COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2184
(By Delegates Richards and Houvouras)
(Originating in the House Committee on the Judiciary)
[March 25, 1993]
A BILL to amend chapter twenty-one of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article three-c, relating
to guidelines for elevator safety; hiring, certification and
suspension of elevator inspectors; registration, annual
inspections and certificates of operation required; safety
equipment required; promulgation of legislative rules; and
providing criminal penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by
adding thereto a new article, designated article three-c, 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 safe for operation, thus authorizing itsoperation. 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) "Passenger elevator" means an elevator that is designed
to carry persons to its contract capacity.
§21-3C-2. Inspectors; certificates of competency; application;
examination; reexamination.
No person may serve as an elevator inspector unless he or
she successfully completes the examination required by this
article and holds a certificate of competency for elevator
inspections issued by the division.
Application for examination for elevator inspections shall
be in writing, accompanied by a fee of ten dollars, upon a form
designed and furnished by the division and shall, at a minimum,
state the level of education of the applicant, list his or her
employers, his or her period of employment and the position held
with each. The applicant shall also submit a letter from one or
more of his or her previous employers concerning his or her
character and experience.
Applications which contain any willfully submitted false or
untrue information shall be rejected. After review of the
application by the division, the applicant, if deemed appropriate
by the division, shall be tested by means of a written
examination as prescribed by the division dealing with the
construction, installation, operation, maintenance and repair of
elevators and their accessories.
The division shall issue a certificate of competency for
elevator inspections to any applicant who successfully completes
the examination, as determined by standards set in legislative
rules promulgated by the division, as authorized by this article.
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 and upon
payment of the ten dollar examination fee. Should an applicant
fail to successfully complete the prescribed examination on the
second trial, he or she shall not be permitted to submit an
application for another examination for a period of one year
after the second failure.
Any person hired as an elevator inspector by a county ormunicipality shall possess a certificate of competency issued by
the division.
The division may hire certified inspectors or enter into a
contract to hire inspectors who are certified by the division.
The division shall hire an inspector supervisor who shall
supervise the inspection activities under this article.
§21-3C-3. Suspension or revocation of certificates.
A certificate of competency for elevator inspections may be
suspended or revoked by the division if the inspector is found to
be incompetent or untrustworthy. Any willfully submitted false
statement contained in an inspection report shall constitute
grounds for suspension of the certificate of competency.
§21-3C-4. Registration of elevators; notification to counties
and municipalities.
The owner or operator of any elevator shall register with
the division every elevator operated by him or her, giving the
type, capacity and description, name of manufacturer, and purpose
for which each is used. Such registration shall be made on a
form designed and furnished by the division. The division shall
forward a list of registered elevators to the county or
municipality wherein said elevators are located.
§21-3C-5. Powers and duties of counties and municipalities;
annual inspections required.
A county or municipality may hire its own elevator inspector
or contract with any person who possesses a West Virginia
elevator inspector's certificate of competency issued by the
division. The county or municipality shall ensure that every
elevator is inspected annually.
§21-3C-6. Report of inspection; hearing on construction plans
and specifications; findings and orders of division.
Every inspector shall forward to the division and to the
county or municipality wherein the elevator is located a complete
report of each inspection made of any passenger elevator, showing
the exact condition of the elevator. The inspector shall leave
a copy of the report at the elevator on the day the inspection is
completed. The division shall promulgate legislative rules, as
authorized by this article, prescribing inspection procedures.
The owner or operator of the elevator shall be required to pay
the fees for inspections pursuant to this article.
If any elevator requires changes or repairs to make it safe
to operate, such recommendations shall be contained in the
inspection report. A copy of the report as approved by the
division shall be submitted to the owner or operator of such
elevator. Unless the findings in report are appealed, the owner
or operator of the elevator shall make the required changes or
repairs before a certificate of operation is issued.
If construction plans or an application of specifications is
not approved in accordance with section nine of this article, the
division shall state in writing the changes necessary to obtain
approval. Unless the findings stated in writing are appealed,
the owner or operator shall make the required changes in the
construction plans or specifications before a permit for
construction is issued.
The owner or operator, within twenty days from receipt of
the copy of an inspection report or statement of changes in
construction plans or specifications, may make writtenapplication to the division, upon forms to be furnished by the
division, for a hearing on the inspection report or the statement
regarding changes in plans or specifications as to whether the
elevator in question is reasonably safe or whether the elevator
proposed to be constructed in accordance with such plans and
specifications would be reasonably safe. The division shall
promptly consider such application and proceedings consistent
with the provisions of this section.
If it appears from the evidence that the elevator will be
reasonably safe to operate without such changes or repairs as
shown in such report or by making only a part or all thereof, or
if none or only part of all the changes in the plans or
specifications are found necessary to make the elevator
reasonably safe, the division shall make its finding and order
accordingly. If such finding and order requires changes or
repairs to be made in the elevator or changes in the plans or
specifications, the division shall issue a certificate of
operation when such order has been executed or issue its approval
of the plans or specifications. If the finding and order of the
division has been affirmed or modified by appeal, on the grounds
of reasonable safety considered by the division, the division
shall, upon compliance with such order, issue such certificate of
operation or issue its approval of the plans and specifications
but, if such finding and order of the division has been vacated
such certificate of operation or such approval of plans and
specifications shall be issued forthwith. No elevator may be
operated after being inspected without having the certificate of
operation conspicuously posted thereon, except pending a hearingon the issuance thereof.
§21-3C-7. Safety equipment.
Every passenger elevator 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 shall not be
issued until the elevator has been inspected for safety and the
inspection report thereof filed with the division. The
certificate of operation shall list the date of inspection and
shall expire one year after the date of inspection. An expired
certificate of operation shall be renewed in the manner that the
prior certificate was obtained.
§21-3C-9. Permits for construction or repairs.
Before any new elevator of a permanent nature is constructed
or before any existing elevator is removed to a different
location, an application of specifications shall be submitted to
the division listing such information concerning the
construction, installation and operation of the elevator as the
division may require on forms designed and furnished by the
division. Copies of the complete construction plans shall be
submitted with the application.
In all cases where any changes or repairs proposed by the
owner or operator which alter the elevator's construction or
classification, grade or rated lifting capacity, except when made
pursuant to a report of an inspector, the owner or operator of
the elevator shall submit to the division an application
containing such information as deemed appropriate by thedivision.
Upon approval of such application and construction plans,
the division shall issue a permit for the construction or repair
of such elevator. No elevator being constructed or repaired may
be operated until its completion, in accordance with the approved
plans and specifications:
Provided,
That the division may grant
a temporary permit to such elevator, authorizing its operation.
§21-3C-10. Enforcement; notice of defective machinery.
If during an inspection the division or the inspector finds
that a passenger elevator or a part thereof cannot be operated
safely, the division or the inspector shall contact the owner or
operator in writing stating the deficiencies and recommend
changes or alterations and shall post a notice upon such elevator
prohibiting further use of the elevator. The notice shall be in
effect until the changes or alterations set forth in the notice
have been made. The notice shall contain a statement that
operators or passengers are subject to injury by its continued
use, a description of the alteration or other change necessary to
be made in order to secure its safe operation, date of such
notice, and the name and signature of the inspector issuing the
notice.
If any inspector finds a passenger elevator to be so unsafe
that it represents imminent danger of death or physical injury,
that unit shall be sealed out of service and a hazard notice as
prescribed by the division posted thereon. The division shall be
notified immediately as to the location and condition of the
unit.
Any passenger elevator, once sealed, may not be operatedexcept for the purpose of making repairs and in such a manner as
prescribed by the division, until all defects are corrected and
the unit has been inspected and deemed safe by the division. The
division shall promulgate legislative rules, as authorized by
this article, to develop procedures for sealing and barricading
an elevator once it has been declared inoperable.
No seal, notice or barricade placed on or around an elevator
in accordance with the provisions of this article may be removed,
obstructed or in any way altered without the written consent of
the division.
§21-3C-11. Legislative rules.
The division shall propose for promulgation legislative
rules pursuant to the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code, exclusively for the safety and inspection of elevators.
The division shall promulgate legislative rules establishing the
fee to be charged for elevator inspection. All fees authorized
pursuant to this article shall be payable to the division and
deposited into a special revenue account to be used for the
enforcement and implementation of this article. 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.
§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.
§21-3C-13. Mining and industrial elevators exempt.
The provisions of this article shall not be applicable to
elevators or similar devices used by mining or industrial
operations.
FINANCE COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
On page one, by striking out everything following the enacting
section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
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 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 orlowering 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) "Passenger elevator" means an elevator that is designed
to carry persons to its contract capacity.
§21-3C-2. Inspectors; certificates of competency; application;
examination; reexamination.
No person may serve as an elevator inspector unless he or
she successfully completes the examination required by this
article and holds a certificate of competency for elevator
inspections issued by the division.
Application for examination for elevator inspections shall
be in writing, accompanied by a fee of ten dollars, upon a form
designed and furnished by the division and shall, at a minimum,
state the level of education of the applicant, list his or her
employers, his or her period of employment and the position held
with each. The applicant shall also submit a letter from one or
more of his or her previous employers concerning his or her
character and experience.
Applications which contain any willfully submitted false or
untrue information shall be rejected. After review of the
application by the division, the applicant, if deemed appropriate
by the division, shall be tested by means of a writtenexamination as prescribed by the division dealing with the
construction, installation, operation, maintenance and repair of
elevators and their accessories.
The division shall issue a certificate of competency for
elevator inspections to any applicant who successfully completes
the examination, as determined by standards set in legislative
rules promulgated by the division, as authorized by this article.
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 and upon
payment of the ten dollar examination fee. Should an applicant
fail to successfully complete the prescribed examination on the
second trial, he or she shall not be permitted to submit an
application for another examination for a period of one year
after the second failure.
Any person hired as an elevator inspector by a county or
municipality shall possess a certificate of competency issued by
the division.
The division may hire certified inspectors or enter into a
contract to hire inspectors who are certified by the division.
The division shall hire an inspector supervisor who shall
supervise the inspection activities under this article.
§21-3C-3. Suspension or revocation of certificates.
A certificate of competency for elevator inspections may be
suspended or revoked by the division if the inspector is found to
be incompetent or untrustworthy. Any willfully submitted false
statement contained in an inspection report shall constitute
grounds for suspension of the certificate of competency.
§21-3C-4. Registration of elevators; notification to counties
and municipalities.
The owner or operator of any elevator shall register with
the division every elevator operated by him or her, giving the
type, capacity and description, name of manufacturer, and purpose
for which each is used. Such registration shall be made on a
form designed and furnished by the division. The division shall
forward a list of registered elevators to the county or
municipality wherein said elevators are located.
§21-3C-5. Powers and duties of counties and municipalities;
annual inspections required.
A county or municipality may hire its own elevator inspector
or contract with any person who possesses a West Virginia
elevator inspector's certificate of competency issued by the
division. The county or municipality shall ensure that every
elevator which has been in use for five years or more is
inspected annually.
§21-3C-6. Report of inspection; hearing on construction plans
and specifications; findings and orders of division.
Every inspector shall forward to the division and to the
county or municipality wherein the elevator is located a complete
report of each inspection made of any passenger elevator, showing
the exact condition of the elevator. The inspector shall leave
a copy of the report at the elevator on the day the inspection is
completed. The division shall promulgate legislative rules, as
authorized by this article, prescribing inspection procedures.
The owner or operator of the elevator shall be required to pay
the fees for inspections levied pursuant to this article.
If any elevator requires changes or repairs to make it safe
to operate, such recommendations shall be contained in the
inspection report. A copy of the report as approved by the
division shall be submitted to the owner or operator of such
elevator. Unless the findings in report are appealed, the owner
or operator of the elevator shall make the required changes or
repairs before a certificate of operation is issued.
The owner or operator, within twenty days from receipt of
the copy of an inspection report may make written application to
the division, upon forms to be furnished by the division, for a
hearing on the inspection report as to whether the elevator in
question is reasonably safe. The division shall promptly
consider such application and proceedings consistent with the
provisions of this section.
If it appears from the evidence that the elevator will be
reasonably safe to operate without such changes or repairs as
shown in such report or by making only a part or all thereof, the
division shall make its finding and order accordingly. If such
finding and order requires changes or repairs to be made in the
elevator, the division shall issue a certificate of operation
when such order has been executed or issue its approval of the
plans or specifications. If the finding and order of the
division has been affirmed or modified by appeal, on the grounds
of reasonable safety considered by the division, the division
shall, upon compliance with such order, issue such certificate of
operation but, if such finding and order of the division has been
vacated such certificate of operation shall be issued forthwith.
No elevator may be operated after being inspected without havingthe certificate of operation conspicuously posted thereon, except
pending a hearing on the issuance thereof.
§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 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. An expired certificate of operation
shall be renewed in the manner that the prior certificate was
obtained.
§21-3C-9. Permits for removal or repairs.
Before any existing elevator is removed to a different
location, an application of specifications shall be submitted to
the division listing such information concerning the installation
and operation of the elevator as the division may require on
forms designed and furnished by the division. Copies of the
complete installation plans shall be submitted with the
application.
In all cases where any changes or repairs proposed by the
owner or operator which alter the elevator's construction or
classification, grade or rated lifting capacity, except when madepursuant to a report of an inspector, the owner or operator of
the elevator shall submit to the division an application
containing such information as deemed appropriate by the
division.
Upon approval of such application and installation plans,
the division shall issue a permit for the installation or repair
of such elevator. No elevator being removed and re-installed or
repaired may be operated until its completion, in accordance with
the approved plans and specifications:
Provided,
That the
division may grant a temporary permit to such elevator,
authorizing its operation.
§21-3C-10. Enforcement; notice of defective machinery.
If during an inspection the division or the inspector finds
that a passenger elevator or a part thereof cannot be operated
safely, the division or the inspector shall contact the owner or
operator in writing stating the deficiencies and recommend
changes or alterations and shall post a notice upon such elevator
prohibiting further use of the elevator. The notice shall be in
effect until the changes or alterations set forth in the notice
have been made. The notice shall contain a statement that
operators or passengers are subject to injury by its continued
use, a description of the alteration or other change necessary to
be made in order to secure its safe operation, date of such
notice, and the name and signature of the inspector issuing the
notice.
If any inspector finds a passenger elevator to be so unsafe
that it represents imminent danger of death or physical injury,
that unit shall be sealed out of service and a hazard notice asprescribed by the division posted thereon. The division shall be
notified immediately as to the location and condition of the
unit.
Any passenger elevator, once sealed, may not be operated
except for the purpose of making repairs and in such a manner as
prescribed by the division, until all defects are corrected and
the unit has been inspected and deemed safe by the division. The
division shall promulgate legislative rules, as authorized by
this article, to develop procedures for sealing and barricading
an elevator once it has been declared inoperable.
No seal, notice or barricade placed on or around an elevator
in accordance with the provisions of this article may be removed,
obstructed or in any way altered without the written consent of
the division.
§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.
(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-fivedollars.
(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 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.
§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.
§21-3C-13. Mining and industrial elevators exempt.
The provisions of this article shall not be applicable to
elevators or similar devices used by mining or industrial
operations.