S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  5344

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              May 10, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. JOHNSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government

AN ACT to amend the real property  tax  law,  in  relation  to  enabling
  chiropractors  to certify disability; to amend the vehicle and traffic
  law, in relation to enabling chiropractors to certify  disability  for
  the  purpose  of  issuance of handicapped license plates and registra-
  tion; and to amend the education law, in relation to  enabling  chiro-
  practors  to  be employed by school districts to provide school health
  services

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 459 of the real  property tax law,
as  added  by  chapter 200 of the laws of 1983 and as further amended by
section 1 of part W of chapter 56 of the laws of  2010,  is  amended  to
read as follows:
  2. To qualify as physically disabled for the purposes of this section,
an  individual shall submit to the assessor a certified statement from a
physician OR CHIROPRACTOR licensed to practice in the state  on  a  form
prescribed  and made available by the commissioner which states that the
individual has  a  permanent  physical  impairment  which  substantially
limits  one  or  more of such individual's major life activities, except
that an individual who has obtained a certificate from the state commis-
sion for the blind and visually handicapped stating that such individual
is legally blind may submit such certificate in lieu  of  a  physician's
certified statement.
  S 2. Subdivision 4 and paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 of section 404-a
of  the vehicle and traffic law, subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 686
of the laws of 1994 and the  opening  paragraph  and  paragraph  (c)  of
subdivision  4  and paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 as amended by chapter
228 of the laws of 2008, are amended to read as follows:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD05050-03-1

              

S. 5344                             2

  4. Issue of plates. The commissioner shall issue  sets  of  plates  to
such  person  in  accordance  with  subdivision two of this section with
proof of such disability of such person or such members of  his  OR  HER
family  certified  by  a physician, physician assistant, CHIROPRACTOR or
nurse  practitioner,  to  the  extent  authorized  by law, including the
education law, and  consistent  with  any  applicable  written  practice
agreement, or podiatrist pursuant to subdivision four-a of this section,
to  the  satisfaction  of the commissioner who is empowered to carry out
the effects of this section by formulating rules and regulations.
  For the purposes of this section, a "severely disabled  person"  shall
mean  any  person  having  any one or more of the following impairments,
disabilities or conditions which are permanent in nature:
  (a) Has limited or no use of one or both lower limbs;
  (b) Has a neuro-muscular dysfunction which severely limits mobility;
  (c) Has a physical or mental impairment or condition  which  is  other
than  those  specified above, but is of such nature as to impose unusual
hardship in utilization of public  transportation  facilities  and  such
condition  is  certified  by  a  physician, physician assistant or nurse
practitioner, to the extent authorized by law, including  the  education
law, and consistent with any applicable written practice agreement, duly
licensed to practice medicine in this state, or, pursuant to subdivision
four-a  of this section, a podiatrist duly licensed to practice podiatry
in this state, as constituting an equal degree of disability (specifying
the particular condition) so as to  prevent  such  person  from  getting
around  without  great  difficulty in accordance with subdivision two of
this section; or
  (d) A blind person.
  (b) The commissioner may require the  applicant  for  registration  to
furnish  such proof of his OR HER disability or such proof of disability
of such members of his OR HER family from a physician, physician assist-
ant, CHIROPRACTOR or nurse practitioner, to  the  extent  authorized  by
law,  including  the  education  law, and consistent with any applicable
written practice agreement, or podiatrist pursuant to subdivision four-a
of this section, as the commissioner deems necessary either for  initial
registration  or  renewal thereof; provided, however, that a handicapped
or disabled permit issued by a municipality to such  applicant  pursuant
to section twelve hundred three-a of this chapter shall be deemed suffi-
cient proof of disability for purposes of this paragraph.
  S 3.  Subdivision 1 of section 902 of the education law, as amended by
chapter 477 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as follows:
  1.  As  used in this article "health professionals" means persons duly
licensed or otherwise authorized to practice a health profession  pursu-
ant to applicable law, including, but not limited to, physicians, regis-
tered  professional  nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians assistants,
optometrists, dentists, dental hygienists, CHIROPRACTORS, dietitians and
nutritionists, and audiologists.
  S 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
have become a law.