S-3566               _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 4556

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1986 Regular Session

By Senators Vognild, Zimmerman, Rasmussen, Peterson, Granlund, Sellar, Wojahn and Moore

Read first time 1/15/86 and referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

AN ACT Relating to electrical equipment safety standards; and amending RCW 19.28.010.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  Section 1, chapter 169, Laws of 1935 as last amended by section 2, chapter 206, Laws of 1983 and RCW 19.28.010 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) All wires and equipment, and installations thereof, that convey electric current and installations of equipment to be operated by electric current, in, on, or about buildings or structures, except for telephone, telegraph, radio, and television wires and equipment, and television antenna installations, signal strength amplifiers, and coaxial installations pertaining thereto shall be in strict conformity with this chapter, the statutes of the state of Washington, and the rules issued by the department, and shall be in conformity with approved methods of construction for safety to life and property.  All wires and equipment that fall within section 90.2(b)(5) of the National Electrical Code, 1981 edition, are exempt from the requirements of this chapter.  The regulations and articles in the National Electrical Code, as approved by the American Standards Association, and in the national electrical safety code, as approved by the American Standards Association, and other installation and safety regulations approved by the American Standards Association, as modified or supplemented by rules issued by the department in furtherance of safety to life and property under authority hereby granted, shall be prima facie evidence of the approved methods of construction.  All materials, devices, appliances, and equipment used in such installations shall be of a type that conforms to applicable standards or be indicated as acceptable by the established standards of the Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc. or other equivalently national recognized authorities.

          (2) This chapter shall not limit the authority or power of any city or town to enact and enforce under authority given by law, any ordinance, rule, or regulation requiring an equal, higher, or better standard of construction and an equal, higher, or better standard of materials, devices, appliances, and equipment than that required by this chapter.  In a city or town having an equal, higher, or better standard the installations, materials, devices, appliances, and equipment shall be in accordance with the ordinance, rule, or regulation of the city or town.  Electrical equipment associated with spas, hot tubs, swimming pools, and hydromassage bathtubs shall not be offered for sale or exchange unless the electrical equipment is certified as being in compliance with the applicable product safety standard by bearing the certification mark of an approved electrical products testing laboratory.

          (3) Nothing in this chapter may be construed as permitting the connection of any conductor of any electric circuit with a pipe that is connected with or designed to be connected with a waterworks piping system, without the consent of the person or persons legally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the waterworks piping system.