Could a South Carolina city reserve a disability parking space only during certain hours?

Plain-English summary

A sheriff asked about a sign making a disability parking space exclusive only during stated hours. The AG first said that a time restriction on enforcing the statutory parking privilege would not be enforceable: eligible drivers' exemption from fees or fines at metered or timed parking places was not limited to certain hours. He then addressed a distinct question about how a municipality designates spaces. He thought it could mark an individual space for disability parking only during certain hours, so long as other spaces remained reserved for disability parking at all times. At other hours, the part-time space could be used by the general public.

The opinion did not determine how many full-time spaces were enough. It said the cited municipal-space statute required designated spaces but did not specify a number, and the AG could not resolve that factual question in this opinion.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2008. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Could a city make one disability parking space available to everyone outside posted hours? A: The AG said that appeared permissible for an individual municipal space if other spaces remained designated for disability parking full time.

Q: Could posted hours cancel an eligible driver's statutory privilege at metered or timed parking? A: No. The opinion said the statute's exemption from parking fees or fines in such places was not subject to the proposed time restriction.

Q: How many disability parking spaces had to stay reserved all the time? A: The AG did not give a number. He said the cited statute was silent on quantity and the answer depended on the facts and circumstances.

Background and statutory framework

The AG read S.C. Code Ann. § 56-3-1960(1), which addressed parking privileges for an eligible person in metered or timed spaces, alongside § 56-3-1965, which required municipalities with marked parking spaces to reserve appropriately designated disability spaces. He treated the driver's exemption and the city's ability to designate a particular space during selected periods as separate issues.

Citations and references

Statutes discussed: S.C. Code Ann. §§ 56-3-1960(1) and 56-3-1965.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/april-7-2008-4/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/metts-j-r-os-8581-4-7-08-handicapped-parking.pdf

Original opinion text

April 7, 2008

The Honorable James R. Metts
Sheriff, Lexington County
P. O. Box 639
Lexington, South Carolina 29071
Dear Jimmy:
In a letter to this office you questioned whether there is a time restriction on when handicapped parking enforcement is permissible. For example, you referenced a parking space which indicates that “handicapped parking only between the hours of 8:00 to 2:00.” You questioned whether this would supersede state law and is there anything that would preclude such notice from being posted. S.C. Code Ann. § 56-3-1960(1) states that “[a]ny person who is handicapped as defined in this article must be allowed to park in metered or timed parking places without being subject to parking fees or fines.” A prior opinion of this office dated March 24, 1995 dealt with the question of whether the handicapped parking privilege extended to daily, weekly or monthly parking facilities. The opinion stated that with respect to such question:
...I would advise that it does. In an opinion, dated August 18, 1980, interpreting Section 56-3-1960, we wrote: Code § 56-3-1960 states “[a]ny person who is handicapped as defined in this article, shall be allowed to park in metered or timed parking places without being subject to parking fees or fines.” Blacks Law Dictionary defines a parking meter as a clock set on a post measuring time of parking. A metered parking place, therefore, would refer to those spaces which have a parking meter. The meaning of the words “timed parking” is not as clear. Rules of statutory construction require that words used in the statute be given their usual and ordinary meaning unless otherwise indicated. Windham v. Page, 191 S.C. 271, 6 S.E.2d 270 (1939). Timed parking would, therefore, include those places where there is free parking for a specified duration with fines imposed thereafter or where tickets are

The Honorable James R. Metts
Page 2
April 7, 2008
issued to denote the time of arrival and departure and one is charged according to the amount of time spent in the parking place. Anyone displaying the required placard or plate would be exempt from parking fees or fines in either a metered spot or a timed spot.... Clearly, this opinion does not appear to suggest, nor do the statutes appear to contemplate, any time limitations with respect to a handicapped person being “allowed to park in metered or timed parking places without being subject to parking fees or fines.” If the space is “metered or timed” as defined above, and it would appear that long-term Airport parking is “timed”, it would not matter what the time restrictions on parking were -- a day, a week or a month etc. -- the statute would still exempt the handicapped from paying “parking fees or fines.” The State handicapped parking provisions referenced above do not specifically provide for limitations on handicapped parking privileges. The prior opinion referenced above also states that there is no suggestion or contemplation by the statutes to time limitations with respect to handicapped persons being allowed to park. Opinions of other Attorneys General also have construed their state statutes as indicating that physically handicapped persons are exempt from liability for parking violations. See, e.g., Op. Mich. Atty. Gen. dated December 28, 1978; Op. Tenn. Atty. Gen. dated July 27, 1988; Op. Kan. Atty. Gen. dated July 18, 1979. Consistent with such, in the opinion of this office, a time restriction on when handicapped parking enforcement is permissible would not be enforceable and I am unaware of any authority for such notice being posted. However, an additional analysis is also warranted. S.C. Code Ann. § 56-3-1965 states that “[t]hose municipalities having marked parking spaces shall provide appropriately designated space or spaces reserved for the parking of handicapped persons.” Therefore, a municipality is required to designate certain spaces as handicapped parking spaces. There is no specific requirement as to the numbers of such spaces to be provided. Consistent with such provision, depending on the facts and circumstances of a particular situation, it appears that a municipality could designate individual parking spaces as handicapped parking spaces only for certain specified periods of time as long as other spaces are designated full- time as handicapped parking spaces. For instance, parking spaces along streets at certain churches are designated as handicapped spaces on Sundays only. At all other times, any member of the public may park in such space whether handicapped or not. This practice appears to be warranted as long as there are certain spaces restricted to handicapped parking only at all times. This office is unable to make any determination factually as to how many such spaces must be provided as the Section 56-3-1965 is silent as to the number of spaces that must be reserved for handicapped parking.

The Honorable James R. Metts
Page 3
April 7, 2008
If there are any questions, please advise.
Sincerely,
Henry McMaster
Attorney General

By:

REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY:

______
Robert D. Cook
Deputy Attorney General

Charles H. Richardson
Senior Assistant Attorney General