TITLE: Relating to specialty license plates or stickers for motor vehicles of persons with intellectual disabilities.

SUMMARY: Relating to specialty license plates or stickers for motor vehicles of persons with intellectual disabilities.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to specialty license plates or stickers for motor vehicles of persons with intellectual disabilities. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 502, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 502.061 to read as follows: Sec. 502.061. REGISTRATION BY OWNER WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY. (a) If the department elects to design and issue a sticker under Section 504.205(c) indicating that a person operating a motor vehicle may be a person with an intellectual disability, the department shall adopt rules allowing an applicant for registration or renewal of registration to apply for the sticker. (b) Rules adopted by the department under this section must provide for: (1) the expiration of the sticker at the end of the registration period specified in the registration application; (2) the location on the motor vehicle where the sticker must be placed; and (3) a fee for issuance of the sticker in an amount to cover the department's costs for issuance. (c) An application for registration or renewal of registration must provide space for the applicant to submit the written statement from a physician as required by Section 504.205. SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 504, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 504.205 to read as follows: Sec. 504.205. PERSONS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY. (a) In this section, "intellectual disability" has the meaning assigned by Section 591.003, Health and Safety Code. (b) Subject to Subsection (c), the department, in consultation with the Department of Public Safety, shall design and issue specialty license plates for a motor vehicle that is regularly operated by a person with an intellectual disability. A license plate issued under this section must include an emblem indicating that the person operating the vehicle may be a person with an intellectual disability. (c) In lieu of designing and issuing specialty license plates under Subsection (b), the department, in consultation with the Department of Public Safety, may design a sticker for a motor vehicle that is regularly operated by a person with an intellectual disability and issue the sticker at the time the person registers or renews the registration of the person's vehicle as provided by Section 502.061. (d) The initial application for specialty license plates under this section must be accompanied by a written statement from a physician who is licensed to practice medicine in this state or in a state adjacent to this state. The statement must certify that the person making the application has an intellectual disability. (e) The fee for issuance of license plates under this section may not exceed the administrative costs incurred by the department in issuing the license plates. SECTION 3. Section 1701.253, Occupations Code, is amended by adding Subsection (n) to read as follows: (n) As part of the minimum curriculum requirements, the commission shall establish a statewide comprehensive education and training program on procedures for interacting with drivers with an intellectual disability, as defined by Section 591.003, Health and Safety Code, including identifying specialty license plates or stickers issued to individuals with an intellectual disability under Section 504.205 or 502.061, Transportation Code. An officer shall complete a program established under this subsection not later than the second anniversary of the date the officer is licensed under this chapter or the date the officer applies for an intermediate proficiency certificate, whichever date is earlier. SECTION 4. Not later than March 1, 2018, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement shall establish the training program as required by Section 1701.253(n), Occupations Code, as added by this Act. SECTION 5. This Act takes effect January 1, 2018.