HB 696 Summary

• Establishes a new "disabled paid parking exemption permit" for drivers unable to reach or operate parking meters or unattended pay stations due to physical disability, exempting them from parking fees for up to 2.5 hours or the meter maximum, whichever is longer.

• Makes selling or purchasing disability parking permits from any entity other than state or county issuing agencies a misdemeanor offense, with each transaction constituting a separate violation.

• Authorizes law enforcement officers and commissioned volunteer enforcement officers to confiscate disability parking permits that are fraudulently manufactured, altered, invalid, or being used without authorization.

• Clarifies qualifying disabilities to include conditions diagnosed by physicians or advanced practice registered nurses: inability to walk 200 feet without rest, specific lung disease (forced expiratory volume less than one liter or arterial oxygen tension less than 60 mm/hg), or cardiac condition classified as Class III or IV by American Heart Association standards.

• Revises existing statutory language throughout Chapter 291 to replace references to individual permit types with unified term "disability parking permit" and updates penalties for misuse to reflect new enforcement authorities.