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

                                 1754--A

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 14, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government -- recom-
  mitted to the Committee on Local Government in accordance with  Senate
  Rule  6,  sec.  8  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
  reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

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  amended  by  chapter  265 of the laws of 2013, 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  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 as amended by chapter 376 of the laws  of
2015, are amended to read as follows:
  4.  Issue  of  plates.  The commissioner shall issue sets of plates to
such person in accordance with subdivision  two  of  this  section  with

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD06769-02-6
              

S. 1754--A                          2

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 and consistent with
subdivision three of section six thousand nine hundred two of the educa-
tion  law,  or podiatrist pursuant to subdivision four-a of this section
or optometrist pursuant to subdivision four-b 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 and consistent with subdi-
vision three of section six thousand nine hundred two of  the  education
law,  duly  licensed to practice in this state, or, pursuant to subdivi-
sion four-a of this section, a  podiatrist  duly  licensed  to  practice
podiatry  in  this  state  or,  pursuant  to  subdivision four-b of this
section, an optometrist duly licensed  to  practice  optometry  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
and consistent with subdivision  three  of  section  six  thousand  nine
hundred  two of the education law, or podiatrist pursuant to subdivision
four-a of this section or optometrist pursuant to subdivision four-b  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.