Skip to main content
S2178APersonal

Motor and Other Vehicles - Parking Facilities and Privileges

This bill creates a special license plate for structurally modified vehicles used by people with significant mobility impairments.

Introduced67 Yea0 Nay8 Not voting
Population
Affected
3
Email Legislator
Introduced Jan 16, 2026Committee Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs

Plain-English Summary

This bill creates a special "adaptive vehicle license plate" for motor vehicles that have been structurally modified, such as with ramps or hand controls, to transport people with significant mobility impairments. To get the plate, a person must provide medical certification of their impairment and proof that the vehicle has been modified. Vehicles displaying this special license plate will not need to hang the standard disability parking placard from their rearview mirror to use disability parking spaces. Eligible individuals can still get both the license plate and the hanging placard if they choose.

For younger readers

This bill makes a special license plate for cars and vans that have been changed to help people who have a hard time moving around. For example, some vans have ramps added so a wheelchair can roll right inside. If a car has this special license plate, the driver won't have to hang the blue wheelchair tag from their mirror to park in special parking spots. To get the plate, a doctor has to write a note saying the person needs it, and they have to show proof that the car was changed to help them.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Persons with disabilitiesAdaptive vehicle ownersMedical professionalsDivision of Motor Vehicles
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely. The bill simply creates a specialized license plate for modified vehicles to assist individuals with disabilities. It does not infringe on free speech, due process, or involve unreasonable searches and seizures.

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
Amount unknown

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Increases accessibility and convenience for individuals with significant mobility impairments by eliminating the need to constantly hang and remove a separate parking placard.
  • Promotes inclusivity and social justice by formally recognizing and accommodating the specific transportation needs of the disabled community.
  • Provides flexibility by allowing individuals to possess both the adaptive vehicle license plate and the standard disability placard simultaneously, ensuring they have access options across different vehicles.
  • The requirement to provide proof of vehicle modification and medical certification may create bureaucratic hurdles that delay or complicate access for people with disabilities.
  • Fails to waive the standard registration fees for adaptive vehicles, missing an opportunity to provide financial relief to individuals who already bear the high costs of modifying their vehicles.
  • Focuses solely on those who can afford expensive structural modifications to their personal vehicles, potentially leaving out lower-income disabled individuals who rely on unmodified cars or public transit.
For Conservatives
  • Respects individual freedom by providing disabled citizens with an optional, streamlined alternative to the standard hanging placard system without mandating its use.
  • Maintains fiscal responsibility by ensuring standard registration fees still apply, rather than creating a new government subsidy or tax break.
  • Prevents potential abuse of disability parking privileges by requiring strict medical certification and proof of vehicle modification to qualify for the special plates.
  • Expands government bureaucracy by requiring the Division of Motor Vehicles to create, administer, and process applications for a new, highly specific category of license plates.
  • Imposes additional regulatory burdens on citizens by requiring them to submit proof of vehicle modifications and medical certifications just to obtain a license plate.
  • Creates redundancy within the state system by allowing individuals to hold both a disability placard and an adaptive vehicle plate simultaneously, potentially leading to administrative waste.

Votes

Loading votes...

Full Bill Text

2 versions
Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 27 additions

SECTION 1. Chapter 31-28 of the General Laws entitled "Parking Facilities and Privileges" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 31-28-7.4. Motor vehicle plates for persons with disabilities -- Adaptive vehicle license plate.

(a) Definitions. As used in the section:

(1) "Adaptive vehicle" means a motor vehicle that has been structurally modified or equipped with specialized equipment (such as ramps, lifts, lowered floors, specialized hand controls, or restraint systems) to accommodate the transportation needs of an individual with a significant mobility impairment.

(2) "Adaptive vehicle license plate" means a special registration plate issued under this section that identifies a vehicle as an adaptive or mobility-modified vehicle.

(3) "Qualified individual" means a person who has a permanent mobility impairment certified by a licensed physician or a physical therapist, necessitating the use of an adaptive vehicle for transport.

(b) Eligibility requirements.

(1) Completed application form from the division of motor vehicles.

(2) Medical certification of disability/need for vehicle modification.

(3) Proof of vehicle modification.

(4) Standard registration fees apply.

(c) Privileges and access. Vehicles displaying an adaptive vehicle license plate shall not be required to display the disability parking privilege placard issued under § 31-28-7:

(d) The division of motor vehicles shall, in addition to the provisions of § 31-28-7, furnish an "adaptive vehicle license plate" displaying the "International Symbol of Access" for any motor vehicle eligible for registration as an automobile, commercial vehicle or combination vehicle that qualifies as an "adaptive vehicle" as defined in this section used exclusively for noncommercial purposes for a qualified individual.

(e) Nothing in this section shall preclude an eligible individual from obtaining both the disability parking privilege placard pursuant to § 31-28-7 and the adaptive vehicle license plate pursuant to this section provided all eligibility requirements are met.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect six (6) months after passage.