If passed, House Bill 434 would reduce the paperwork requirements for people who are 100 percent permanently disabled to get a handicap parking pass.

By Hyun Namkoong

House Bill 434 received a favorable report in a transportation committee meeting Wednesday. If passed, the law would no longer require people who are 100 percent permanently medically disabled to get recertified by a doctor every five years to acquire a handicap parking pass.

Rep. Susan Martin (R-Wilson), one of the bill’s primary sponsors, said a veteran in her district asked her to do something to remove the requirement of having a doctor’s note to renew the handicap parking pass. She said recertification can be overly expensive for many individuals.

Martin said the Department of Motor Vehicles supported the proposed legislation, but asked to have until 2016 to institute the changes.

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Hyun Namkoong

Hyun graduated from the UNC-Chapel Hill Gillings Global School of Public Health in the health behavior department and she worked as the NC Health News intern from Jan-Aug 2014.