HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — State Representative Erin Gamez is seeking to expand and make veteran parking privileges more accessible.
“We’ve always trusted our veterans to, to fight for us on the front lines, I know we can trust our veterans to make a good call on whether or not they have a disability that qualifies them to park in a in a handicapped spot,” Gamez said.
House Bill 1538 will allow veterans diagnosed with a disability-physical or mental-who have a license plate saying they are a disabled veteran to park in spaces for persons with disabilities without having to go back to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles and ask for the blue tag symbol of accessibility.
“Because our veterans’ community has been so good to us they have served and defended and protected our community for probably since before I was born. I made sure when I was on the campaign trail to have a close ear to the ground and work with our veterans, institutions and organizations,” she said.
Gamez hopes the bill will bring equality in the way veterans are treated in Texas and out of state.
“We shouldn’t treat an Oklahoma vet differently than we treat a Texas vet,” Gamez said.
She hopes it will spark a conversation about how mental illness can be as debilitating as a physical injury.
“I think we’re going to bring to light some really interesting conversations on that one,” she said.
If passed, the bill will take effect September of this year.
