SENATE DOCKET, NO. 295        FILED ON: 1/14/2015

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1295

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Michael F. Rush

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to unsafe elevators.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 295        FILED ON: 1/14/2015

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1295

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1170 OF 2013-2014.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

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An Act relative to unsafe elevators.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 65 of Chapter 143 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the second paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following:-

No elevator licensed under this chapter shall be operated without a valid inspection certificate.  An elevator shall be deemed to be operating for the purposes of this section unless it has been placed out of service or decommissioned in accordance with a procedure approved by the board.  If a certificate has expired, no new certificate shall be issued until a new inspection has been completed and no elevator shall be operated until a new certificate has been issued by a qualified state inspector. The owner or operator of an elevator who fails to comply with this section shall be punished by a fine of $100 for each day that an elevator is in operation without a valid certificate. Fines shall begin to accrue on the date that the elevator is determined to be unsafe.  Fines shall stop accruing on the date on which the owner or operator has, in writing or in any manner prescribed by the department, requested an inspection of the elevator by the department.  For any elevator that is located in a single family owner occupied residence in accordance with M.G.L. c. 143 § 64, the maximum fine shall be $5,000.  For all other units, the maximum fine shall be $20,000.  The commissioner or the commissioner's designee, and such other person as may be specifically authorized, may issue a written notice of violation under section 21 of chapter 22 for a violation of this section.  The commissioner is authorized to chargeback state agencies or entities for violations of this section.

SECTION 2: Section 65 of Chapter 143 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking the third paragraph.

SECTION 3: Section 65 of Chapter 143 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after the third paragraph the following:-

The commissioner may assess a fee for appeals filed under this section to be determined annually by the commissioner of administration under section 3B of chapter 7.

Upon application for annual inspection, owners shall provide to the department a current mailing address for the location of the unit.