COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2145
(By Delegate Yost)
[Originating in the Committee on Government Organization.]
(February 22, 2007)
A BILL to amend and reenact §21-3C-1 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a
new section, designated §21-3C-2a, all relating to limited
use/limited access elevators; prohibiting installation of
certain elevators after a certain date; exemptions; and
establishing requirements for the installation of limited
use/limited access elevators.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §21-3C-1 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-2a, all to read as
follows:
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) "Division" means the Division of Labor.
(5) "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) "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.
(7) "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) "Inspector" means both a division inspector and a private
inspector.
(9) "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.
(9) (10) "Passenger elevator" means an elevator that is
designed to carry persons to its contract capacity.
(10) (11) "Private inspector" means a person who has been
examined and issued a certificate of competency to inspect
elevators within this state.
§21-3C-2a. Installation prohibited; exemptions; two-way
communication required; key required.
(a) On and after the first day of July, two thousand seven, no
limited use/limited access elevator may be installed in
nonresidential settings unless the elevator:
(1) Meets the specifications as set forth in the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Safety Code for Elevators
and Escalators A17.1-5.3 "Safety Code for Elevators";
(2) Has a method of two-way communication between the car and
each floor served by the elevator; and
(3) Is operated automatically.
(b) A limited use/limited access elevator which is in use on the first day of July, two thousand seven, may continue in use so
long as the elevator is inspected annually in accordance with the
legislative rule of the division, and is issued a certificate of
operation by the division.