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Boiler Inspection Backlog Bill Passes House
HB 262 Would Use Inspection Fees to Fund Extra Inspectors

(JUNEAU) - The House today passed a bill that would help address a significant backlog in mechanical safety inspections of boilers and elevators by allowing the Department of Labor to use fees for such inspections to hire additional inspectors.

Rep. Lisa Murkowski (R-Anchorage) introduced the bill as chair of the House Labor and Commerce Committee at the request of the department, which reports a backlog of thousands of inspections of electrical systems, elevators, boilers and pressure vessels and similar machinery.

While the state had five electrical inspectors, two elevator inspectors, and five boiler/pressure vessel inspectors in the mid-1990s, there are now just two electrical inspectors, one elevator inspector, and three boiler/pressure inspectors, she said. These inspectors are responsible for nearly 900 elevators, and nearly 6,000 boiler/pressure vessels are overdue for inspection, posing a hazard to the operators, the inspectors and the public.

"HB 262 is essentially a fees for service bill, that establishes a mechanism to create a building safety account to support the state's mechanical inspections program and eliminate the sizeable backlog of elevator and boiler inspections," Murkowski said.

HB 262 would make the mechanical inspections program self-sufficient, she said. Fees would fund and restore three new boiler inspectors. These additional inspectors could address the entire state backlog in about two years, and should be sufficient to keep up with the state's ongoing inspection needs.

HB 262 moves next to the Senate for consideration.

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