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.