An Act To Require the Bureau of Motor Vehicles To Accept Certification of Disability from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1555
Sponsors: MARTIN, DAMON, HASKELL, THIBODEAU, GOODALL, JACKSON, NUTTING
Amends: 29-A MRSA §521

Legislative Document 
No. 1555 
H.P.1097 
House of Representatives, December 21, 2009 
An Act To Require the Bureau of Motor Vehicles To Accept 
Certification of Disability from the United States Department of 
Veterans Affairs 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the Clerk of the HOllse on December 17,2009. Referred to the Committee on 
TranspOliat~on pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuantto Joint Rule 401. 
Presented by Representative MARTIN of Eagle Lake. 
Cosponsored by Senator DAMON of Hancock and 
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1/1. I1l1LC;:{~{ 
. MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: HASKELL ofPOliland, THIBODEAU of Winterport, Senators: GOODALL 
of Sagadahoc, JACKSON of Aroostook, NUTTING of Androscoggin. 
PrinlL'U IlII fL'cydcd !Japer 
1-
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 29-A MRS A §521, sub-§l, as amended by PL 2007, c. 703, § 12, IS 
further amended to read: 
1. Definition. "Person with a disability" means a person whose disability limits or 
impairs the ability to walk, as determined and certified by a licensed physician, physician 
assistant, nurse practitioner or registered nurse or by the United States Department of 
Veterans Affairs, to the extent that the person: 
A. 
Can not walk 200 feet without stopping to rest; 
B. 
Can not walk without assistance from another person or the use of a brace, cane, 
crutch, prosthetic device, wheelchair or other assistive device; 
C. 
Is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that the person's forced expiratory 
volume for one second when measured by spirometry is less than 1 liter or when the 
arterial oxygen tension is less than 60m/hg on room air at rest; 
D. 
Uses portable oxygen; 
E. 
Has a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are 
classified in severity as Class 3 or Class 4 according to standards set by the American 
Heart Association; 
F. 
Is severely limited in the ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological or 
orthopedic condition; or 
G. 
Is recovering from childbirth. 
Sec. 2. 29-A MRSA §521, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2009, c. 143, § 1, is further 
amended to read: 
5. Application; issuance. An application for a disability plate or placard must be 
accompanied by the certificate of a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner or 
registered nurse or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs attesting to that 
person's physical disability as defined in subsection 1. The Secretary of State shall issue 
to an eligible applicant disability plates and windshield placards upon request. Proof of a 
disability must be submitted every 4 years on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State 
except when an eligible applicant requests that the disability plate or placard expire upon 
the expiration date of that person's driver's license or nondriver identification card issued 
by this State, whichever is applicable. 
When the Secretary of State determines the 
disability to be permanent, the time may be extended. When the applicant's need for the 
disability placard terminates or the applicant dies, the plate or placard must be 
immediately returned to the Secretary of State. 
Sec. 3. 29-A MRS A §521, sub-§6, ~A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 703, § 14, is 
further amended to read: 
A. 
An application for a temporary placard must be accompanied by the certificate 
of a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner or registered nurse or the United 
States Department of Veterans Affairs attesting to the applicant's physical disability 
) 
) 
) 
(~-'~\ 
( 
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L) 
as defined in subsection 1 and the period of time that the physician, physician 
assistant, nurse practitioner or registered nurse or the United States Department of 
Veterans Affairs determines the applicant will have the disability. A temporary 
placard is not valid for a period of more than 6 months. The Secretary of State shall 
give priority consideration to requests for temporary placards. 
A temporary placard issued pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph G is valid, after the 
birth of a child, for a period of not more than: 
(1) One week after cesarean section delivery; or 
(2) A time to be determined by the patient's physician after the birth of a 
preterm infant. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires the Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles 
to accept certification of a person's disability from the United States Department of 
Veterans Affairs for the purpose of obtaining a disability registration plate or disability 
placard.