The third week of the 2023 Regular Session of the Arkansas Legislature began yesterday with the House passing a bill amending the law concerning the issuance of Disabled Veteran special license plates.
Rep. Andrew Collins’s (D-Little Rock) HB1101 changes the qualifications for a special license plate to a veteran who is at least 10% disabled.
According to an Arkansas Advocate article by Hunter Field, state law currently required eligible veterans to have a service-connected disability of at least 30%.
The Advocate article noted:
“…the bill worked in tandem with House Bill 1086 by Rep. Mark Berry (R-Ozark), the former adjutant general of the Arkansas National Guard.
HB 1086 tweaked Arkansas’ Disabled Veteran specialty tag law with the aim of ensuring only veterans with disabilities that affect their mobility are authorized to park in handicap spaces.
Berry told representatives last week that he was bothered by seeing some veterans without mobility challenges take spaces from those who truly need them.
His bill would require disabled veterans who need to use handicap parking spaces to apply for the same handicap permit as civilians.
Both bills will now await action in the Senate.”
Also yesterday, the House passed:
- HB1122, which now states the first day of the school year for public elementary and secondary schools “…shall be on or after the Monday of the week in which August 19 falls, not earlier than August 14, and not later than August 26.”
- HB1017, which will allow school district employees to take a leave of absence for training in certain emergency and rescue services.
- And HB1145, which declares April 23 of each year as Lupus Awareness Day.
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