Martinelli vetoes bill covering parking for disabled

President Ricardo Martinelli   dealt a blow to the hopes of disabled drivers on Monday March 19 when he vetoed a bill covering parking spaces and fines.

Law 199, passed  on January 23,  amended a 14 year old l Law No. 42 which among other things regulates penalties for the use of parking for the disabled. It pushed the fine for utilizing  the areas marked in blue to $500 and mandated that  5% of private parking spaces for public use should be allocated to enable disabled people to park their vehicles.

In a letter sent to Members  of the National Assembly  he said that the percentage allocated to disabled  drivers does not seem to correspond to the reality of vehicle numbers in  Panama City and other growing cities in the interior.

"However, understanding  the good intentions of the bill, we can then proceed to an analysis  and give a responsible assent to the law”  he said.