5771226 Taxicab Commission, DC - Notice of Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking - Chapters 8 and 99 - Wheelchair Securement
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DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TAXICAB COMMISSION
NOTICE OF EMERGENCY AND PROPOSED RULEMAKING
The District of Columbia Taxicab Commission (“Commission”), pursuant to the authority set forth in Sections 8(c) (3), (4), and (19), 14, and 20f of the District of Columbia Taxicab Commission Establishment Act of 1985 (“Establishment Act”), effective March 25, 1986 (D.C. Law 6-97; D.C. Official Code §§ 50-307(c) (3), (4), and (19), 50-313, and 50-525 (2014 Repl. & 2015 Supp.), hereby gives notice of its intent to adopt amendments to Chapter 8 (Operation of Public Vehicles for Hire) and Chapter 99 (Definitions) of Title 31 (Taxicabs and Public Vehicles For Hire) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).
This proposed rulemaking for Chapter 8 would establish a requirement for wheelchairs or other mobility equipment to be properly secured in any wheelchair accessible vehicle. The emergency rules are necessary because there is an immediate need to preserve and promote the safety and welfare of District passengers and operators by ensuring wheelchairs and other mobility equipment are properly secured in taxicabs. The proposed rulemaking for Chapter 99 would add a necessary definition for “wheelchair securement system”.
This emergency rulemaking was adopted by the Commission on October 14, 2015 and took effect immediately. These emergency rules shall remain in effect for one hundred and twenty (120) days after the date of adoption (expiring February 11, 2016), unless earlier superseded by an amendment or repeal by the Commission, or the publication of final rulemaking, whichever occurs first.
The Commission also hereby gives notice of the intent to take final rulemaking action to adopt these proposed rules in not less than thirty (30) days after the publication of this notice of proposed rulemaking in the D.C. Register. Directions for submitting comments may be found at the end of this notice.
Chapter 8, OPERATION OF PUBLIC VEHICLES FOR HIRE, of Title 31 DCMR, TAXICABS AND PUBLIC VEHICLES FOR HIRE, is amended as follows:
Section 819, CONSUMER SERVICE AND PASSENGER RELATIONS, is amended as follows:
A new Subsection 819.11 is added to read as follows:
819.11 Each operator of a wheelchair accessible vehicle shall ensure that wheelchair passengers are properly secured using the vehicle’s wheelchair securement system, by providing assistance as necessary or if requested by the passenger. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 819.10, no operator shall be required to transport a wheelchair passenger who refuses to be properly secured by the vehicle’s wheelchair securement system.
Chapter 99, DEFINITIONS, is amended as follows:
Section 9901, DEFINITIONS, is amended as follows:
Subsection 9901.1, is amended to add a new definition as follows:
“Wheelchair securement system” – a system which meets the requirements of 49 C.F.R. Part 38, § 38.23(d), to safely secure a wheelchair in a wheelchair accessible vehicle.
Copies of this proposed rulemaking can be obtained at www.dcregs.dc.gov or by contacting the Secretary to the Commission, District of Columbia Taxicab Commission, 2235 Shannon Place, S.E., Suite 3001, Washington, D.C. 20020. All persons desiring to file comments on the proposed rulemaking action should submit written comments via e-mail to dctc@dc.gov or by mail to the D.C. Taxicab Commission, 2235 Shannon Place, S.E., Suite 3001, Washington, DC 20020, Attn: Secretary to the Commission, no later than thirty (30) days after the publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.
