Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Elevator Certificates topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee approves raise in annual elevator certificate fee to $75
Summary
The Finance - Division I committee agreed to amend language in House Bill 2 and raise the annual certificate fee for commercial elevators from $50 to $75 after hearing revenue and staffing details from the Department of Labor.
The Finance - Division I committee voted unanimously (Representative Sweeney absent) to raise the annual state certificate fee for commercial elevators from $50 to $75 as part of revisions to House Bill 2.
Department of Labor Commissioner Ken Merrifield told the committee the $50 fee "has been exactly the same" at least since fiscal 2014 and that the certificate category typically generates just under $300,000 a year. Merrifield said the inspection unit directly involved with elevator certificates includes "3 and a half" elevator inspectors, who are part of Inspection Division accounting unit 6100.
Merrifield described the certificate fee as separate from the hourly inspection charge, which he said is billed at $100 per hour. He framed the change as a matter of aligning fee revenue with administrative expectations: "it's a good idea to keep fees at least as much as expenses," he said. Committee members noted that raising the fee would have a modest per-business impact. Representative McGuire called a $50-to-$100 increase a "rounding error" for commercial elevator owners and supported a higher fee. Representative Leishman and others pressed staff on whether a $75 fee would better match inspection costs.
Committee questions also covered the broader Inspection Division budget. Merrifield said the division overall "far out collects their expenses" and that the department has turned over more than $2 million to the general fund in recent years from restricted fund revenues tied to fees, fines and licenses.
After brief discussion and an identification of the bill pages where the language appears, the committee agreed to rewrite the statutory language so the fee amount appears once, substitute $75 in the text, and voted to accept the change. The motion to raise the fee and accept the related section passed by voice vote; minutes record the outcome as unanimous with one member absent.
The committee did not adopt a specific cost-of-inspection study or compare neighboring-state certificate fees as part of the action; a committee member later reported Maine at $50 and Vermont with variable charges depending on elevator type.
