BILL ANALYSIS


                                                    C.S.S.B. 1044
                                                        By: Brown
                                             Economic Development
                                                         04-11-95
                                   Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND

In 1993, an agreed elevator inspection bill passed the legislature
with the support of building owners, elevator manufacturers,
elevator maintenance companies, elevator inspectors, and elevator
unions.  Since its passage, a number of inequities and drafting
errors in the bill have surfaced.

PURPOSE

As proposed, C.S.S.B. 1044 amends the regulation and inspection of
elevators, escalators, and related equipment; amends the licensing
of elevator inspectors; provides acts that are considered offenses
if committed.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is granted
to the Texas Commission on Licensing and Regulation under SECTION
1 (Section 754.015(a)(4), Health and Safety Code) of this bill.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 754B, Health and Safety Code, as follows:

           ELEVATORS, ESCALATORS, AND RELATED EQUIPMENT

     Sec.  754.011.  DEFINITIONS.  Defines "ASME Code A17.1," "ASME
     Code A17.3," "board," "commission," "commissioner,"
     "department," and "qualified historic building or facility." 
     Redefines "related equipment."
     
     Sec.  754.012.  ELEVATOR ADVISORY BOARD.  Makes no changes.
     
     Sec.  754.013.  BOARD DUTIES.  Requires the elevator advisory
     board (board) to advise the commissioner of licensing and
     regulation (commissioner) on, among others, the adoption of
     standards for the installation, alteration, operation, and
     inspection of elevators, escalators, and related equipment
     (elevators) to protect public safety and to identify and
     correct potential hazards.
     
     Sec.  754.014.  STANDARDS ADOPTED BY COMMISSIONER.  (a) Makes
     a conforming change.  Deletes existing Subsection (b)
     requiring the commissioner to adopt standards for certain
     elevators.
     
     (b) Prohibits the standards adopted by the commissioner from
       containing requirements additional to American Society of
       Mechanical Engineers Safety Code for Elevators and
       Escalators (ASME Code) A17.1 or ASME Code A17.3.  Requires
       the standards adopted by the commissioner to provide certain
       safety standards:
       
       (1) Requires elevators to comply with the installation
         requirements of either the ASME Code A17.1 that was
         effective on the date of installation; or an applicable
         municipal ordinance governing installation that was
         effective on the date of installation.  Requires the
         standards to require compliance with the least restrictive
         of paragraphs (A) and (B).
       (2) Requires elevators to comply with the installation
         requirements of the 1994 ASME Code A17.3 that contains
         minimum safety standards for all elevators regardless of
         the date of installation.
         
         (3) Requires elevators to comply with Subdivisions (1) and
         (2) except for delays or waivers granted by the
         commissioner under Subsection (c) or (d).
       (c) Authorizes the commissioner, upon written request, to
       grant a delay for compliance until a specified time for
       compliance with applicable ASME Code A17.1 or the 1994 ASME
       Code A17.3 if compliance is not "readily achievable." 
       Defines "readily achievable."  Requires the commissioner,
       upon written request, to grant a delay until September 1,
       2005, for compliance with the requirements for door
       restrictors or fire fighter's service in the 1994 ASME Code
       A17.3 if the requirements were not included in the ASME Code
       A17.1 that was in effect on the date of installation of the
       elevator and the equipment was not installed by an owner of
       the elevator.  Deletes existing subsection.
       
       (d) Authorizes the commissioner to grant a waiver of
       compliance with the applicable ASME Code A17.1 or the 1994
       ASME Code A17.3 if the commissioner finds that the building
       in which the elevator is located is a qualified historical
       building or facility or the noncompliance is due to
       structural components of the building; and noncompliance
       will not constitute a significant threat to passenger
       safety.
       
       (e) Authorizes the commissioner to grant a waiver of
       compliance with firemen's service provisions of ASME Code
       A17.1 or 1994 ASME Code A17.3 in an elevator that
       exclusively serves a vehicle parking garage in a building
       that is used only for parking; is constructed of
       noncombustible materials; and is not greater than 75 feet in
       height.
       
       (f) Requires the commissioner, upon written request, to
       grant a waiver of compliance for elevators in grain silos,
       radio antennas, bridge towers, underground facilities, dams,
       power plants, and similar structures with limited use,
       permanently installed in structures and locations to provide
       vertical transportation of authorized personnel and their
       tools and equipment only.
       
       (g) Authorizes the commissioner to charge reasonable fees
       set by the commission for an applicant for a waiver or
       delay.  Authorizes a single application to contain all
       requests for waivers or delay in a building.  Prohibits
       delays from being granted indefinitely.  Requires delays be
       granted to a certain time.
       
       (h) Provides that for purposes of this section, the date of
       installation is the date that the owner of the real property
       entered into a contract for the purchase of the elevators,
       or if that date cannot be established, the date of issuance
       of the municipal building permit under which the elevators
       were constructed; or if no municipal building permit was
       issued, the date the electrical consumption was commenced
       for the construction of the building in which the elevators
       were installed.
     Sec.  754.015.  RULES.  (a) Requires the commissioner, by
     rule, to provide for, among others, the annual inspection and
     certification, once each calendar year, of elevators covered
     by standards adopted under this subchapter; and the form of
     the inspection report and certificate of compliance, rather
     than the form of the certificate of inspection.
     
     (b) Prohibits the commissioner, by rule, from requiring,
       among others, the inspection reports or certificates of
       compliance, rather than certificates of inspection, to be
       placed in locations other than one provided in Section
       754.019(4).
     Sec.  754.016.  New heading: INSPECTION REPORT AND CERTIFICATE
     OF COMPLIANCE.  (a) Requires only one inspection report and
     one certificate of compliance, rather than only one
     certificate of inspection, for each building.  Makes a
     conforming change.
     
     (b) Requires an inspection report to be dated, signed, and
       issued, by the inspector to the building owner and to be on
       forms designated by the commissioner.  Deletes language
       requiring the certificates of inspection to contain certain
       information.
       
       (c) Requires a certificate of compliance to be dated,
       signed, and issued by the commissioner to the building owner
       and to state that the elevators have been inspected by a
       certified inspector and found by the inspector to be in
       compliance except for any delays or waivers granted by the
       commissioner and stated in the certificate.
     Sec.  754.017.  CERTIFIED INSPECTORS.  (a) Requires an
     inspector to register with the Texas Department of Licensing
     and Regulation (department) and be certified as an ASME-OEI-1
     inspector by an organization accredited by ASME.  Deletes
     language relating to qualification requirements of an
     inspector.  Requires any certification charges or fees, rather
     than accreditation or certification charges or fees, to be
     paid by the inspector.
     
     (b) Prohibits the commissioner from, by rule, prohibiting an
       ASME-QEI-1 certified inspector who is registered with the
       department from inspecting, rather than inspecting and
       certifying, an elevator.  Provides that persons assisting an
       inspector in making an inspection need not be ASME-QEI-1
       certified.
       
       (c) Authorizes the commissioner to charge a $15 fee, rather
       than $10, to inspectors, rather than certified inspectors,
       for registering with the department.
     Sec.  754.018.  POWERS OF MUNICIPALITIES.  Makes no changes.
     
     Sec.  754.019.  DUTIES OF REAL PROPERTY OWNERS.  (a) Requires
     the owner of real property on which an elevator covered by
     this subchapter is located to have an elevator inspected, but
     not certified by an ASME-QEI-1 certified inspector; obtain an
     inspection report, rather than a certificate of inspection,
     from the inspector, evidencing that all elevators in a
     building on real property were inspected in accordance with
     this subchapter and its rules; file with the commissioner a
     copy of each inspection report and a $20 filing fee, rather
     than $15, for each report, plus $5 for each elevator by the
     60th day, rather than the 30th day, after the date the
     inspection is made; display the certificate of compliance,
     rather than the certificate of inspection, issued by the
     commissioner on the basis of the inspection report; and
     display the inspection report at locations designated in
     Subdivision (4) until a certificate of compliance is issued by
     the commissioner.  Makes a conforming and nonsubstantive
     changes.
     
     (b) Requires the owner, at the time of filing an inspection
       report with the commissioner, to submit to the commissioner
       verification that any deficiencies in the inspector's report
       have been remedied or that a bona fide contract to remedy
       the deficiencies has been entered into; or any application
       for delay or waiver of an applicable standard.
       
       (c) Requires the inspection to be made no later than 18
       months after the previous calendar year's inspection. 
       Prohibits this subsection from affecting the requirement
       that elevators be inspected at least once each calendar
       year.
       
       (d) Makes a conforming change.  Redesignates existing
       Subsection (b).
       
       (e) Authorizes the commission to charge the owner of real
       property, on which the elevator is located, an additional
       fee for late filing of the inspection report and the fee
       required by Subsection (a)(3).  Redesignates existing
       Subsection (c).
       
       (f) Makes a conforming change.  Redesignates existing
       Subsection (d).
       
       (g) Prohibits a fee from being charged or collected for a
       certificate of compliance, rather than a certificate of
       inspection, for a higher education institution. 
       Redesignates existing Subsection (e).
     Sec.  754.020.  DEPOSIT.  Makes no change.
     
     Sec.  754.021.  LIST OF INSPECTORS; PERSONNEL.  Authorizes the
     commissioner to compile a list of ASME-OEI-1 certified
     inspectors who are registered with the commissioner, among
     other things.
     
     Sec.  754.022.  NOTICE OF NONCOMPLIANCE.  Makes no change.
     
     Sec.  754.023.  New heading: INVESTIGATION AND INJUNCTION. 
     (a) Authorizes the commissioner, if there is good cause for
     the commissioner to believe that an elevator is dangerous or
     an accident involving an elevator occurred causing serious
     property damage or bodily injury, to enter property during
     regular businesses hours after notice to the owner, operator,
     or person in charge of the property to inspect the elevator or
     investigate the accident, at no cost to the owner.
     
     (b) Authorizes the commissioner to enter real property
       during the regular business hours after notice to the owner,
       operator, or person in charge of the property for purposes
       of verifying, at no cost to the owner, whether an inspection
       report or certificate of compliance has been displayed as
       required.
       
       (c) and (d) Redesignate existing Subsections (a) and (b).
       
       (e) Authorizes the commissioner to suspend, deny, or revoke
       the registration of any ASME-OEI-1 certified inspectors for
       obtaining registration from the commissioner through false
       representation or fraud; falsifying an inspection report; or
       violating this subchapter or any rule of the commissioner.
     Sec.  754.024.  CRIMINAL PENALTY.  (a) Provides that a person
     commits an offense if the person commits certain acts. 
     Deletes language providing that a person commits an offense if
     the person receives a notice of noncompliance under Section
     754.022, and within 60 days after receiving the notice, the
     person has neither remedied the noncompliance or entered into
     a bona fide contract to remedy noncompliance.
     
     (b)-(c) Provides that an offense under this section is a
       Class C misdemeanor, and each day of an offense constitutes
       a separate offense.
SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1995.

SECTION 3. Emergency clause.