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Substitute Senate Bill No. 369
Public Act No. 26-84
AN ACT ESTABLISHING VARIOUS REQUIREMENTS REGARDING
ELEVATORS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 29 -191 of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026):
As used in this chapter [, "department"] and sections 2 and 3 of this
act:
(1) "Department" means the Department of Administrative Services;
["commissioner"]
(2) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Administrative
Services; ["elevator"]
(3) "Elevator" means a hoisting and lowering mechanism equipped
with a car or platform which moves in guides or rails in a substantially
vertical direction other than an inclined stairway chairlift and a vertical
wheelchair or incline lift, including sidewalk elevators used for the
carrying of persons or freight; [and "escalator"]
(4) "Escalator" means a moving inclined continuous stairway or
runway used for raising or lowering passengers;
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(5) "Residential elevator building" means any building located in the
state that is wholly or partly used for residential purposes with at least
one elevator used as the means of ingress and egress to any floor above
or below the ground floor, including a garage. "Residential elevator
building" does not include any building located on municipal -owned
property or state -owned property and any building or structure
undergoing remodeling, restoration, repair or renovation under a
current building permit;
(6) "Owner" has the same meaning as provided in section 47a-1;
(7) "Building and housing codes" has the same meaning as provided
in section 47a-1;
(8) "Inoperable" means operating in a manner that materially and
consistently limits reliable access to dwelling units served by an
elevator;
(9) "Local building official" means the person appointed pursuant to
section 29-260; and
(10) "Elevator contractor" means a person licensed by the Department
of Consumer Protection to perform elevator installation, repair and
maintenance work, as defined in section 20-330.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) Each owner of a residential
elevator building shall maintain each elevator in such building in
continuous working order in accordance with applicable building and
housing codes, including, but not limited to, the Connecticut Safety
Code for Elevators and Escalators, adopted pursuant to section 29 -192
of the general statutes.
(b) Each owner shall provide notice to tenants in a residential elevator
building as follows:
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(1) Post a sign as close as possible to the elevator's call buttons, but
not higher than sixty inches from the floor, that states the following in
English and Spanish:
"If this elevator is not working and it is an emergency, dial 911. If it is
not an emergency and you do not have access to another working
elevator for at least forty -eight consecutive hours, call (THE
APPLICABLE MUNICIPALITY) at (THE APPLICABLE PHONE
NUMBER)."
(2) Provide written notice to each tenant at least twenty -four hours
prior to any scheduled maintenance of an elevator.
(3) Not later than twenty-four hours after an elevator is first reported
as being inoperable and is not restored to service, provide written notice
to each tenant whose dwelling unit is served by such elevator. Such
notice shall include, but need not be li mited to, (A) the cause of the
inoperability, if known, (B) the estimated time for restoration of services,
if known, (C) the name and contact information for an individual to
provide current information concerning the status of the repair of such
elevator, and (D) the name and contact information of the local building
official to report any violation of this section or applicable building or
housing codes.
(c) Not later than forty -eight hours after an elevator is first reported
as being inoperable and is not restored to service, an owner shall submit
to the local building official (1) the notice of such inoperability provided
to tenants pursuant to subdivisi on (3) of subsection (b) of this section,
and (2) a repair plan prepared by an elevator contractor that includes,
but need not be limited to, (A) the cause of the inoperability, (B) the
nature of the repair required, and (C) the date by which the elevator
repairs are expected to be completed. Such owner shall comply with the
plan for periodic updates established pursuant to the provisions of
subsection (a) of section 3 of this act until the elevator is restored to
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service.
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) Not later than two business
days after receiving a notice and repair plan for an inoperable elevator
in a residential elevator building pursuant to subsection (c) of section 2
of this act, a local building official shall contact the owner of such
building or the elevator contractor, as needed, to establish a plan for
periodic updates about the status of such repair plan.
(b) Each local building official shall investigate any complaint
received about an inoperable elevator in a residential elevator building.
Upon finding such elevator to be inoperable, such local building official
shall issue a written request to the owner of such building requiring
compliance with the provisions of section 2 of this act by not later than
five business days after the date of such request. Such request shall
specify that such owner may be subject to the penalties specified in
section 29-198 of the general statutes, for any noncompliance with such
request.
(c) Each local building official shall notify the department of each of
the following, in the form and manner prescribed by the commissioner:
(1) Receipt of a notice and repair plan for an inoperable elevator;
(2) Receipt of a complaint about an inoperable elevator in a
residential elevator building;
(3) Any instance of noncompliance of an owner of a residential
elevator building with (A) the provisions of section 2 of this act, (B) a
repair plan for an inoperable elevator, (C) a plan for periodic updates
established pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, or (D) a request for
compliance issued to such owner pursuant to subsection (b) of this
section.
(d) The department may impose the penalty specified in subsection
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(e) of this section or take any action authorized pursuant to chapter 538
of the general statutes to enforce compliance with the provisions of this
section and section 2 of this act, including, but not limited to, requiring
more frequent inspections of an elevator pursuant to section 29 -195 of
the general statutes, revocation of a certificate to operate an elevator
issued pursuant to section 29 -196 of the general statutes or requiring
discontinuance of operation of an elevator pursuant to section 29-197 of
the general statutes.
(e) Any owner who violates any of the provisions of this subsection
or section 2 of this act shall (1) for the first offense, be fined not more
than two hundred fifty dollars, and (2) for each subsequent offense, be
fined not more than five hundred dollars.