It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Sections 31-28-7 and 31-28-7.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-28 entitled "Parking facilities and Privileges" are hereby amended to read as follows:

{ADD 31-28-7. Motor vehicle plates for blind, handicapped and ambulatory handicapped persons -- Entitlement -- Designated parking spaces -- Violations. -- ADD} (1)(a) Blind persons, handicapped and ambulatory handicapped persons upon application and proof of disability to the registry of motor vehicles shall be issued one motor vehicle plate which shall be imprinted with the international symbol of access and shall bear the expiration date upon its face. A plate issued to a person whose handicap is temporary shall be substantially similar to that issued to a person with a permanent handicap. The temporary plate, however, shall be of cardboard or similar material and shall bear the expiration dates upon its face. Persons issued a plate pursuant to this section shall be entitled to the immunities of sections 31-28-4 and 31-28-6 herein.

(b) A plate issued pursuant to this section shall be portable and used when such person is being transported. The plate is to be prominently displayed on the righthand side of the front or rear windshield of the motor vehicle. A plate may be issued to a blind, handicapped or ambulatory handicapped person who does not own a motor vehicle, to be used when he or she is being transported.

(c) Certificate of entitlement to said plate shall be renewed every two (2) years in accordance with a schedule prepared by the registry of motor vehicles that uses the last name of an individual to determine the month of renewal. If a blind, handicapped or ambulatory handicapped person's application or subsequent renewal is accompanied by a physician's certification that the applicant's condition is a chronic, permanent impairment and such application is approved, then any subsequent renewal shall be authorized upon receipt of an affidavit of the blind, handicapped or ambulatory handicapped person that his or her condition has not changed since the previous approval. The certificate of entitlement to said plate shall be covered with plastic or similar material. The applicant shall, upon timely renewal, receive a sticker bearing the expiration date of the certificate of entitlement to be affixed in the upper right hand corner of the handicapped plate. The registry of motor vehicles shall establish rules and regulations allowing for the renewal of such certificates of entitlement by mail. Whenever the registry of motor vehicles proposes to suspend, revoke or fail to renew the certificate of entitlement for noncompliance with the requirements of section (a) or for violation of subsection (d) of this section the individual shall first be entitled to a hearing before the registry to contest the proposed action. At any such hearing, the registry shall bear the burden of proof that the individual is not entitled to the plate pursuant to this chapter. There shall be no renewal fee charged for such plates. The registry of motor vehicles shall be authorized to issue temporary handicapped plates immediately upon receipt of an application. A temporary plate shall be valid for sixty (60) days from the date of issuance. Temporary plates may be renewed for one thirty (30) day period upon application if the disability persists. The registry of motor vehicles shall subsequently review such applications in accordance with the procedures currently in effect as to applications from persons whose handicap is permanent. Any issuance which, after subsequent review, shall be found to be inappropriate shall be revoked and notice thereof sent to the applicant.

(d) A person, other than a blind person, handicapped or ambulatory handicapped person, who for his or her own purposes uses the parking privilege plate shall be fined fifty dollars ($50.00) for each violation {DEL . DEL} {ADD , in addition to the handicapped services assessment in the amount indicated in section 31-28-7.2. ADD} A person issued a special plate who shall allow unauthorized use of the parking plate may be subject to revocation of the use of the plate by the registry.

(2) Handicapped parking spaces shall be designated and identified by the posting of signs incorporating the international symbol of access of white on blue.

The sign shall be metal, 12" x 18" in dimension and affixed to a post, or mounted on the building, seven (7) feet from the ground surface, one (1) sign shall be required for each space. The sign shall indicate that a certificate is required, that a {DEL twenty-five dollar ($25.00) minimum DEL} fine shall be imposed for any parking violation and that violators will be towed at the owner's expense on first offense. The sign shall also be in compliance with any other provision of this section. The posting of the signs shall be in accordance with the state building code when the location of the parking spaces on public and private lands is within the purview of the state building code, or when such signage is provided.

(3)(a) A person, other than a person issued a special plate pursuant to this section, who parks a vehicle in a parking space designated for the handicapped, shall be fined twenty-five ($25.00) dollars for a first violation, seventy-five dollars ($75.00) for a second violation and one hundred dollars ($100.00) for a third or subsequent violation {DEL . DEL} {ADD , in addition to the handicapped services assessment in the amount indicated in section 31-28-7.2. ADD} Provided further however, that it shall not be unlawful for a person to park a vehicle in a space designated for the handicapped if that person is transporting a person who has been issued a special plate and is properly displaying the plate on the vehicle. The vehicle may be subject to towing at the owner's expense.

(b) Enforcement of the parking provisions of this section shall be enforced by the local authorities.

(4) For the purpose of this section "physically handicapped" or "ambulatory handicapped" means a permanent impairment which prevents or impedes walking which shall include but not be limited to an impairment which prevents walking and requires use of a wheelchair; and impairment which involuntarily causes difficulty or insecurity in walking or climbing stairs with or without the need to use braces, crutches, canes or artificial support; and impairment caused by amputation, arthritis or other orthopedic condition; or an impairment in respiratory, circulatory or neurologic health which limits the person's walking capability.

(5) For the purposes of this section, physically handicapped persons may be capable of working or may be presently working.

(6) The department of transportation shall inform each licensed driver of the certificate procedures and parking restrictions of this section and sections 31-28-4 and 31-28-6, and provided, further, that a facsimile of the portable plates issued under this section shall be sent to the enforcing authority of each state and each such enforcing authority shall be informed of the parking restrictions of this section and sections 31-28-4 and 31-28-6.

{ADD 31-28-7.1. Motor vehicle plates for group care facilities serving the blind, handicapped, or ambulatory handicapped. -- ADD} (a) Upon application to the registry of motor vehicles, any group care facility that provides services to blind, handicapped, or ambulatory handicapped persons shall be issued one or more portable motor vehicle plates as described in sections 31-28-7 (1) (a) and (b) of the general laws.

(b) The applicant shall provide to the registry proof that the applicant is a bona fide group care facility providing services to blind, handicapped, or ambulatory handicapped persons.

(c) The registry shall not issue more than ten (10) plates to any one facility. The number of plates to be issued shall be determined by the registry based upon the number of persons served by the facility and the frequency with which the staff of the facility must transport the clients or patients of the facility.

(d) Said plates shall be used only by agents or employees of the facility and only when transporting blind, handicapped, or ambulatory handicapped persons who are clients or patients of the facility. The plate is to be prominently displayed on the right hand side of the front windshield of the motor vehicle.

(e) A person other than an agent or employee of the facility to which the plate was issued, or an agent or employee of the facility not engaged in transporting clients or patients of the facility, who uses the parking privilege plate for his own purposes shall be fined fifty dollars ($50.00) for each violation {DEL . DEL} {ADD , in addition to the handicapped services assessment in the amount

SECTION 2. Section 31-28 of the General Laws entitled "Parking Facilities and Privileges" is hereby amended by adding the following section:

{ADD 31-28-7.2. Handicapped services assessment. -- ADD} {ADD (a) The administrative adjudication court and each city, town or municipal court shall impose, in addition to any other assessments, a handicapped services assessment of forty dollars ($40.00) to be levied against those violations of section 31-28-7(1)(d), 31-28-7(3)(a), or 31-28-7.1(e). The administrative adjudication court or the city, town or municipality shall retain five dollars ($5.00) of the said imposed and collected additional assessment of forty dollars ($40.00) for administrative expenses and shall forward thirty-five dollars ($35.00) to the department of administration, state of Rhode Island, within ten (10) business days of the close of the state's, city's, town's or municipality's fiscal quarter, to be deposited into the general fund. ADD}

SECTION 3. Section 42-51-9 of Chapter 42-51 of the General Laws entitled "Governor's Commission on the Handicapped" is hereby amended to read as follows:

{ADD 42-51-9. Definitions. -- ADD} The following words and terms, unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning, shall have the following respective meanings:

(a) "People with handicaps or disabilities" or "individuals with handicaps or disabilities" means any person who:

(i) Has a physical or mental impairment, which substantially limits one or more of the person's major life activities;

(ii) Has a record of such an impairment; or

(iii) Is regarded as having such an impairment.

(b) "Federal and state laws protecting the rights of individuals with handicaps or disabilities" means but is not limited to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 USC 12101 et. seq.; title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 USC 794; R.I. Const., Art. 1, Sec. 2; the provisions of chapter 42-87 and sections 23-6-22, 37-8-15, and 42-46-13 of the general laws.

(c) "State agency" means any department, division, agency, commission, board, office, bureau, council, or authority, either branch of the Rhode Island general assembly or any agency or any committee thereof, or any other agency that is in any branch of Rhode Island state government and which exercises governmental functions.

(d) "Coordinating compliance" means the authority to:

(i) Issue guidelines, directives, or instructions as are necessary to effectuate compliance with federal and state laws protecting the rights of individuals with handicaps or disabilities;

(ii) Establish a grievance procedure to promptly and equitably resolve complaints of noncompliance with federal and state laws protecting the rights of individuals with handicaps or disabilities involving state agencies, including the power to investigate possible discrimination and eliminate unlawful practices by informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion;

(iii) Initiate complaints against any state agency that willfully fails to comply with federal and state laws protecting the rights of individuals with handicaps or disabilities to the appropriate state or federal agency; and

(iv) Develop, make periodic revisions to, and oversee the implementation of a transition plan for the removal of environmental and communication barriers in state owned facilities.

{ADD (e) "Providing technical assistance to public and private agencies, businesses, and citizens on complying with federal and state laws protecting the rights of individuals with handicaps or disabilities" means: information dissemination and training designed to encourage the voluntary compliance with laws protecting the rights of individuals with handicaps or disabilities; conducting handicapped accessibility surveys and providing advice on how to overcome any barriers to accessibility; and a mediation service to assist the parties, that voluntarily chose to utilize said service, resolve an allegation of discrimination on the basis of handicap or disability. ADD}

SECTION 4. Section 37-8-15.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 37-8 entitled "Public Buildings" is hereby amended to read as follows:

{ADD 37-8-15.1. Handicapped accessibility of leased or rented facilities. -- ADD} (a) No governmental body or public agency, as defined in section 37-2-7, who acting as lessee, shall lease or rent facilities that are not accessible to and usable by individuals with handicaps. Prior to a governmental body or public agency leasing or renting any facility, or renewing a lease:

(1) the state building commissioner {ADD with the assistance of the governor's commission on the handicapped ADD} shall certify that the facility to be leased or rented conforms to the handicapped accessibility provisions of the state building code;

(2) the state building commissioner {ADD with the assistance of the governor's commission on the handicapped ADD} shall certify that plans for renovation of the facility to be leased or rented conform to the state building code, and the accessibility renovations shall be completed within six (6) months of the signing of the lease; or

(3) the governor's commission on the handicapped grants a waiver

(b) The governor's commission on the handicapped may only grant waivers when the waiver sought:

(1) would not operationally serve to deny any individual with a handicap access to a service or program operated by the governmental body or public agency;

(2) would not operationally serve to deny an employee with a handicap or job applicant with a handicap employment or advancement in that governmental body or public agency; and

(3) total compliance with the handicapped accessibility provisions of the state building code was structurally infeasible.

(c) The state building commissioner {ADD with the assistance of the governor's commission on the handicapped ADD} shall reinspect all facilities leased or rented under subsections (a)(2) or (a)(3) prior to the date(s) established in the certification or waiver for completion of any renovations required. If the state building commissioner is unable to issue a certification of compliance with the handicapped provisions of the building code or the variance, then he/she shall inform the director of the department of administration that the facility is in noncompliance. The director of the department of administration shall take steps to ensure compliance or forward a report to the attorney general for legal action to terminate the lease.

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 1994.