Enrolled Bill Summary

            Senate Bill 1090 amends Health and Safety Code provisions relating to the inspection, installation, repair, and maintenance of elevators and other people-moving equipment. The bill transfers the power to appoint the members of the elevator advisory board from the commissioner of licensing and regulation to the presiding officer of the Texas Commission on Licensing and Regulation and transfers various duties and responsibilities from the commissioner to the executive director of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The bill modifies the qualification requirements for board members and expands the board's duties to include issues relating to equipment safety. The bill makes numerous changes to the equipment standards that must be adopted by the commission to comply with the national code, and it adds procedures and standards for installing and inspecting equipment in a single-family dwelling. The bill amends provisions relating to certificates of compliance and the granting of a delay or waiver of compliance with code requirements and revises the inspection and certification rules the commission must adopt. The bill requires a certified equipment inspector to meet certain requirements, and it eliminates a provision that caps inspection fees. The bill exempts a municipality from the requirements if it operates a program for the installation, maintenance, or alteration of equipment that is at least equivalent to state requirements. It requires the owner of real property on which equipment is located to comply with certain requirements relating to annual inspections, inspection fees, and reports. The bill authorizes the executive director of the department to appoint a chief elevator inspector, subject to certain prerequisites, to administer the equipment inspection and registration program.

            The bill takes effect September 1, 2003, except the requirement for registration of a contractor takes effect January 1, 2004, and a provision relating to certain escalator requirements takes effect September 1, 2009, for an escalator constructed before September 1, 2003.