H. B. 4046
(By Delegates Kuhn, Hrutkay, Caputo,
Martin, Perdue and Butcher)
[Introduced January 16, 2002; referred to the
Committee on Industry and Labor, Economic Development and Small
Business then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections one, five and eight, article
three-c, chapter twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to
safety inspection and permitting of passenger; providing for
acceptance inspection of newly installed elevators by division
of labor.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections one, five and eight, 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) "Acceptance inspection" means the inspection of a newly
installed elevator prior to use which is intended to insure that
the elevator was installed as required by the safety standards as
set forth in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Code
A17.1-3, "Safety Code for Elevators."
(1) (2) "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) (3) "Division" means the division of labor.
(3) (4) "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) (5) "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) (6) "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) (7) "Passenger elevator" means an elevator that is
designed to carry persons to its contract capacity.
§21-3C-5. Acceptance inspections of new installations; powers and
duties of counties and municipalities; annual
inspections required.
(a) All newly installed elevators are subject to an acceptance
inspection by the division of labor prior to use. The acceptance
inspection is intended to insure that the elevator has been
installed according to the safety standards as set forth in the
American National standards Institute (ANSI) Code A17.1-3, "Safety
Code for Elevators" and that no safety hazards exist as a result of
the installation process. If any newly installed elevator requires
changes or repairs to make it safe to operate in accordance with
this article, the necessary changes or repairs must be confirmed by
the division of labor prior to a certificate of operation being
issued.
(b) 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-8. Certificate of operation; renewal.
A certificate of operation for any elevator shall may not be
issued until the elevator has been inspected for safety and the
inspection report thereof filed with the division. Provided, That
With the exception of the acceptance inspection, 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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the division of
labor to inspect newly installed elevators before they are used.
The division is not permitted to issue a certificate to operate a
new elevator until it meets all safety requirements.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.