Bills in the Alabama Legislature would allow Alabamians to get a special designation on their driver’s licenses or state identification cards to alert law enforcement and first responders to a disability that may not be immediately visible.
The Alabama Senate on Thursday approved Senate Bill 46 by Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham.
“This speaks to my heart,” Coleman said on the Senate floor Thursday. Her “bonus son” is on the autism spectrum and recently started driving. She called the legislation “EJ’s Bill.”
“This would give folks who chose to do it a designation on their license to show that they have an invisible disability,” she said.
That designation can be helpful in interactions with law enforcement, Coleman and others said.
Sen. Lance Bell, R-Riverside, thanked Coleman for the bill. The Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind is in his district.
“We’re going to see lives saved and we’re also going to see law enforcement, when they pull someone over, understand what they’re getting,” Bell said.
Rep. Ontario Tillman, D-Birmingham, is sponsoring the House version of the bill in that chamber.
The legislation said possible impairments may include: communication impediments; hearing loss; blindness or a visual impairment; autism spectrum disorders; traumatic brain injuries, schizophrenia; or cognitive disabilities.
Separately, Rep. Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena, is sponsoring House Bill 101. It would create a distinctive license plate for those with invisible disabilities or their caretakers. It awaits a House vote.