(1) A person commits the offense of use of an invalid disabled person parking permit if the person uses a permit that is not a valid permit from another jurisdiction, and that:
(a) Has been previously reported as lost or stolen;
(b) Has been altered;
(c) Was issued to a person who is deceased at the time of the citation;
(d) Has not been issued under ORS 811.602;
(e) Is a photocopy or other reproduction of a permit, regardless of the permit status; or
(f) Is mutilated or illegible.
(2) Unless the police officer or other authorized person issuing the citation witnesses the parking of the vehicle, a rebuttable presumption exists that a vehicle parked in violation of this section was parked by the registered owner of the vehicle and the citation issued for the violation may be placed upon the vehicle. If the parking of the vehicle is witnessed by the police officer or other person authorized to issue a citation for the offense, the operator of the vehicle is in violation of this section.
(3) The offense described in this section, use of an invalid disabled person parking permit, is a Class A traffic violation.
(4) If the court finds that a person committed the offense described in this section, the court shall collect the permit and return it to the Department of Transportation for destruction unless the person claims the permit was lost or destroyed, or the police officer or other person authorized to issue a citation for the offense collected the permit.
(5) If the court finds that a person committed the offense described in this section by using a permit that was mutilated or illegible, the court may assess any fine it deems appropriate up to the maximum amount allowable for the offense. If the mutilated or illegible permit has been replaced by the department, the court may dismiss the citation. [2001 c.367 §7; 2011 c.597 §100a]