HF 493 (LSB 1965HV (1) 85)

HOUSE FILE 493

BY  COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 140)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the penalty for failing to return a persons with disabilities parking permit and using the permit to park illegally.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 321L.3, subsection 2, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  A person who fails to return the persons with disabilities parking permit and subsequently misuses the permit by illegally parking in a persons with disabilities parking space is guilty of a simple misdemeanor punishable as a scheduled violation under section 805.8A, subsection 1, paragraph “c”
 
by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment not to exceed thirty days, or by both.
    Sec. 2.  Section 805.8A, subsection 1, paragraph c, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   c.  For violations under section 321L.2A, subsection 3, sections 321L.3,
 
section 321L.4, subsection 2, and section 321L.7, the scheduled fine is two hundred dollars.
EXPLANATION
   Under current law, a persons with disabilities parking permit must be returned to the department of transportation, a driver’s license station, or any law enforcement officer when the person to whom the permit was issued is deceased or moves out of state; when a person finds or obtains possession of a permit not issued to that person; when the permit has expired or has been revoked; or when a permit reported lost or stolen is found, if the permit was subsequently replaced. A person who fails to return a persons with disabilities parking permit and subsequently uses the permit illegally to park in a persons with disabilities parking space is guilty of a simple misdemeanor punishable by a scheduled fine of $200. This bill changes that penalty to a simple misdemeanor punishable by a minimum fine of $500 or by imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or by both.
   Pursuant to current law, persons with disabilities license plates, persons with disabilities parking stickers, and persons with disabilities removable windshield placards are all included in the definition of “persons with disabilities parking permit”.