Electrical safety and fire prevention-amendments.

ORIGINAL
House
Bill No
.
HB0166

ENROLLED ACT NO. 98,

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SIXTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2015 General Session

AN ACT relating to electrical safety and fire prevention; updating references; removing requirements relating to elevators in buildings as specified; clarifying duties of the state fire marshal and cities and revising experience requirements for limited technician and low voltage technician licenses; extending local inspection bodies authority over appeals as specified; providing for rulemaking; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 16
‑
6
‑
501(a)(intro) and
(b) through
(d), 16
‑
6
‑
502, 35
‑
9
‑
102(a)(xi)
and
(xiii)
,
35
‑
9
‑
121(d)
and 35
‑
9
‑
126(a)
are amended to read:

16
‑
6
‑
501
.

Building plans and specifications; required facilities; elevators; curb ramps; inspections; exceptions.

(a)

The plans and specifications for the construction of or additions to all buildings for general public use built by the state or any governmental subdivision, school district or other public administrative body within the state, shall provide facilities and features conforming with the specifications set forth in the
publication entitled "American Standard Specifications for Making Buildings and Facilities Accessible to and Usable by the Physically Handicapped" (U.S. Patent No. A117.1
‑
1961) as approved October 31, 1961, by the American Standards Association, now called the American National Standards Institute, Inc. Elevators shall be installed in multiple
‑
story buildings to serve all levels normally used by the general public
.
Elevators shall have the following features:
accessibility and supplemental accessibility requirements of the 2012 edition of the International Building Code.

(b)

Every curb or sidewalk to be constructed or reconstructed in Wyoming, where both are provided and intended for public use, whether constructed with public or private funds, shall provide a ramp at points of intersection between pedestrian and motorized lines of travel and no less than two (2) curb ramps per lineal block. Design for curb ramps shall
take into consideration the needs of all physically handicapped persons including blind pedestrians. Existing design standards will be available from the governor's committee for employment of the handicapped. If future improvements in the curb ramp design will benefit handicapped and elderly persons, designs stipulated in this article may be altered after full hearings on the proposed changes by the administrator of the division of vocational rehabilitation, the program manager of the governor's committee on employment of people with disabilities and the state fire marshal

be designed in accordance with the current Americans With Disabilities Act accessibility guidelines
.

(c)

Except as provided in this subsection, t
he state fire marshal or city engineer
, or
t
heir designee,

shall inspect any structure described in subsection (a) of this section at the request of any person.
C
urb ramps
s
hall be

inspected by the city at the request of any person and shall be
modified or reconstructed by the contracting authority to meet the requirements of W.S. 16
‑
6
‑
501 through 16
‑
6
‑
504.

(d)

Exceptions
for good cause

may be granted by the state fire marshal
in consultation with the administrator of the division of vocational rehabilitation, the program manager of the governor's committee on employment of people with disabilities, and the occupational health and safety
commission chairman

for any structure described in subsection (a) of this section or by the city for curb ramps
.

16
‑
6
‑
502
.

Building plans and specifications; state fire marshal; review and approval.

All plans and specifications for the construction of or additions to buildings for general public use, built by the state or any governmental subdivision, school district or other public administrative body within this state, shall be submitted for review and approval by the state fire marshal, who shall approve if he finds the plans provide facilities which conform to the specifications set forth in
"American Standard Specifications for Making Buildings and Facilities Accessible to and Usable by the Physically Handicapped" (U.S. Patent No. A117.1
‑
1961) as approved October 31, 1961, by the American Standards Association, now called the American National Standards Institute, Inc., and W.S. 16
‑
6
‑
501, subject however to the waiver specified above

the accessibility and supplemental accessibility requirements of the 2012 edition of the International Building Code
.

35
‑
9
‑
102
.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in W.S. 35
‑
9
‑
101 through 35
‑
9
‑
130:

(xi)

"Limited technician" means a person licensed by the department who has
two (2) years experience

met the minimum experience requirements as prescribed by board rules and regulations
in the portion of the electrical wiring industry covered by his limited license
.

and
The limited technician
shall
have
technical knowledge to install and supervise the installation of electrical
equipment associated with the type of limited electrical license held in accordance with the National Electrical Code and city, county and state ordinances and regulations;

(xiii)

"Low voltage technician" means a person licensed by the department who has
two (2) years experience
met the minimum experience requirements as prescribed by board rules and regulations

in the portion of the electrical wiring industry covered by his low voltage license
.

and
The low voltage technician
shall
have
technical knowledge to install and supervise the installation of electrical equipment associated with the type of low voltage electrical license held in accordance with the National Electrical Code and city, county and state ordinances and regulations;

35
‑
9
‑
121
.

Local enforcement.

(d)

A municipality or county which has enforcement authority under this section shall create its own appeals boards to determine the suitability of alternate materials and types of construction

and to interpret and grant variances from
adopted
codes or
standards
. The boards shall be appointed and removed by the governing body of the municipality or county, but the person making the decision upon which the appeal is based shall not be a member of the appeal board.

3
5
‑
9
‑
126
.

Licensing of master electricians, journeymen electricians, low voltage technicians, limited technicians; temporary permits; reciprocal licenses; master electrician of record for only 1 electrical contractor; technician of record for only 1 low voltage or limited electrical contractor.

(a)

Applicants for master electrician, journeymen electrician, low voltage technician and limited technician licenses shall apply to the chief electrical inspector on a form furnished by the department and accompanied by the required examination fee. The form shall state the applicant's full name, his address, the extent of his experience and other information required by the department. An applicant who complies with the rules of the
department

board
, is qualified, successfully completes the examination and pays the required license fee shall be issued the proper license by the chief electrical inspector which bears the date of issue. A master license
, low voltage technician license and limited technician license
shall expire on July 1 in the third year following the year of issue. A journeyman license shall expire on January 1 in the third year following the year of issue.
A low voltage technician license shall expire on July 1 in the third year following the year of issue. A limited technician license shall expire on July 1 in the third year following the year of issue.
Credit for time spent in any electrical school shall be given to master electricians, journeyman electricians, low voltage technicians or limited technicians for time spent in classes up to a total of two (2) years, or four thousand (4,000) hours, on the work experience requirements.

Section 2
.

W.S. 16
‑
6
‑
501(a)(i) through (v)
and 35
‑
9
‑
126(e) through (g)

are
repealed.

Section
3
.

This
act is effective July 1,
2015
.

(END)

Speaker of the House

President of the Senate

Governor

TIME APPROVED: _________

DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the House.

Chief Clerk

1