H. B. 4600
(By Delegates Harrison and Mezzatesta)
[Introduced February 22, 2002; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections one, eight and eleven, article
three-c, chapter twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to
elevator inspections and permits for nonprofit organizations;
modifying inspection schedules for certain elevators; reducing
permit fees and exempting nonprofit organizations from
elevator inspection fees.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections one, eight and eleven, article three-c, chapter
twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 3C. ELEVATOR SAFETY.
§21-3C-1. Definitions.
(1) "Certificate of operation" means a certificate issued by
the division of labor certifying that an elevator has been
inspected and deemed considered safe for operation, thus
authorizing its operation. The "certificate of operation" shall be
conspicuously posted on the elevator at all times.
(2) "Division" means the division of labor.
(3) "Elevator" means all the machinery, construction,
apparatus and equipment used in raising and lowering a car, cage or
platform vertically between permanent rails or guides and includes
all elevators, power dumbwaiters, escalators, gravity elevators and
other lifting or lowering apparatus permanently installed between
rails or guides, but does not include hand operated dumbwaiters,
manlifts of the platform type with a platform area not exceeding
nine hundred square inches, construction hoists or other similar
temporary lifting or lowering apparatus.
(4) "Freight elevator" means an elevator used for carrying
freight and on which only the operator, by the permission of the
employer, is allowed to ride.
(5) "Inspector" means a person hired by the division, a county or municipality who has successfully completed the required West
Virginia state elevator inspector examination and is thereby
qualified to conduct safety inspections on elevators.
(6) "Nonprofit organization", for purposes of this article,
means a corporation, church, fraternal society or other
organization which is qualified as tax exempt under section 503 of
the United States Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. §503.
(6) (7) "Passenger elevator" means an elevator that is
designed to carry persons to its contract capacity.
§21-3C-8. Certificate of operation; renewal.
A certificate of operation for any elevator shall not be
issued until the elevator has been inspected for safety and the
inspection report thereof filed with the division: Provided,
That
only elevators which have been in use for five years or more shall
be required to be inspected. The certificate of operation shall
list the date of inspection and shall expire one year after the
date of inspection: Provided, That, at the discretion of the
director of the division, a certificate of operation for an
elevator operated exclusively by a nonprofit organization for
nonprofit purposes, used for limited service, usually used on fewer
than five days a week, and maintained in accordance with the manufacturers' directions, may be written to expire three years
following inspection. Except as stated in this section concerning
elevators operated by nonprofit organizations, an expired
certificate of operation shall be renewed in the manner that the
prior certificate was obtained.
§21-3C-11. Disposition of fees; legislative rules.
(a) The division shall propose for promulgation legislative
rules pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
in order to implement the provisions of this article. The division
shall provide a simple and convenient process by which nonprofit
organizations may apply for and benefit from the exemptions,
reduced fees and extended inspection schedules provided in this
article.
(b) The rules proposed for promulgation pursuant to subsection
(a) of this section shall establish the amount of any fee
authorized pursuant to the provisions of this article: Provided,
That in no event may the fees established for inspection exceed one
hundred dollars for any one inspection: Provided, however,
That in
buildings with more than one elevator, the fee shall not exceed one
hundred dollars for the first elevator inspected and twenty-five
dollars for each additional elevator: Provided further,
That in no event may the fees established for the issuance of permits exceed
twenty-five dollars.
(c) All fees collected pursuant to the provisions of this
article shall be deposited in an appropriated special revenue
account hereby created in the state treasury known as the "Elevator
safety fund" and expended for the implementation and enforcement of
this article: Provided,
That amounts collected which are found
from time to time to exceed funds needed for the purposes set forth
in this article may be transferred to other accounts or funds and
redesignated for other purposes by appropriation of the
Legislature.
(d) The division may enter into agreements with counties and
municipalities whereby such counties and municipalities be
permitted to retain the inspection fees collected to support the
enforcement activities at the local level.
(e) Notwithstanding provisions for fees in subsection (b) of
this section, a nonprofit organization operating an elevator
exclusively for nonprofit purposes, used for limited service and
usually used on fewer than five days a week, is exempt from paying
the state elevator inspection fee, and shall pay a reduced permit
fee of ten dollars for the elevator.
NOTE:
The purpose of this bill is to
reduce the costs of
elevator inspections and elevator permits for nonprofit
organizations whose elevators and chair lifts are used exclusively
for nonprofit purposes and receive only limited use.
The bill would exempt nonprofit organizations from state
elevator inspection fees if the nonprofit organization's elevator
is in limited service and the use of the elevator usually occurs on
fewer than five days per week. The Commissioner of Labor is
authorized to establish an inspection schedule for these elevators,
in use five years or more, which would require inspection every
three years instead of the annual inspections now required, if the
elevator is maintained on a schedule recommended by the
manufacturer.
The bill also reduces elevator permit fees for nonprofit
organizations from $25 to $10 and allows the permit to cover a
three-year period.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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