Ohio considers law that would prohibit dumping snow into accessible parking spots

From The News-Herald in Ohio:

The Ohio House of Representatives has approved a bill sponsored by state Rep. Lorraine Fende to prohibit dumping or shoveling snow into parking places designated for people with disabilities.

House Bill 39 passed with a bipartisan vote of 78-18.

"This legislation will alleviate what should be an unnecessary concern for disabled Ohioans each winter," said Fende, D-Willowick. "A snow-covered handicapped parking place defeats its very purpose. My bill is the very definition of common sense that offers one small step we can take to ease the difficulties of some of our fellow Ohioans."

Ohio law requires the owner of a building or facility with special parking locations for the disabled to properly mark and maintain those spaces. No provision in the Ohio Revised Code, however, requires the building owner to clear snow from a designated parking space or prohibits a person from dumping snow into the space.

H.B. 39 would institute penalties for property owners where snow is plowed or shoveled into handicapped parking spots. The penalty charged to the property owner would be equivalent to parking unlawfully in a handicapped spot, a minor misdemeanor charge.

An Ohio resident who had dealt with this issue for years brought this problem to Fende's attention after a snowstorm in March 2008. Fende introduced the bill that year and again in 2009.

The measure now moves to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.