A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 56-3-1910, RELATING TO LICENSE PLATES FOR HANDICAPPED PERSONS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES MAY ISSUE HANDICAPPED LICENSE PLATES TO AUTISTIC PERSONS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1.  Section 56-3-1910(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

    (A) As used in this article, "handicapped" means a person who has one or more of the following conditions:

       (1) an inability to ordinarily walk one hundred feet nonstop without aggravating an existing medical condition, including the increase of pain;

       (2) an inability to ordinarily walk without the use of, or assistance from a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive device;

       (3) a restriction by lung disease to the extent that the person's forced expiratory volume for one second when measured by spirometry is less than one liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than sixty mm/hg on room air at rest;

       (4) requires use of portable oxygen;

       (5) 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 established by the American Heart Association. If the person's status improves to a higher level, for example as a result of bypass surgery or transplantation, he no longer meets this criteria;

       (6) a substantial limitation in the ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition, for example, coordination problems and muscle spasticity due to conditions that include Parkinson's disease, cerebral palsy, or multiple sclerosis; or

       (7) blindness; or

       (8) autism.

SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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