To amend sections 737.051, 737.161, 3501.29, 3781.111, 4503.44, and 4511.69 of the Revised Code to alter the designation of special parking locations for persons who have a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk by designating such locations as "accessible parking spaces" or "disability parking spaces."

Section 1. That sections 737.051, 737.161, 3501.29, 3781.111, 4503.44, and 4511.69 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 737.051.  (A) The legislative authority of a city may establish, by ordinance, an auxiliary police unit within the police department of the city, and provide for the regulation of auxiliary police officers. The director of public safety shall be the executive head of the auxiliary police unit, shall make all appointments and removals of auxiliary police officers, subject to any general rules prescribed by the legislative authority by ordinance, and shall prescribe rules for the organization, training, administration, control, and conduct of the auxiliary police unit. Members of the auxiliary police unit shall not be in the classified service of the city.

(B)(1) The legislative authority of a city may establish, by ordinance, a parking enforcement unit within the police department of the city, and provide for the regulation of parking enforcement officers. The director of public safety shall be the executive head of the parking enforcement unit, shall make all appointments and removals of parking enforcement officers, subject to any general rules prescribed by the legislative authority by ordinance, and shall prescribe rules for the organization, training, administration, control, and conduct of the parking enforcement unit. The director may appoint parking enforcement officers who agree to serve for nominal compensation, and persons with physical disabilities may receive appointments as parking enforcement officers.

(2) The authority of the parking enforcement officers shall be limited to the enforcement of ordinances governing parking in handicapped accessible parking locations and fire lanes and any other parking ordinances specified in the ordinance creating the parking enforcement unit. Parking enforcement officers shall have no other powers.

(3) The training the parking enforcement officers shall receive shall include instruction in general administrative rules and procedures governing the parking enforcement unit, the role of the judicial system as it relates to parking regulation and enforcement, proper techniques and methods relating to the enforcement of parking ordinances, human interaction skills, and first aid.

Sec. 737.161.  (A) The legislative authority of a village may establish, by ordinance, an auxiliary police unit within the police department of the village, and provide for the regulation of auxiliary police officers. The mayor shall be the executive head of the auxiliary police unit, shall make all appointments and removals of auxiliary police officers, subject to any general rules prescribed by the legislative authority by ordinance, and shall prescribe rules for the organization, training, administration, control, and conduct of the auxiliary police unit. The village marshal shall have exclusive control of the stationing and transferring of all auxiliary police officers, under such general rules as the mayor prescribes.

(B)(1) The legislative authority of a village may establish, by ordinance, a parking enforcement unit within the police department of the village, and provide for the regulation of parking enforcement officers. The mayor shall be the executive head of the parking enforcement unit, shall make all appointments and removals of parking enforcement officers, subject to any general rules prescribed by the legislative authority by ordinance, and shall prescribe rules for the organization, training, administration, control, and conduct of the parking enforcement unit. The mayor may appoint parking enforcement officers who agree to serve for nominal compensation, and persons with physical disabilities may receive appointments as parking enforcement officers.

(2) The authority of the parking enforcement officers shall be limited to the enforcement of ordinances governing parking in handicapped accessible parking locations and fire lanes and any other parking ordinances specified in the ordinance creating the parking enforcement unit. Parking enforcement officers shall have no other powers.

(3) The training the parking enforcement officers shall receive shall include instruction in general administrative rules and procedures governing the parking enforcement unit, the role of the judicial system as it relates to parking regulation and enforcement, proper techniques and methods relating to the enforcement of parking ordinances, human interaction skills, and first aid.

Sec. 3501.29.  (A) The board of elections shall provide for each precinct a polling place and provide adequate facilities at each polling place for conducting the election. The board shall provide a sufficient number of screened or curtained voting compartments to which electors may retire and conveniently mark their ballots, protected from the observation of others. Each voting compartment shall be provided at all times with writing implements, instructions how to vote, and other necessary conveniences for marking the ballot. The presiding judge shall ensure that the voting compartments at all times are adequately lighted and contain the necessary supplies. The board shall utilize, in so far as practicable, rooms in public schools and other public buildings for polling places. Upon application of the board of elections, the authority which has the control of any building or grounds supported by taxation under the laws of this state, shall make available the necessary space therein for the purpose of holding elections and adequate space for the storage of voting machines, without charge for the use thereof. A reasonable sum may be paid for necessary janitorial service. When polling places are established in private buildings, the board may pay a reasonable rental therefor, and also the cost of liability insurance covering the premises when used for election purposes, or the board may purchase a single liability policy covering the board and the owners of the premises when used for election purposes. When removable buildings are supplied by the board, they shall be constructed under the contract let to the lowest and best bidder, and the board shall observe all ordinances and regulations then in force as to safety. The board shall remove all such buildings from streets and other public places within thirty days after an election, unless another election is to be held within ninety days.

(B)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the board shall ensure all of the following:

(a) That polling places are free of barriers that would impede ingress and egress of handicapped persons with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk;

(b) That the minimum number of special parking locations, also known as handicapped accessible parking spaces or disability parking spaces, for handicapped persons with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk are designated at each polling place in accordance with 28 C.F.R. Part 36, Appendix A, and in compliance with division (E) of section 4511.69 of the Revised Code;

(c) That the entrances of polling places are level or are provided with a nonskid ramp that meets the requirements of the "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990," 104 Stat. 327, 42 U.S.C. 12101;

(d) That doors are a minimum of thirty-two inches wide.

(2) Notwithstanding division (B)(1)(a), (c), or (d) of this section, certain polling places may be specifically exempted by the secretary of state upon certification by a board of elections that a good faith, but unsuccessful, effort has been made to modify, or change the location of, such polling places.

(C) At any polling place that is exempted from compliance by the secretary of state, the board of elections shall permit any handicapped elector who is a person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk who travels to that elector's polling place, but who is unable to enter the polling place, to vote, with the assistance of two polling place officials of major political parties, in the vehicle that conveyed that elector to the polling place, or to receive and cast that elector's ballot at the door of the polling place.

(D) The secretary of state shall:

(1) Work with other state agencies to facilitate the distribution of information and technical assistance to boards of elections to meet the requirements of division (B) of this section;

(2) Work with organizations that represent or provide services to handicapped, disabled, persons with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk or who are elderly citizens to effect a wide dissemination of information about the availability of absentee voting, voting in the voter's vehicle or at the door of the polling place, or other election services to handicapped, disabled, persons with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk or who are elderly citizens.

(E) Before the day of an election, the director of the board of elections of each county shall sign a statement verifying that each polling place that will be used in that county at that election meets the requirements of division (B)(1)(b) of this section. The signed statement shall be sent to the secretary of state by certified mail.

(F) As used in this section, "handicapped" means having lost the use of one or both legs, one or both arms, or any combination thereof, or being blind or so severely disabled as to be unable to move about without the aid of crutches or a wheelchair "person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk" has the same meaning as in section 4503.44 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3781.111.  (A) In addition to the powers conferred by any other section of the Revised Code, the board of building standards shall adopt standards and rules to facilitate the reasonable access and use by all persons with a disability of all buildings and the facilities of buildings for which plans are submitted for approval under section 3791.04 of the Revised Code. No standard or rule shall be applied to any building the plans or drawings, specifications, and date of which have been approved prior to the time that the standard or rule takes effect.

(B)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the standards and rules adopted by the board pursuant to this section shall be in accordance with the "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990," 104 Stat. 327, 42 U.S.C.A. 12101, as amended, and the "Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988," 102 Stat. 1619, 42 U.S.C.A. 3601, as amended.

(2) For purposes of enforcement by the Ohio civil rights commission only, approval of a plan as required under section 3791.04 of the Revised Code creates a rebuttable presumption that the plans, drawings, specifications, or data submitted are in compliance with the rules adopted by the board pursuant to this section as they relate to accessibility.

(C) All signs posted to designate special parking locations for persons with a disability and persons with disabilities that limit or impair the ability to walk in accordance with division (E) of section 4511.69 of the Revised Code and the standards and rules adopted pursuant to this section shall be mounted on a fixed or movable post or otherwise affixed in a vertical position so that the distance from the ground to the bottom edge of the sign measures not less than five feet. If a new sign or a replacement sign designating a special parking location is posted on or after October 14, 1999, there also shall be affixed upon the surface of that sign or affixed next to the designating sign a notice that states the fine applicable for the offense of parking a motor vehicle in the special designated parking location if the motor vehicle is not legally entitled to be parked in that location.

If a new sign or a replacement sign designating a special parking location is posted on or after the effective date of this amendment, it shall conform with this division and bear the word "accessible" and any other required words or symbols but shall not bear any form of the word "handicap." A sign designating a special parking location that is posted on the effective date of this amendment that bears any form of the word "handicap" may remain posted after that date until such time as it is replaced.

(D) As used in this section, "disability" has the same meaning as in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code. As used in division (C) of this section, "persons with disabilities that limit or impair the ability to walk" has the same meaning as in division (A)(1) of section 4503.44 of the Revised Code.

(E) No owner of a building or facility where special parking locations for persons with a disability must be designated in accordance with the standards and rules adopted pursuant to this section shall fail to properly mark the special parking locations as required by those standards and rules or fail to maintain the markings of the special parking locations, including the erection and maintenance of the fixed or movable signs.

(F) The board annually shall provide statewide training on the rules adopted by the board pursuant to this section as they relate to accessibility for nonresidential building department personnel certified by the board who approve, review plans, and inspect nonresidential construction.

Sec. 4503.44.  (A) As used in this section and in section 4511.69 of the Revised Code:

(1) "Person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk" means any person who, as determined by a health care provider, meets any of the following criteria:

(a) Cannot walk two hundred feet without stopping to rest;

(b) Cannot walk without the use of, or assistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive device;

(c) Is restricted by a lung disease to such an extent that the person's forced (respiratory) expiratory volume for one second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than sixty millimeters of mercury 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 III or class IV 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;

(g) Is blind.

(2) "Organization" means any private organization or corporation, or any governmental board, agency, department, division, or office, that, as part of its business or program, transports persons with disabilities that limit or impair the ability to walk on a regular basis in a motor vehicle that has not been altered for the purpose of providing it with special equipment for use by persons with disabilities. This definition does not apply to division (J) of this section.

(3) "Health care provider" means a physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse, or chiropractor as defined in this section.

(4) "Physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine or surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery under Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code.

(5) "Chiropractor" means a person licensed to practice chiropractic under Chapter 4734. of the Revised Code.

(6) "Advanced practice registered nurse" means a certified nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist, or certified nurse-midwife who holds a certificate of authority issued by the board of nursing under Chapter 4723. of the Revised Code.

(7) "Physician assistant" means a person who holds a certificate to practice as a physician assistant issued under Chapter 4730. of the Revised Code.

(B) Any organization or person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk may apply to the registrar of motor vehicles for a removable windshield placard or, if the person owns or leases a motor vehicle, the person may apply for the registration of any motor vehicle the person owns or leases. In addition to one or more sets of license plates or one placard, a person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk is entitled to one additional placard, but only if the person applies separately for the additional placard, states the reasons why the additional placard is needed, and the registrar, in the registrar's discretion, determines that good and justifiable cause exists to approve the request for the additional placard. When a motor vehicle has been altered for the purpose of providing it with special equipment for a person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk, but is owned or leased by someone other than such a person, the owner or lessee may apply to the registrar or a deputy registrar for registration under this section. The application for registration of a motor vehicle owned or leased by a person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk shall be accompanied by a signed statement from the applicant's health care provider certifying that the applicant meets at least one of the criteria contained in division (A)(1) of this section and that the disability is expected to continue for more than six consecutive months. The application for a removable windshield placard made by a person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk shall be accompanied by a prescription from the applicant's health care provider prescribing such a placard for the applicant, provided that the applicant meets at least one of the criteria contained in division (A)(1) of this section. The health care provider shall state on the prescription the length of time the health care provider expects the applicant to have the disability that limits or impairs the applicant's ability to walk. The application for a removable windshield placard made by an organization shall be accompanied by such documentary evidence of regular transport of persons with disabilities that limit or impair the ability to walk by the organization as the registrar may require by rule and shall be completed in accordance with procedures that the registrar may require by rule. The application for registration of a motor vehicle that has been altered for the purpose of providing it with special equipment for a person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk but is owned by someone other than such a person shall be accompanied by such documentary evidence of vehicle alterations as the registrar may require by rule.

(C) When an organization, a person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk, or a person who does not have a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk but owns a motor vehicle that has been altered for the purpose of providing it with special equipment for a person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk first submits an application for registration of a motor vehicle under this section and every fifth year thereafter, the organization or person shall submit a signed statement from the applicant's health care provider, a completed application, and any required documentary evidence of vehicle alterations as provided in division (B) of this section, and also a power of attorney from the owner of the motor vehicle if the applicant leases the vehicle. Upon submission of these items, the registrar or deputy registrar shall issue to the applicant appropriate vehicle registration and a set of license plates and validation stickers, or validation stickers alone when required by section 4503.191 of the Revised Code. In addition to the letters and numbers ordinarily inscribed thereon, the license plates shall be imprinted with the international symbol of access. The license plates and validation stickers shall be issued upon payment of the regular license fee as prescribed under section 4503.04 of the Revised Code and any motor vehicle tax levied under Chapter 4504. of the Revised Code, and the payment of a service fee equal to the amount specified in division (D) or (G) of section 4503.10 of the Revised Code.

(D)(1) Upon receipt of a completed and signed application for a removable windshield placard, a prescription as described in division (B) of this section, documentary evidence of regular transport of persons with disabilities that limit or impair the ability to walk, if required, and payment of a service fee equal to the amount specified in division (D) or (G) of section 4503.10 of the Revised Code, the registrar or deputy registrar shall issue to the applicant a removable windshield placard, which shall bear the date of expiration on both sides of the placard and shall be valid until expired, revoked, or surrendered. Every removable windshield placard expires as described in division (D)(2) of this section, but in no case shall a removable windshield placard be valid for a period of less than sixty days. Removable windshield placards shall be renewable upon application as provided in division (B) of this section, and a service fee equal to the amount specified in division (D) or (G) of section 4503.10 of the Revised Code shall be charged for the renewal of a removable windshield placard. The registrar shall provide the application form and shall determine the information to be included thereon. The registrar also shall determine the form and size of the removable windshield placard, the material of which it is to be made, and any other information to be included thereon, and shall adopt rules relating to the issuance, expiration, revocation, surrender, and proper display of such placards. Any placard issued after October 14, 1999, shall be manufactured in a manner that allows the expiration date of the placard to be indicated on it through the punching, drilling, boring, or creation by any other means of holes in the placard.

(2) At the time a removable windshield placard is issued to a person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk, the registrar or deputy registrar shall enter into the records of the bureau of motor vehicles the last date on which the person will have that disability, as indicated on the accompanying prescription. Not less than thirty days prior to that date and all removable windshield placard renewal dates, the bureau shall send a renewal notice to that person at the person's last known address as shown in the records of the bureau, informing the person that the person's removable windshield placard will expire on the indicated date not to exceed five years from the date of issuance, and that the person is required to renew the placard by submitting to the registrar or a deputy registrar another prescription, as described in division (B) of this section, and by complying with the renewal provisions prescribed in division (D)(1) of this section. If such a prescription is not received by the registrar or a deputy registrar by that date, the placard issued to that person expires and no longer is valid, and this fact shall be recorded in the records of the bureau.

(3) At least once every year, on a date determined by the registrar, the bureau shall examine the records of the office of vital statistics, located within the department of health, that pertain to deceased persons, and also the bureau's records of all persons who have been issued removable windshield placards and temporary removable windshield placards. If the records of the office of vital statistics indicate that a person to whom a removable windshield placard or temporary removable windshield placard has been issued is deceased, the bureau shall cancel that placard, and note the cancellation in its records.

The office of vital statistics shall make available to the bureau all information necessary to enable the bureau to comply with division (D)(3) of this section.

(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a person or organization to apply for a removable windshield placard or special license plates if the parking card or special license plates issued to the person or organization under prior law have not expired or been surrendered or revoked.

(E)(1)(a) Any person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk may apply to the registrar or a deputy registrar for a temporary removable windshield placard. The application for a temporary removable windshield placard shall be accompanied by a prescription from the applicant's health care provider prescribing such a placard for the applicant, provided that the applicant meets at least one of the criteria contained in division (A)(1) of this section and that the disability is expected to continue for six consecutive months or less. The health care provider shall state on the prescription the length of time the health care provider expects the applicant to have the disability that limits or impairs the applicant's ability to walk, which cannot exceed six months from the date of the prescription. Upon receipt of an application for a temporary removable windshield placard, presentation of the prescription from the applicant's health care provider, and payment of a service fee equal to the amount specified in division (D) or (G) of section 4503.10 of the Revised Code, the registrar or deputy registrar shall issue to the applicant a temporary removable windshield placard.

(b) Any active-duty member of the armed forces of the United States, including the reserve components of the armed forces and the national guard, who has an illness or injury that limits or impairs the ability to walk may apply to the registrar or a deputy registrar for a temporary removable windshield placard. With the application, the person shall present evidence of the person's active-duty status and the illness or injury. Evidence of the illness or injury may include a current department of defense convalescent leave statement, any department of defense document indicating that the person currently has an ill or injured casualty status or has limited duties, or a prescription from any health care provider prescribing the placard for the applicant. Upon receipt of the application and the necessary evidence, the registrar or deputy registrar shall issue the applicant the temporary removable windshield placard without the payment of any service fee.

(2) The temporary removable windshield placard shall be of the same size and form as the removable windshield placard, shall be printed in white on a red-colored background, and shall bear the word "temporary" in letters of such size as the registrar shall prescribe. A temporary removable windshield placard also shall bear the date of expiration on the front and back of the placard, and shall be valid until expired, surrendered, or revoked, but in no case shall such a placard be valid for a period of less than sixty days. The registrar shall provide the application form and shall determine the information to be included on it, provided that the registrar shall not require a health care provider's prescription or certification for a person applying under division (E)(1)(b) of this section. The registrar also shall determine the material of which the temporary removable windshield placard is to be made and any other information to be included on the placard and shall adopt rules relating to the issuance, expiration, surrender, revocation, and proper display of those placards. Any temporary removable windshield placard issued after October 14, 1999, shall be manufactured in a manner that allows for the expiration date of the placard to be indicated on it through the punching, drilling, boring, or creation by any other means of holes in the placard.

(F) If an applicant for a removable windshield placard is a veteran of the armed forces of the United States whose disability, as defined in division (A)(1) of this section, is service-connected, the registrar or deputy registrar, upon receipt of the application, presentation of a signed statement from the applicant's health care provider certifying the applicant's disability, and presentation of such documentary evidence from the department of veterans affairs that the disability of the applicant meets at least one of the criteria identified in division (A)(1) of this section and is service-connected as the registrar may require by rule, but without the payment of any service fee, shall issue the applicant a removable windshield placard that is valid until expired, surrendered, or revoked.

(G) Upon a conviction of a violation of division (I), or (J), or (K) of this section, the court shall report the conviction, and send the placard or parking card, if available, to the registrar, who thereupon shall revoke the privilege of using the placard or parking card and send notice in writing to the placardholder or cardholder at that holder's last known address as shown in the records of the bureau, and the placardholder or cardholder shall return the placard or card if not previously surrendered to the court, to the registrar within ten days following mailing of the notice.

Whenever a person to whom a removable windshield placard or parking card has been issued moves to another state, the person shall surrender the placard or card to the registrar; and whenever an organization to which a placard or card has been issued changes its place of operation to another state, the organization shall surrender the placard or card to the registrar.

(H) Subject to division (F) of section 4511.69 of the Revised Code, the operator of a motor vehicle displaying a removable windshield placard, temporary removable windshield placard, parking card, or the special license plates authorized by this section is entitled to park the motor vehicle in any special parking location reserved for persons with disabilities that limit or impair the ability to walk, also known as handicapped accessible parking spaces or disability parking spaces.

(I) No person or organization that is not eligible under division (B) or (E) of this section shall willfully and falsely represent that the person or organization is so eligible.

No person or organization shall display license plates issued under this section unless the license plates have been issued for the vehicle on which they are displayed and are valid.

(J) No person or organization to which a removable windshield placard or temporary removable windshield placard is issued shall do either of the following:

(1) Display or permit the display of the placard on any motor vehicle when having reasonable cause to believe the motor vehicle is being used in connection with an activity that does not include providing transportation for persons with disabilities that limit or impair the ability to walk;

(2) Refuse to return or surrender the placard, when required.

(K)(1) No person or organization to which a parking card is issued shall do either of the following:

(a) Display or permit the display of the parking card on any motor vehicle when having reasonable cause to believe the motor vehicle is being used in connection with an activity that does not include providing transportation for a person with a disability;

(b) Refuse to return or surrender the parking card, when required.

(2) As used in division (K) of this section:

(a) "Person with a disability" means any person who has lost the use of one or both legs or one or both arms, who is blind, deaf, or so severely disabled as to be unable to move about without the aid of crutches or a wheelchair, or whose mobility is restricted by a permanent cardiovascular, pulmonary, or other disabling condition.

(b) "Organization" means any private organization or corporation, or any governmental board, agency, department, division, or office, that, as part of its business or program, transports persons with disabilities on a regular basis in a motor vehicle that has not been altered for the purposes of providing it with special equipment for use by persons with disabilities.

(L) If a removable windshield placard, or temporary removable windshield placard, or parking card is lost, destroyed, or mutilated, the placardholder or cardholder may obtain a duplicate by doing both of the following:

(1) Furnishing suitable proof of the loss, destruction, or mutilation to the registrar;

(2) Paying a service fee equal to the amount specified in division (D) or (G) of section 4503.10 of the Revised Code.

Any placardholder or cardholder who loses a placard or card and, after obtaining a duplicate, finds the original, immediately shall surrender the original placard or card to the registrar.

(M)(L) The registrar shall pay all fees received under this section for the issuance of removable windshield placards or temporary removable windshield placards or duplicate removable windshield placards or cards into the state treasury to the credit of the state bureau of motor vehicles fund created in section 4501.25 of the Revised Code.

(N)(M) In addition to the fees collected under this section, the registrar or deputy registrar shall ask each person applying for a removable windshield placard or temporary removable windshield placard or duplicate removable windshield placard or license plate issued under this section, whether the person wishes to make a two-dollar voluntary contribution to support rehabilitation employment services. The registrar shall transmit the contributions received under this division to the treasurer of state for deposit into the rehabilitation employment fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury. A deputy registrar shall transmit the contributions received under this division to the registrar in the time and manner prescribed by the registrar. The contributions in the fund shall be used by the opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities agency to purchase services related to vocational evaluation, work adjustment, personal adjustment, job placement, job coaching, and community-based assessment from accredited community rehabilitation program facilities.

(O)(N) For purposes of enforcing this section, every peace officer is deemed to be an agent of the registrar. Any peace officer or any authorized employee of the bureau of motor vehicles who, in the performance of duties authorized by law, becomes aware of a person whose placard or parking card has been revoked pursuant to this section, may confiscate that placard or parking card and return it to the registrar. The registrar shall prescribe any forms used by law enforcement agencies in administering this section.

No peace officer, law enforcement agency employing a peace officer, or political subdivision or governmental agency employing a peace officer, and no employee of the bureau is liable in a civil action for damages or loss to persons arising out of the performance of any duty required or authorized by this section. As used in this division, "peace officer" has the same meaning as in division (B) of section 2935.01 of the Revised Code.

(P)(O) All applications for registration of motor vehicles, removable windshield placards, and temporary removable windshield placards issued under this section, all renewal notices for such items, and all other publications issued by the bureau that relate to this section shall set forth the criminal penalties that may be imposed upon a person who violates any provision relating to special license plates issued under this section, the parking of vehicles displaying such license plates, and the issuance, procurement, use, and display of removable windshield placards and temporary removable windshield placards issued under this section.

(Q)(P) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

Sec. 4511.69.  (A) Every vehicle stopped or parked upon a roadway where there is an adjacent curb shall be stopped or parked with the right-hand wheels of the vehicle parallel with and not more than twelve inches from the right-hand curb, unless it is impossible to approach so close to the curb; in such case the stop shall be made as close to the curb as possible and only for the time necessary to discharge and receive passengers or to load or unload merchandise. Local authorities by ordinance may permit angle parking on any roadway under their jurisdiction, except that angle parking shall not be permitted on a state route within a municipal corporation unless an unoccupied roadway width of not less than twenty-five feet is available for free-moving traffic.

(B) Local authorities by ordinance may permit parking of vehicles with the left-hand wheels adjacent to and within twelve inches of the left-hand curb of a one-way roadway.

(C)(1)(a) Except as provided in division (C)(1)(b) of this section, no vehicle or trackless trolley shall be stopped or parked on a road or highway with the vehicle or trackless trolley facing in a direction other than the direction of travel on that side of the road or highway.

(b) The operator of a motorcycle may back the motorcycle into an angled parking space so that when the motorcycle is parked it is facing in a direction other than the direction of travel on the side of the road or highway.

(2) The operator of a motorcycle may back the motorcycle into a parking space that is located on the side of, and parallel to, a road or highway. The motorcycle may face any direction when so parked. Not more than two motorcycles at a time shall be parked in a parking space as described in division (C)(2) of this section irrespective of whether or not the space is metered.

(D) Notwithstanding any statute or any rule, resolution, or ordinance adopted by any local authority, air compressors, tractors, trucks, and other equipment, while being used in the construction, reconstruction, installation, repair, or removal of facilities near, on, over, or under a street or highway, may stop, stand, or park where necessary in order to perform such work, provided a flagperson is on duty or warning signs or lights are displayed as may be prescribed by the director of transportation.

(E) Special parking locations and privileges for persons with disabilities that limit or impair the ability to walk, also known as handicapped accessible parking spaces or disability parking spaces, shall be provided and designated by all political subdivisions and by the state and all agencies and instrumentalities thereof at all offices and facilities, where parking is provided, whether owned, rented, or leased, and at all publicly owned parking garages. The locations shall be designated through the posting of an elevated sign, whether permanently affixed or movable, imprinted with the international symbol of access and shall be reasonably close to exits, entrances, elevators, and ramps. All elevated signs posted in accordance with this division and division (C) of section 3781.111 of the Revised Code shall be mounted on a fixed or movable post, and the distance from the ground to the bottom edge of the sign shall measure not less than five feet. If a new sign or a replacement sign designating a special parking location is posted on or after October 14, 1999, there also shall be affixed upon the surface of that sign or affixed next to the designating sign a notice that states the fine applicable for the offense of parking a motor vehicle in the special designated parking location if the motor vehicle is not legally entitled to be parked in that location.

If a new sign or a replacement sign designating a special parking location is posted on or after the effective date of this amendment, it shall conform with this division and bear the word "accessible" and any other required words or symbols but shall not bear any form of the word "handicap." A sign designating a special parking location that is posted on the effective date of this amendment that bears any form of the word "handicap" may remain posted after that date until such time as it is replaced.

(F)(1) No person shall stop, stand, or park any motor vehicle at special parking locations provided under division (E) of this section or at special clearly marked parking locations provided in or on privately owned parking lots, parking garages, or other parking areas and designated in accordance with that division, unless one of the following applies:

(a) The motor vehicle is being operated by or for the transport of a person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk and is displaying a valid removable windshield placard or special license plates;

(b) The motor vehicle is being operated by or for the transport of a handicapped person and is displaying a parking card or special handicapped license plates issued under section 4503.44 of the Revised Code.

(2) Any motor vehicle that is parked in a special marked parking location in violation of division (F)(1)(a) or (b) of this section may be towed or otherwise removed from the parking location by the law enforcement agency of the political subdivision in which the parking location is located. A motor vehicle that is so towed or removed shall not be released to its owner until the owner presents proof of ownership of the motor vehicle and pays all towing and storage fees normally imposed by that political subdivision for towing and storing motor vehicles. If the motor vehicle is a leased vehicle, it shall not be released to the lessee until the lessee presents proof that that person is the lessee of the motor vehicle and pays all towing and storage fees normally imposed by that political subdivision for towing and storing motor vehicles.

(3) If a person is charged with a violation of division (F)(1)(a) or (b) of this section, it is an affirmative defense to the charge that the person suffered an injury not more than seventy-two hours prior to the time the person was issued the ticket or citation and that, because of the injury, the person meets at least one of the criteria contained in division (A)(1) of section 4503.44 of the Revised Code.

(G) When a motor vehicle is being operated by or for the transport of a person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk and is displaying a removable windshield placard or a temporary removable windshield placard or special license plates, or when a motor vehicle is being operated by or for the transport of a handicapped person and is displaying a parking card or special handicapped license plates, the motor vehicle is permitted to park for a period of two hours in excess of the legal parking period permitted by local authorities, except where local ordinances or police rules provide otherwise or where the vehicle is parked in such a manner as to be clearly a traffic hazard.

(H) No owner of an office, facility, or parking garage where special parking locations are required to be designated in accordance with division (E) of this section shall fail to properly mark the special parking locations in accordance with that division or fail to maintain the markings of the special locations, including the erection and maintenance of the fixed or movable signs.

(I) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a person or organization to apply for a removable windshield placard or special license plates if the parking card or special license plates issued to the person or organization under prior law have not expired or been surrendered or revoked.

(J)(1) Whoever violates division (A) or (C) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

(2)(a) Whoever violates division (F)(1)(a) or (b) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided in division divisions (J)(2)(a) and (b) of this section. Except as otherwise provided in division (J)(2)(a) of this section, an offender who violates division (F)(1)(a) or (b) of this section shall be fined not less than two hundred fifty nor more than five hundred dollars. An offender who violates division (F)(1)(a) or (b) of this section shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars if the offender, prior to sentencing, proves either of the following to the satisfaction of the court:

(i) At that at the time of the violation of division (F)(1)(a) of this section, the offender or the person for whose transport the motor vehicle was being operated had been issued a removable windshield placard that then was valid or special license plates that then were valid but the offender or the person neglected to display the placard or license plates as described in division (F)(1)(a) of this section.

(ii) At the time of the violation of division (F)(1)(b) of this section, the offender or the person for whose transport the motor vehicle was being operated had been issued a parking card that then was valid or special handicapped license plates that then were valid but the offender or the person neglected to display the card or license plates as described in division (F)(1)(b) of this section.

(b) In no case shall an offender who violates division (F)(1)(a) or (b) of this section be sentenced to any term of imprisonment.

An arrest or conviction for a violation of division (F)(1)(a) or (b) of this section does not constitute a criminal record and need not be reported by the person so arrested or convicted in response to any inquiries contained in any application for employment, license, or other right or privilege, or made in connection with the person's appearance as a witness.

The clerk of the court shall pay every fine collected under division (J)(2) of this section to the political subdivision in which the violation occurred. Except as provided in division (J)(2) of this section, the political subdivision shall use the fine moneys it receives under division (J)(2) of this section to pay the expenses it incurs in complying with the signage and notice requirements contained in division (E) of this section. The political subdivision may use up to fifty per cent of each fine it receives under division (J)(2) of this section to pay the costs of educational, advocacy, support, and assistive technology programs for persons with disabilities, and for public improvements within the political subdivision that benefit or assist persons with disabilities, if governmental agencies or nonprofit organizations offer the programs.

(3) Whoever violates division (H) of this section shall be punished as follows:

(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (J)(3) of this section, the offender shall be issued a warning.

(b) If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a violation of division (H) of this section or of a municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to that division, the offender shall not be issued a warning but shall be fined not more than twenty-five dollars for each parking location that is not properly marked or whose markings are not properly maintained.

(K) As used in this section:

(1) "Handicapped person" means any person who has lost the use of one or both legs or one or both arms, who is blind, deaf, or so severely handicapped as to be unable to move without the aid of crutches or a wheelchair, or whose mobility is restricted by a permanent cardiovascular, pulmonary, or other handicapping condition.

(2) "Person with a disability that limits or impairs the ability to walk" has the same meaning as in section 4503.44 of the Revised Code.

(3)(2) "Special license plates" and "removable windshield placard" mean any license plates or removable windshield placard or temporary removable windshield placard issued under section 4503.41 or 4503.44 of the Revised Code, and also mean any substantially similar license plates or removable windshield placard or temporary removable windshield placard issued by a state, district, country, or sovereignty.

Section 2. That existing sections 737.051, 737.161, 3501.29, 3781.111, 4503.44, and 4511.69 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.