House Bill 1381

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE CREATION OF SPECIAL WINDSHIELD PLACARDS FOR USE BY EXPECTANT MOTHERS IN PARKING MOTOR VEHICLES IN AREAS SET ASIDE FOR SUCH PERSONS; TO PROVIDE THAT SUCH PLACARDS SHALL BE ISSUED BY THE STATE TAX COMMISSION UPON PAYMENT OF A FEE OF FIVE DOLLARS; TO AUTHORIZE STATE AGENCIES AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS TO SET ASIDE PARKING SPACES FOR EXPECTANT MOTHERS; TO PRESCRIBE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) The State Tax Commission shall provide for the issuance of a temporary removable windshield placard, upon the application of an expectant mother. The temporary removable windshield placards authorized by this subsection shall be prepared by the State Tax Commission and shall be issued, for a fee of Five Dollars ($5.00), to qualified applicants through the offices of the tax collectors of the counties. Application for a temporary removable windshield placard must be accompanied by the certification of a licensed physician that the applicant is at least four (4) months pregnant at the time of application. The temporary removable windshield placard must be displayed on the left side of the vehicle dashboard or by hanging it on the rearview mirror of the vehicle. The temporary removable windshield placard shall be void immediately upon the end of pregnancy by any means and shall not be displayed on any vehicle and shall be returned to the tax collector. The State Tax Commission shall prescribe the size, color, design and shape of the placard.

(2) Any state agency, county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state may set aside parking spaces reserved for use by expectant mothers. The Mississippi Department of Transportation shall prescribe such signage and markings as it deems appropriate to designate such parking spaces, and all such spaces shall conform to requirements established by the department.

SECTION 2. (1) An expectant mother may use a special parking placard obtained under Section 1 of this act to park in areas designated under Section 1(2) of this act. When parking the designated vehicle, the expectant mother parking placard shall be prominently displayed in such a manner that it may be viewed from the front and rear of the vehicle by hanging it from the front windshield rearview mirror of a vehicle only when that vehicle is utilizing a parking space reserved for expectant mothers. When there is no rearview mirror, or the expectant mother parking placard is not designed in such a manner to accommodate hanging from a rearview mirror, the placard shall be displayed on the dashboard.

(2) An expectant mother parking placard may also be issued for use in a vehicle in which an expectant mother is being transported.

SECTION 3. (1) Except for persons parking vehicles lawfully displaying an expectant mother parking placard when such vehicles are being operated by or for the transportation of an expectant mother, no person shall park a vehicle on public or private property reserved for an expectant mother, which property has been so posted in accordance with regulations of the Department of Transportation which shall require a sign stating the penalty amount indicated under Section 6 of this act and that vehicles in violation of this subsection may be towed.

(2) Any vehicle which is unlawfully parked in a designated expectant mother parking area may be removed from that area by towing and may be reclaimed by the vehicle owner upon payment of the towing costs.

(3) Local authorities shall have the power and, by ordinance or resolution, may authorize expectant mothers to issue statements to violators or violating vehicles for violation of subsection (1) of this section. The form of the statement shall be as prescribed by the local authorities.

SECTION 4. An operator of a vehicle displaying an expectant mother parking placard shall not make use of the parking privileges accorded to expectant mothers under this act unless the operator is an expectant mother or unless the vehicle is being operated for the transportation of an expectant mother.

SECTION 5. Signs required to be posted under this section shall be replaced when they become either obsolete or missing with all costs to replace the necessary signs to be borne by the persons responsible for signing the particular location.

SECTION 6. Any person violating this act commits a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less that Fifty Dollars ($50.00) nor more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00).

SECTION 7. The Department of Transportation shall promulgate such rules and regulations as it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.

SECTION 8. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2004.