MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2000 Regular Session

To: Public Health and Welfare

By: Representative Guice

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 45-23-21, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT UPON THE REQUEST OF CERTAIN COUNTIES THAT HAVE BOILERS AND/OR PRESSURE VESSELS OPERATING ON COUNTY-OWNED PROPERTY, THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH SHALL ISSUE A SPECIAL INSPECTOR'S LICENSE TO ANY PERSON EMPLOYED IN THE COUNTY MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT WHO HAS PASSED THE INSPECTOR'S EXAMINATION; TO PROVIDE THAT THE SPECIAL INSPECTORS SHALL INSPECT ALL BOILERS AND/OR PRESSURE VESSELS OPERATING ON COUNTY-OWNED PROPERTY, AND THE COUNTY SHALL BE EXEMPT FROM THE PAYMENT OF INSPECTION FEES TO THE STATE; TO AMEND SECTIONS 45-23-43 AND 45-23-45, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 45-23-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

45-23-21. The board:

(a) May employ deputy inspectors who shall be responsible to the chief inspector and who shall have had at the time of appointment not less than five (5) years experience in the construction, installation, inspection, operation, maintenance or repair of high pressure boilers and pressure vessels as a mechanical engineer, steam operating engineer, boilermaker or boiler inspector, and who shall have passed the examination provided for in Section 45-23-23.

(b) Shall, upon the request of any company licensed to insure and insuring in this state boilers and pressure vessels or, upon the request of any company operating boilers and/or pressure vessels in this state for which the owner or user maintains a regularly established inspection service which is under the supervision of one or more engineers whose qualifications are satisfactory to the board and cause the pressure vessels to be regularly inspected and rated by such inspection service in accordance with applicable provisions of the rules and regulations adopted by the board pursuant to Section 45-23-9, issue to any inspectors of the company licenses as special inspectors, provided that each such inspector before receiving his license shall satisfactorily pass the examination provided for by Section 45-23-23; or in lieu of such examination the board may accept persons who hold a license or a certificate of competency as an inspector of boilers and pressure vessels for a state that has a standard of examination substantially equal to that of the State of Mississippi.

(i) A license as a special inspector shall be issued to a qualified employee of a company operating boilers and/or pressure vessels in this state only if, in addition to meeting the requirements stated herein, the person is employed full time by the company and is responsible for making inspections of pressure vessels used or to be used by such company and which are not for resale.

(ii) Such special inspectors shall receive no salary from, nor shall any of their expenses be paid by, the state; and the continuance of a special inspector's license shall be conditioned upon his continuing in the employ of the insurance company duly authorized as aforesaid or upon continuing in the employ of the company so operating pressure vessels in this state and upon his maintenance of the standards imposed by this chapter.

(iii) Such special inspectors shall inspect all boilers and pressure vessels insured or all boilers and/or pressure vessels operated by their respective companies, and when so inspected the owners and users of such boilers and pressure vessels shall be exempt from payment to the state of inspection fees provided for in Section 43-23-53.

(c) Upon the request of the board of supervisors of any county having a population of fifty thousand (50,000) or more, according to the most recent federal decennial census, which has boilers and/or pressure vessels operating on county-owned property, and which has a maintenance department that is under the supervision of one or more engineers whose qualifications are satisfactory to the board and that is capable of regularly inspecting and rating those boilers and/or pressure vessels in accordance with applicable provisions of the rules and regulations adopted by the board pursuant to Section 45-23-9, shall issue a license as a special inspector to any person employed in the county maintenance department who has satisfactorily passed the examination provided for by Section 45-23-23.

(i) The board may issue a special inspector's license only to a full-time employee of the county maintenance department who is responsible for making inspections of boilers and/or pressure vessels operating on county-owned property.

(ii) The special inspectors shall receive no salary from, nor shall any of their expenses be paid by, the state; and the continuance of a special inspector's license shall be conditioned upon the licensee continuing in the employ of the county maintenance department and maintaining the standards imposed by this chapter.

(iii) The special inspectors shall inspect all boilers and/or pressure vessels operating on county-owned property, and, when so inspected, the county shall be exempt from payment to the state of the inspection fees provided for in Section 43-23-53.

SECTION 2. Section 45-23-43, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

45-23-43. Each company operating boilers and/or pressure vessels covered by owner or user inspection service meeting the requirements of Section 45-23-21 (b), and each county whose boilers and/or pressure vessels are inspected by special inspectors who are licensed under Section 45-23-21(c), shall maintain in its files an inspection record which shall list, by number and such abbreviated description as may be necessary for identification, each pressure vessel covered by this chapter, the date of the last inspection of each such unit, and for each pressure vessel the approximate date for the next inspection thereof arrived at by applying the appropriate rules therefor to all data available at the time such inspection record is compiled. Such inspection record shall be readily available for examination by the chief inspector or his authorized representative during business hours.

SECTION 3. Section 45-23-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

45-23-45. In addition to the requirements of Section 45-23-43, each such company or county, as the case may be, shall * * * file annually with the board a statement, signed by the engineer having supervision over the inspections made during the period covered by the statement, stating the number of vessels covered by this chapter inspected during the year and certifying that each such inspection was conducted under the inspection requirements provided for by this chapter.

Each annual statement filed by a company shall be accompanied by a filing fee in accordance with the following schedule:

(a) For statements covering not more than twenty-five (25) vessels--Three Dollars ($3.00) per vessel.

(b) For statements covering more than twenty-five (25) but less than one hundred one (101) vessels--Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00).

(c) For statements covering more than one hundred (100) but less than five hundred one (501) vessels--One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150.00).

(d) For statements covering more than five hundred (500) vessels--Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00).

Any county filing the annual statement shall be exempt from the filing fee under this section.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2000.