352.4. PARKING LOTS--STANDARDS.-- | 0019| A. Every parking lot coming under the provisions of | 0020| the Disabled Parking Standards and Enforcement Act shall have | 0021| designated disabled parking spaces, including access aisles, as | 0022| provided in Subsection B of this section [provided that an office | 0023| of state or local government shall have a minimum of one such | 0024| parking space]. No building permit shall be issued by the state | 0025| or any local government for the construction or substantial | 0001| renovation of a commercial building inviting public access unless | 0002| the parking lot has designated disabled parking spaces as | 0003| delineated in Subsection B of this section. | 0004| B. The minimum numbers of designated disabled parking | 0005| spaces are as follows: | 0006| TOTAL SPACES IN PARKING LOT MINIMUM DESIGNATED | 0007| DISABLED | 0008| PARKING SPACES | 0009| [0 to 14 0 | 0010| 15] 1 to 25 1 | 0011| 26 to 35 2 | 0012| 36 to 50 3 | 0013| 51 to 100 4 | 0014| 101 to 300 8 | 0015| 301 to 500 12 | 0016| 501 to 800 16 | 0017| 801 to 1,000 20 | 0018| more than 1,000 20, plus [3] 1 | 0019| for each | 0020| additional | 0021| [1,000] 100. | 0022| The designated disabled parking spaces shall be located so as to | 0023| provide the most convenient access to entranceways or to the | 0024| nearest curb cut. One of every eight designated disabled parking | 0025| spaces, but not less than one, shall be designated as van | 0001| accessible." | 0002| Section 14. Section 66-7-352.5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1983, | 0003| Chapter 45, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read: | 0004| "66-7-352.5. UNAUTHORIZED USE--PENALTY.--[A.] It is unlawful | 0005| for any person to park a motor vehicle not carrying special | 0006| registration plates or a parking placard indicating [disability] | 0007| severe mobility impairment in accordance with Section 66-3-16 NMSA | 0008| 1978 in a designated disabled parking space [or blocking a curb | 0009| cut]. It is unlawful for any person to park a vehicle with or | 0010| without a special registration plate or parking placard in a | 0011| position that blocks a curb cut or access aisle. Any person who | 0012| violates this subsection is subject to a [fifty-dollar ($50.00)] | 0013| minimum three hundred dollar ($300) fine and the vehicle may be | 0014| towed at the owner's expense. | 0015| [B. A person charged with a violation of Subsection A of | 0016| this section shall not be determined to have committed an | 0017| infraction if he produces in court special disabled registration | 0018| plates or a placard indicating disability in accordance with | 0019| Section 66-3-16 NMSA 1978 or demonstrates he was entitled to such | 0020| at the time of the violation.]" | 0021| Section 15. APPROPRIATION.--Twenty-five thousand dollars | 0022| ($25,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the governor's | 0023| committee on concerns of the handicapped for expenditure in fiscal | 0024| year 1998 to implement the provisions of the Placard Abuse Act. | 0025| Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of | 0001| fiscal year 1998 shall revert to the general fund. | 0002| Section 16. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the | 0003| provisions of this act is July 1, 1997. | 0004|  | 0005| |