H. B. 4038
(By Delegates Morgan, Martin, Argento, Beach, Caputo, Hartman, D.
Poling, Staggers, Swartzmiller, Canterbury and Rowan)
[Originating in the Committee on Government Organization]
(January 11, 2008)
A BILL to amend and reenact §21-3C-1, §21-3C-2, §21-3C-7, §21-3C-8,
§21-3C-11 and §21-3C-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new
section, designated §21-3C-10a, relating to the Elevator
Safety Act; requiring annual inspections of elevators;
requiring elevator mechanics to be licensed by the Division of
Labor; authorizing legislative rules; providing for fees; and
providing civil and criminal penalties for noncompliance.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §21-3C-1, §21-3C-2, §21-3C-7, §21-3C-8, §21-3C-11 and
§21-3C-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be
amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding
thereto a new section, designated §21-3C-10a, all to read as
follows:
CHAPTER 21. DIVISION OF LABOR.
ARTICLE 3C. ELEVATOR SAFETY.
§21-3C-1. Definitions.
(1) "Certificate of acceptance" means a certificate issued by
the Division of Labor certifying that a newly installed elevator
has been inspected and was found to be installed in compliance with
the safety standards set forth in the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators
(ASME) A17.1-3, "Safety Code for Elevators" and ASME A18.1, "Safety
Code for Platform Lifts and Stairway Chairlifts."
(2) "Certificate of competency" means a certificate issued by
the Division of Labor certifying that an individual is qualified to
inspect elevators.
(3) "Certificate of operation" means a certificate issued by
the Division of Labor certifying that an elevator has been
inspected and is safe for operation.
(4) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Division of
Labor.
(4) (5) "Division" means the Division of Labor.
(5) (6) "Division inspector" means an employee or contractor
of the division who has been examined and issued a certificate of
competency and who only inspects elevators in state owned
buildings.
(6) (7) "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.
(8) "Elevator apprentice" means a person who meets the
requirements set forth in legislative rule promulgated pursuant to
this article.
(9) "Elevator mechanic" means a person
who possesses an
elevator mechanic's license in accordance with the provisions of
this article and who is engaged in the business of erecting,
constructing, installing, altering, servicing, repairing or
maintaining elevators or related conveyances covered by this
article.
(7) (10) "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.
(8) (11) "Inspector" means both a division inspector and a
private inspector.
(12) "License" means
a license issued to an elevator mechanic
pursuant to this article.
(9) (13) "Limited use/limited access elevator" means a passenger elevator of which use is limited by size, capacity, rise
and speed, and access is limited by its location, by the
requirement of a key for its operation or by other restriction.
(10) (14) "Passenger elevator" means an elevator that is
designed to carry persons to its contract capacity.
(11) (15) "Private inspector" means a person who has been
examined and issued a certificate of competency to inspect
elevators within this state.
§21-3C-2. Inspectors; application;
examination; certificates of
competency. reexamination.
(a) No person may serve as an inspector unless he or she
successfully completes the examination required by this section
for Qualified Elevator Inspector (QEI) from an examination
organization approved by the Commissioner and holds a certificate
of competency for elevator inspections issued by the division.
(b) The application for examination for elevator inspector
shall be in writing, accompanied by a fee of ten dollars, upon a
form furnished by the division. The applicant shall state his or
her social security number, level of education, previous employers,
the period of employment, the position held with each employer,
and other information required by the division. The applicant
shall also submit a copy of his or her QEI card, and a letter from
one of his or her previous employers concerning his or her
character and experience.
(c) Applications which contain any willfully submitted false
or untrue information shall be rejected.
(d) The division shall administer an examination to a
qualified applicant testing the applicant's knowledge of the
construction, installation, operation, maintenance and repair of
elevators and accessories.
(e) (d) The division shall issue a certificate of competency
for elevator inspections to an applicant who successfully completes
the examination and who complies with the requirements of this
article and legislative rules promulgated by the division.
(f) An applicant who fails to successfully complete an initial
examination may submit an application for a second examination
ninety days or more after the initial examination. The second
application must be accompanied by the ten dollar examination fee.
Should an applicant fail to successfully complete the prescribed
examination on the second trial, he or she is not permitted to
submit an application for another examination for a period of one
year after the second failure.
(g) (e) Any person hired as a private inspector by a county or
municipality shall possess a certificate of competency issued by
the division.
(h) (f) The division may hire division inspectors or enter
into a contract for the services of a division inspector so long as
the inspector has been certified competent by the division. The division may hire an inspector supervisor who shall supervise the
inspection activities under this article.
§21-3C-7. Safety equipment.
Every passenger elevator, whether not such elevator has been
in use for five years or longer, shall be equipped, maintained and
operated in a safe manner in accordance with legislative rules
promulgated by the division as authorized by this article.
§21-3C-8. Certificate of operation; renewal.
A certificate of operation for any elevator may not be issued
until the elevator has been inspected for safety and the inspection
report filed with the division. With the exception of the
acceptance inspection, only elevators which have been installed 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. The
certificate of operation shall be conspicuously posted in the
elevator at all times. An expired certificate of operation shall
be renewed in the manner that the prior certificate was obtained.
§21-3C-10a. License requirements for elevator mechanics;
contractors license required; supervision of elevator
apprentices required.
(a) On and after the first day of January, two thousand ten,
no person may
engage or offer to engage in the business of
erecting, constructing, installing, altering, servicing, repairing or maintaining elevators or related conveyances covered by this
article
in this state, unless he or she has a license issued by the
Commissioner of Labor in accordance with the provisions of this
article.
(b) A person licensed under this article must:
(1) Have in his or her possession a copy of the license issued
pursuant to this article on any job on which he or she is
performing
elevator mechanic work; and
(2) Be, or be employed by, a contractor licensed pursuant to
the provisions of article eleven, chapter twenty-one of this code.
(c) An elevator apprentice may work only under the direct
supervision of a licensed elevator mechanic, as set forth in
legislative rules promulgated pursuant to this article.
§21-3C-11. Disposition of fees; legislative rules.
(a) The Division shall propose for promulgation legislative
rules pursuant to rules for legislative approval in accordance with
the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code, in order to implement for the implementation and enforcement
of the provisions of this article, which shall provide:
(1) Standards, qualifications and procedures for submitting
applications, taking examinations, and issuing and renewing
licenses, certificates of competency and certificates of operation;
(2) Qualifications and supervision requirements for elevator
apprentices;
(3) Provisions for the granting of licenses without
examination, to applicants who present satisfactory evidence of
having the expertise required to perform work as defined in this
article and who apply for licensure on or before the first day of
July, two thousand ten: Provided, That if a license issued under
the authority of this subsection subsequently lapses, the applicant
may, at the discretion of the Commissioner, be subject to all
licensure requirements, including the examination;
(4) Provisions for the granting of emergency licenses in the
event of an emergency due to disaster, act of God or work stoppage
when the number of persons in the state holding licenses issued
pursuant to this article is insufficient to cope with the
emergency;
(5) Provisions for the granting of temporary licenses in the
event that there are no elevator mechanics available to engage in
the work of an elevator mechanic as defined by this article;
(6) Continuing education requirements;
(7) Reciprocity provisions;
(8) Procedures for investigating complaints and revoking or
suspending licenses, certificates of competency and certificates of
operation, including appeal procedures;
(9) Fees for testing, issuance and renewal of licenses,
certificates of competency and certificates of operation, and other
costs necessary to administer the provisions of this article;
(10) Enforcement procedures; and
(11) Any other rules necessary to effectuate the purposes of
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 the issuance of
permits certificates of operation exceed fifty 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) The
Commissioner and his or her Deputy Commissioner or any
compliance officer of the Division as authorized by the
Commissioner may consult with engineering authorities and organizations concerned with standard safety codes, rules and
regulations governing the operation, maintenance, servicing,
construction, alteration, installation and the qualifications which
are adequate, reasonable and necessary for the elevator mechanic
and inspector.
§21-3C-12. Penalties.
Any person who violates any provision of this article or any
directive or order issued pursuant thereto is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less
than fifty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars per day.
Each day the violation continues constitutes a separate offense.
(a) On and after the first day of January, two thousand ten,
the Commissioner may issue a cease and desist order to any person
engaging in the business of erecting, constructing, installing,
altering, servicing, repairing or maintaining elevators or related
conveyances covered by this article
in this state
without a
license, or inspecting elevators or related conveyances covered by
this article without a certificate of competency, or operating an
elevator or related conveyance covered by this article without a
certificate of operation.
(b) Any person who violates a cease and desist order is guilty
of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, is subject to the
following penalties:
(1) For the first offense, a fine of not less than two hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars;
(2) For the second offense, a fine of not less than five
hundred dollars nor more than two thousand dollars, or confinement
in jail for not more than six months, or both;
(3) For the third and subsequent offenses, a fine of not less
than one thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars, and
confinement in jail for not less than thirty days nor more than one
year.
(c) Each day that a person
violates a cease and desist order
or is otherwise not in compliance with the provisions of this
article constitutes a separate offense.
(d) The Commissioner of Labor may institute proceedings in the
circuit court of the county where the alleged violation of the
provisions of this article occurred or are occurring to enjoin any
violation of any provision of this article. A circuit court by
injunction may compel compliance with the provisions of this
article, with the lawful orders of the Commissioner of Labor and
with any final decision of the Commissioner of Labor. The
Commissioner of Labor shall be represented in all such proceedings
by the Attorney General or his or her assistants.