A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to modernize the symbol of access for persons with disabilities.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Design Symbol. – The Department of Administration, in consultation with any other State agency or department it deems necessary to consult with, shall design a new symbol of access for signs and other materials indicating access for, or use by, persons with disabilities. The symbol required under this section shall depict a logo with a dynamic character leaning forward with a sense of movement, be readily identifiable, and be simply designed with no secondary meaning. The symbol required under this section shall signify equivalent facilitation and accessibility as the International Symbol of Access.
SECTION 2.  Signs in State Buildings. – The Department of Administration shall ensure that all signs in State buildings indicating access for persons with disabilities reflect the symbol of access designed under Section 1 of this act instead of the International Symbol of Access. The requirement of this section only applies to signs installed or replaced on or after January 1, 2018.
SECTION 3.  G.S. 20‑37.5 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑37.5.  Definitions.
Unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions apply throughout this Article to the defined words and phrases and their cognates:
(1)	Distinguishing license plate. – A license plate that displays the symbol of access using the same color, size of plate, and size of letters or numbers as a regular plate.
(2)	Handicapped. – A person with a mobility impairment who, as determined by a licensed physician, meets any of the following requirements:
a.	Cannot walk 200 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 lung disease to such an extent that the person's forced (respiratory) expiratory volume of one second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 mm/hg 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 their ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition.
g.	Is totally blind or whose vision with glasses is so defective as to prevent the performance of ordinary activity for which eyesight is essential, as certified by a licensed ophthalmologist, optometrist, or the Division of Services for the Blind.
(3)	International Symbol of Access. – The symbol adopted by Rehabilitation International in 1969 at its Eleventh World Congress on Rehabilitation of the Disabled.
(4)	Removable windshield placard. – A two‑sided, hooked placard which includes all of the following on each side:
a.	The symbol of access, which is at least three inches in height, centered on the placard, and is white on a blue shield.
b.	An identification number.
c.	An expiration date that is visible from at least 20 feet and the month and year of expiration.
d.	The seal or other identification of the issuing authority.
(5)	Symbol of access. – The symbol designed by the Department of Administration depicting a logo with a dynamic character leaning forward with a sense of movement."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 20‑7(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	Tests. – To demonstrate physical and mental ability, a person must pass an examination. The examination may include road tests, vision tests, oral tests, and, in the case of literate applicants, written tests, as the Division may require. The tests must ensure that an applicant recognizes the international symbol of access and symbol of access, as both terms are defined in G.S. 20‑37.5. The Division may not require a person who applies to renew a license that has not expired to take a written test or a road test unless one or more of the following applies:
…."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 136‑30(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	Public Vehicular Areas. – Except as provided in this subsection, all traffic signs and other traffic control devices placed on a public vehicular area, as defined in G.S. 20‑4.01, must conform to the Uniform Manual. The owner of private property that contains a public vehicular area may place on the property a traffic control device, other than a sign designating a parking space for handicapped persons, as defined in G.S. 20‑37.5, that differs in material from the uniform device but does not differ in shape, size, color, or any other way from the uniform device. The owner of private property that contains a public vehicular area may place on the property a sign designating a parking space for handicapped persons that includes the symbol of access, as defined in G.S. 20‑37.5, and differs in material and color from the uniform sign, but does not differ in shape, size, or any other way from the uniform device."
SECTION 6.  Section 3 of this act becomes effective January 1, 2018, and applies to license plates and windshield placards issued on or after that date. Section 4 of this act becomes effective January 1, 2018, and applies to tests administered on or after that date. Section 5 of this act becomes effective January 1, 2018, and applies to signs installed or replaced. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.