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ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
HB 4577
(By Delegates Manypenny, Martin, Butcher, D. Poling, Canterbury,
Stephens and Morgan)
[Passed March 13, 2010; in effect from passage.]
AN ACT
to amend and reenact
§21-3C-1, §21-3C-2a, §21-3C-10a and
§21-3C-11
of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all
relating to elevators; exempting platform lifts from the
definition of elevator; prohibiting certain elevators from
being installed in certain settings;
requiring inspections on
certain elevators; creating different classifications of
licensure; and providing rule-making authority to the division
of labor.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §21-3C-1, §21-3C-2a, §21-3C-10a and §21-3C-11 of the Code
of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3C. ELEVATOR SAFETY.
§21-3C-1. Definitions.
(1) "Accessibility equipment" means lifting devices designated to remove access barriers in public buildings and private
residences for persons with physical challenges, including
residential and limited use/limited application elevators, vertical
platforms, inclined platform lifts and stairway chairlifts.
(2) "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."
(3)
"Certificate of competency" means a certificate issued by
the Division of Labor certifying that an individual is qualified to
inspect elevators.
(4)
"Certificate of operation" means a certificate issued by
the Division of Labor certifying that an elevator has been
inspected and is safe for operation.
(5)
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Division of
Labor.
(6)
"Division" means the Division of Labor.
(7)
"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.
(8)
"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,
platform lifts for loading docks, 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.
(9)
"Elevator apprentice" means a person who meets the
requirements set forth in legislative rule promulgated pursuant to
this article.
(10)
"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.
(11)
"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.
(12)
"Inspector" means both a division inspector and a private
inspector.
(13)
"License" means a license issued to an elevator mechanic
pursuant to this article.
(14)
" Private residence 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.
(15)
"Passenger elevator" means an elevator that is designed
to carry persons to its contract capacity.
(16)
"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 July 1, 2007, no private residence elevator
may be installed in a nonresidential setting.
(b) A private residence elevator installed in a nonresidential
setting which was in use on July 1, 2007, may continue in use so
long as 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;
(3) Is operated automatically; and
(4) Is inspected annually by an inspector and is issued a
certification of operation by the division.
(c) New residential elevators shall undergo an acceptance test
performed by an inspector, and the inspector shall file a report of
the test with the division.
(d) An elevator in a residential property shall be inspected
by an inspector when the residential property is transferred, and
the inspector shall file a report of the inspection with the
division.
§21-3C-10a. License requirements for elevator mechanics;
contractors license requirements; supervision of
elevator apprentices requirements.
(a) A person may not 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
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 unless the work is performed by a historic resort hotel's regular
employees, for which the employees are paid regular wages and not
a contract price, on property owned or leased by the historic
resort hotel which is not intended for speculative sale or lease;
(c) To obtain a license a person must:
(1) Complete a four-year apprenticeship program, registered by
the United States Department of Labor, qualifying for a commercial
license;
(2) Complete a two-year apprenticeship program, registered by
the United States Department of Labor, qualifying for an
accessibility license. A person holding an accessibility license
may only perform work on accessibility equipment; or
(3) Complete a certified apprenticeship program, registered by
the United States Department of Labor established at a historic
resort hotel, qualifying for a limited technician license. A
person holding a limited technician license may only perform work
at a historic resort hotel.
(d) For the purposes of section, "historic resort hotel" has
the same meaning ascribed to it in section two, article twenty-
five, chapter twenty-nine of this code.
(e)
An elevator apprentice who is enrolled in a four-year
apprenticeship program approved by the commissioner, and who is in
good standing in the program, may work under the supervision of a
licensed elevator mechanic, as follows:
(f)
An apprentice who has not successfully completed the
equivalent of at least one year of the program may work only under
the direct supervision of a licensed elevator mechanic who is
present on the premises and available to the apprentice at all
times.
(2) An apprentice who has successfully completed the
equivalent of at least one year of the program may:
(A) Work under the direct supervision of a licensed elevator
mechanic as set forth in subdivision (1) of this subsection; and
(B) Perform the tasks set forth in this paragraph, only if
delegated by and performed under the general supervision of a
licensed elevator mechanic, who must, at a minimum, meet the
apprentice on the job at the beginning of each day to delegate the
specific tasks, and who remains responsible for the delegated
tasks:
(i) Oiling, cleaning, greasing and painting;
(ii) Replacing of combplate teeth;
(iii) Reclamping and fixture maintenance;
(iv) Inspection, cleaning and lubricating of hoistway doors,
car tops, bottoms and pits; and
(v) Observing operation of equipment.
§21-3C-11. Disposition of fees; legislative rules.
(a) The division shall propose rules for legislative approval
in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, 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
of the three licensure classifications set forth in section ten-a
of this article;
(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 July 1, 2010:
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
certificates of operation exceed $50.
(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.