Arkansas House passes law to expand eligibility for disabled veteran license plates

The Arkansas House voted Monday to expand the pool of disable veterans eligible for special license plates.

Without dissent, the House of Representatives passed House Bill 1101 by Rep. Andrew Collins (D-Little Rock).

It allows any veteran who has been determined to be at least 10% disabled due to their military service to register for a Disabled Veteran license plate from the state.

State law currently requires eligible veterans to have a service-connected disability of at least 30%.

The special plates are free but have an annual renewal fee of $1.

Collins told House members on Monday that the bill worked in tandem with House Bill 1086 by Rep. Mark Berry (R-Ozark), the former adjutant general of the Arkansas National Guard.

HB 1086 tweaked Arkansas’ Disabled Veteran specialty tag law with the aim of ensuring only veterans with disabilities that affect their mobility are authorized to park in handicap spaces.

Berry told representatives last week that he was bothered by seeing some veterans without mobility challenges take spaces from those who truly need them.

His bill would require disabled veterans who need to use handicap parking spaces to apply for a the same handicap permit as civilians.

Both bills will now await action in the Senate.