Bill Text: CA AB1882 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Disabled veterans.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-16 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB1882 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB1882-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  February 14, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1882

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Introduced by Assembly Member Members Villapudua and Alanis
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Lackey)
(Principal coauthor: Senator Nguyen)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Arambula, Garcia, Jackson, Joe Patterson, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Valencia, and Waldron)
(Coauthors: Senators Niello, Rubio, and Seyarto)

January 22, 2024

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An act to amend Section 295.7 of, and to add 5007.3 to, Sections 295.7 and 9105 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1882, as amended, Villapudua. Vehicles: special license plates. fee exceptions.

Existing law defines “disabled veteran” for purposes of the Vehicle Code as, among other things, a person who, as a result of injury or disease suffered while on active service with the Armed Forces of the United States, has a disability that has been rated at 100% by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Existing law also defines a “disabled veteran” as a veteran who is unable to move without the aid of an assistant device.

This bill would instead define a disabled veteran as a veteran who cannot walk without the use of an assistant device. The bill would expand the definition of “disabled veteran” to include a veteran who cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest, a veteran who is severely limited in the ability to walk because of an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition, or a veteran who has visual acuity of 20/200 or less, among other conditions, as specified.

Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles, upon application and without additional fees, to issue a special license plate or plates to a disabled person, disabled veteran, or an organization or agency involved in the transportation of disabled persons or veterans, as specified, in accordance with procedures adopted by the department.

The bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles, upon application and without additional fees, to issue a special license plate or plates, pursuant to procedures adopted by the department, to a veteran who has a service-connected disability rating at 50% or greater but does not meet the qualifying eligibility criteria for a special plate for disabled veterans.

Existing law exempts, except as specified, a vehicle that is owned by a disabled veteran, a former American prisoner of war, or a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, or the surviving spouse of a former American prisoner of war or Congressional Medal of Honor recipient who has elected to retain special license plates, that is of a type subject to registration under the Vehicle Code, and that is not used for hire, compensation, or profit, from certain fees imposed pursuant to the Vehicle Code and a vehicle license fee imposed for the privilege of operating specified vehicles.

Commencing January 1, 2027, this bill would additionally exempt a partially disabled veteran, as defined, from these fees.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 295.7 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:

295.7.

 A “disabled veteran” is any a person who, as a result of injury or disease suffered while on active service with the armed forces of the United States, suffers any of the following:

(a) Has a disability which has been rated at 100 percent by the Department of Veterans Affairs or the military service from which the veteran was discharged, due to a diagnosed disease or disorder which substantially impairs or interferes with mobility.

(b) Cannot walk without the use of, or assistance from, an assistant device, including a brace, cane, crutch, another person, or a prosthetic device, wheelchair, or similar device.

(c) Has lost, or has lost use of, one or more limbs.

(d) Has suffered permanent blindness, as defined in Section 19153 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(e) Has visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting lenses or visual acuity of more than 20/200 but with a limited field of vision in which the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle of 20 degrees or less.

(f) Cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest.

(g) Is restricted by lung disease to the extent that the person’s forced respiratory (respiratory) expiratory volume for one second, second when measured by spirometry, spirometry is less than one liter, or the person’s arterial oxygen tension (pO2) is less than 60 millimeters of mercury mm/Hg on room air while the person is at rest.

(h) Has a cardiac condition to the extent that the person’s functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to standards set by the American Heart Association.

(i) Is severely limited in the ability to walk because of an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition.

(j) Has a disorder of the foot that, in the opinion of a physician, limits or impairs the person’s ability to walk, or has another debilitating condition that, in the opinion of a physician or a person authorized by applicable law to practice medicine in a hospital or other health facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs, limits or impairs the person’s ability to walk.

(k) Uses portable oxygen.

SEC. 2.Section 5007.3 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:

5007.3.

(a)The department shall, upon application and without additional fees, issue a special license plate or plates, pursuant to procedures adopted by the department, to a veteran who has a service-connected disability rating at 50 percent or greater but does not meet the qualifying eligibility criteria for a special plate pursuant to Section 5007.

(b)The special license plate issued under subdivision (a) shall not depict the International Symbol of Access adopted pursuant to Section 3 of Public Law 100-641, commonly known as the “wheelchair symbol.”

SEC. 2.

 Section 9105 of the Vehicle Code, as added by Section 2 of Chapter 382 of the Statutes of 2022, is amended to read:

9105.

 (a) Except for fees for duplicate license plates, duplicate certificates, or duplicate cards, the fees specified in this code need not be paid for a vehicle that is of a type subject to registration under this code, and that is not used for transportation for hire, compensation, or profit, when owned by any of the following:

(1) A disabled veteran.

(2) A former American prisoner of war.

(3) The surviving spouse of a former American prisoner of war who has elected to retain the special license plates issued under Section 5101.5.

(4) A Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.

(5) The surviving spouse of a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient who has elected to retain the special license plates issued under Section 5101.6.

(6) A Purple Heart recipient.

(7) The surviving spouse of a Purple Heart recipient who has elected to retain the special license plates issued under Section 5101.8.

(8) A partially disabled veteran.

(b) The exemption granted by subdivision (a) does not extend to more than one vehicle owned by a former American prisoner of war, a disabled veteran, a Purple Heart recipient, or a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, or a surviving spouse, and applies to the same vehicle as described in subdivision (b) of Section 10783, or subdivision (b) of Section 10783.2, of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(c) (1) The department may require a disabled veteran applying for an exemption under this section to submit a certificate signed by a physician and surgeon, or to the extent that it does not cause a reduction in the receipt of federal aid highway funds, by a nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, physician assistant, chiropractor, or optometrist, substantiating the disability.

(2) The department may require a person applying for an exemption under this section for either of the following reasons to do any of the following:

(A) By reason of the person’s status as a former prisoner of war, to show, by satisfactory proof, the person’s former prisoner-of-war status.

(B) By reason of the person’s status of receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor, to show, by satisfactory proof, that the person is a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.

(C) By reason of the person’s status of receiving the Purple Heart, to show, by satisfactory proof, that the person is a Purple Heart recipient.

(d) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) “Partially disabled veteran” means a veteran with a service-connected disability rating at 50 percent or greater.

(d)For the purposes of this section, the term “vehicle”

(2) “Vehicle” means any of the following:

(1)

(A) A passenger motor vehicle.

(2)

(B) A motorcycle.

(3)

(C) A commercial motor vehicle of less than 8,001 pounds unladen weight.

(e) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2027.