At the disAbility Law Center of Virginia, we have gotten complaints from individuals with disabilities who believed they were subjected to unfair examinations by the Department of Motor Vehicles because of their disabilities. Current law allows DMV to require additional testing of someone with a disability to obtain a driver’s license.
HB 1163 (Sickles) changes the standard for being denied a driver’s license or having a driver’s license reviewed or revoked for medical reasons by removing language regarding the presence of a disability or disease and requiring the existence of an impairment that will prevent the driver from exercising reasonable and ordinary control over a motor vehicle or drive a motor vehicle safely.
The bill was approved by the House before crossover and was approved by the Senate on February 20th but was not sent to the Governor until March 11th. He has until April 8th to sign, amend, or veto the bill. Because dLCV worked with the Department of Motor Vehicles to address this issue, we are hopeful that the Governor will sign the bill.
The reconvened session is scheduled for April 17th.
Our mission is to advance independence, choice, and self-determination; protect legal, human, and civil rights; and eliminate abuse, neglect, and discrimination of people with disabilities through zealous and uncompromising legal advocacy and representation. We are available to educate policymakers about the potential impact of legislative proposals. Please let us know of any legislative proposals or budget issues you think we should follow. Contact us at ga@dlcv.org, or info@dlcv.org, or by calling 1-800-552-3962 or 1-804-225-2042.