Title: An act relating to ensuring safe repair, replacement, and maintenance work on elevators and other conveyances.

Brief Description: Ensuring safe repair, replacement, and maintenance work on elevators.

Brief Summary of Bill

• Finds that proper work on elevators and other conveyances is essential to protecting workers and the public.

• Declares that certain work should be subject to licensure, and that other work may be subject to other means of ensuring worker and public safety.

Majority Report: Do pass. Signed by 6 members: Representatives Conway, Chair; Wood, Vice Chair; Chandler, Ranking Minority Member; Hudgins, Kenney and McCoy.

Minority Report: Do not pass. Signed by 3 members: Representatives Condotta, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Crouse and Holmquist.

The Department of Labor and Industries (Department) administers and enforces state laws providing for the safe operation, installation, inspection, and repair of publicly and privately owned elevators, escalators, and other similar conveyances. In general these laws require owners to obtain installation permits from the Department before conveyances are built, installed, moved, or altered. These laws also require owners to obtain operating permits for conveyances. The Department must annually inspect and test conveyances. Consistent with its responsibility to administer and enforce these laws, the Department has adopted rules and established fees for permits and inspections.

In 2002 the Legislature enacted legislation establishing licensing requirements for elevator contractors and mechanics, creating the elevator safety advisory committee, and prescribing penalties. Since then, the Department has begun preparing to implement this legislation.

The Legislature finds that proper repair, replacement, and maintenance work on elevators and other conveyances is essential to protecting workers and the public. The Legislature also declares that certain work in particular facilities should be subject to licensure, and that certain work in other facilities may be subject to other appropriate means of ensuring worker and public safety.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For: Workers at grain warehouses and elevators must be licensed as mechanics to do even routine maintenance. The proper split between what should be licensed and what should not be licensed needs to be examined. This bill is a vehicle to address problems created by past legislation. If current law is not revised, workers will lose good family wage jobs and employers will be forced to pay higher labor costs for outside contractors.

Testified: Dan Coyne, Washington State Council of Farm Cooperatives; and Robert Helmsley, Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers.