An Act To Authorize Issuance of Permanent Disability Plates and Placards
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 0952
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: CRAFTS, AYOTTE, HAMPER, PETERSON

Legislative Document 
No. 952 
H.P.655 
House of Representatives, March 10,2009 
An Act To Authorize Issuance of Permanent Disability Plates and 
Placards 
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative CRAFTS of Lisbon. 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representatives: AYOTTE of Caswell, HAMPER of Oxford, PETERSON of 
Rumford. 
Prillll!d on n:cyclcd paper 
Be it enacted by the People ofthe State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 29-A MR.SA §521, sub,:,§3,~, as amended by PL 1995, c. 645, Pt. A, 
§4, is further amended to read: 
B. 
The placard must be blue with white print and contain the International Symbol 
of Access, at least 3 inches high, centered on the placard. The placard must contain 
the permit number, the expiration date and the seal of the Secretary of State, except 
that if an individual is determined to be perrrianently disabled under subsection 5, 
then the placard must indiCate by stitker that the placard is permanent. In the case of 
an organization or agency, the placard must be green with white print and contain the 
same information, except that the name of the organization must appear along with 
the expiration date that must be determined by the Secretary of State. A placard 
issued to a person with a disability under this section expires in the applicant's month 
of birth in the 4th year following the date of issuance. 
Sec. 2. 29-A MR.SA §521, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2007, c. 703, § 13, 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 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 the Secretary of State detennines the 
disability to be permanent, the time may be extended upon a determination of permanent 
disability status by a qualified physician, the Secretary of State shall issue permanent 
plates or windshield placards. 
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 MR.SA §521, sub-§l1, as amended by PL 2001, c. 77, §1, is further 
amended to read: 
11. Violation. A person other than a person with a disability or an organization 
transporting a person with a disability using a set of disability registration plates or a 
windshield placard commits a traffic infraction and is subj ect to a penalty of not less than 
$100 nor more than $500. The disability registration plates or removable windshield 
placard may be suspended for improper use. A 2nd or subsequent violation of this 
subsection is a Class E crime for which the fine under this subsection may be doubled. 
SUMMAR.Y 
This bill allows a permanently disabled person to submit proof of the permanent 
disability once instead of the current requirement of having to submit a new form every 4 
years. It also makes a 2nd or subsequent violation of the law against misusing a disability 
plate or placard a Class E crime, with the potential for doubled fines. 
Page I - 124LRI006(OI)-1 
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