Date: 04/10/2006
Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB06-105
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AFFAIRS AND LABOR
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02:49 PM -- Senate Bill 06-105
Representative Cerbo, prime sponsor, presented Senate Bill 06-105 concerning the registration of mechanical conveyances such as elevators and escalators. He explained the main provisions of the bill.
02:52 PM -- Brian Tobias, representing the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), testified in opposition to the bill. He stated that DORA found only three instances of harm with conveyances in Colorado in the past 5-10 years. He talked about the 2005 sunrise review on Conveyances available on-line at: http://www.dora.state.co.us/opr/archive/2005ConveyancesSunrise.pdf Mr. Tobias stated that the report recommended that local governments perform inspections. Mr. Tobias was asked how many conveyances are in Colorado. He stated that there are approximately 12,250 and about 95% of those are currently inspected.
02:58 PM -- Richard Markow, representing the Colorado Elevator Association, testified in opposition to the bill. He talked about another bill that dealt with conveyances, House Bill 06-1188. Mr. Markow listed some concerns his association has with the bill. One of his concerns is that building owners will have to "double register" and explained that there is already a good inspection program for the private inspectors.
03:05 PM -- Gary Severson, representing the Northwest Council of Governments and the Colorado Municipal League, testified in opposition of the bill. He stated that conveyance inspection is a matter of local control.
03:12 PM -- Patrick Hilleary, Building Owners' and Managers' Association, spoke in opposition to the bill. He indicated that most elevators and escalators in the state are currently registered and subject to certain inspections in their respective jurisdictions. He stated that under the bill, many jurisdictions would leave the responsibility to the state. Mr. Hilleary said there needs to be clarification about who will be responsible for these inspections.
03:16 PM -- Scott O'Brien, representing Centric Elevator Corporation, testified in support of the bill.
03:18 PM -- Russ Goodman, representing Kone Elevators and Escalators, testified in support of the bill. He stated that bill will benefit companies by creating a safer environment for their employees. Mr. Goodman gave some examples of some hazards his employees have faced that could have been avoided under the bill. Mr. Goodman stated that the 2000 code in the bill helps and will allow the use of new technology. Mr. Goodman responded to questions.
03:26 PM -- Joseph DuPont, International Union of Elevator Constructors, spoke in support of the bill. He stated there is no way to tell how many conveyances there are because there is no monitoring. Mr. DuPont spoke about the incident at Coors Field. He said that 4 people, to his knowledge, have been killed in conveyance accidents. Mr. DuPont responded to questions.
03:33 PM -- Gregg Rogers, Elevator Industry Work Preservation Fund, spoke in support of the bill. He stated that the legislation would give Colorado citizens the safest mode of transportation. Mr. Rogers responded to previous testimony pertaining to the DORA report. He responded to questions from the committee about the number of occurrences in Colorado.
03:56 PM
Representative Paccione, acting chair, pulled the bill off the table until Wednesday, April 12. The committee adjourned.