02/27/2017 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE

        HB 114-BOILER/PRESSURE VESSEL INSPECTION REPORTS                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:31:46 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO  announced that the  final order of business  would be                                                               
HOUSE  BILL NO.  114,  "An  Act relating  to  boiler and  unfired                                                               
pressure vessel inspection reports and fees."                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:32:09 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
BIANCA CARPENETI,  Staff, Representative  Sam Kito,  Alaska State                                                               
Legislature, presented  HB 114 on  behalf of the House  Labor and                                                               
Commerce  Standing Committee,  sponsor,  on which  Representative                                                               
Kito serves as  chair.  She explained that HB  114 was drafted by                                                               
the House  Labor and Commerce  Standing Committee at  the request                                                               
of  the  Department  of  Labor  &  Workforce  Development.    She                                                               
remarked:                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     On  January  twentieth,  the department  presented  the                                                                    
     concept behind  this bill  to the  committee.   At that                                                                    
     time  the committee  authorized  the chair  to draft  a                                                                    
     bill on  behalf of  the committee that  modifies filing                                                                    
     requirements for  boiler inspections.  The  bill before                                                                    
     you is the result.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MS. CARPENETI explained that HB 114  would do two things:  first,                                                               
it would establish a $10 fee  for each boiler and pressure vessel                                                               
inspection  report  not  filed   using  the  department's  online                                                               
system; second, it  would reduce the time allowed  to submit such                                                               
reports following  an inspection from  the current 30 days  to 15                                                               
days.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:33:03 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DEBORAH KELLY,  Director, Division  of Labor Standards  & Safety,                                                               
Department  of Labor  & Workforce  Development (DLWD),  explained                                                               
that  HB  114 would  institute  a  $10  fee  for each  boiler  or                                                               
pressure vessel inspection report filed  with the department in a                                                               
manner  other than  using  the  department's online  direct-entry                                                               
system.   The bill would also  reduce the time allowed  to file a                                                               
report following  an inspection  from 30  days to  15 days.   She                                                               
said  boiler  and  pressure vessels  in  Alaska  receive  routine                                                               
inspections at intervals of two to  five years as a public safety                                                               
measure to  prevent catastrophic  failures.   She noted  that the                                                               
inspections  may be  done by  State  of Alaska  inspectors or  by                                                               
private inspectors who generally  work for insurance companies or                                                               
the  device owners.   The  Mechanical Inspection  section of  the                                                               
Division   of  Labor   Standards  and   Safety  administers   the                                                               
inspections of the devices.  She remarked:                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Besides  performing inspections,  we  also collect  and                                                                    
     review  inspection  reports   and  ensure  that  boiler                                                                    
     owners  are  in compliance  with  state  law.   We  use                                                                    
     "Jurisdiction   Online,"   a   software   that   allows                                                                    
     inspectors  to  enter  the reports  directly  from  the                                                                    
     field and  also gives them access  to information while                                                                    
     they're in the  field.  The majority  of the inspectors                                                                    
     are  using  this  system, but  some  inspectors  submit                                                                    
     electronic  documents,  usually  in PDF  format,  which                                                                    
     require Mechanical Inspections staff  to do manual data                                                                    
     entry...                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MS. KELLY detailed that the  Mechanical Inspection section spends                                                               
350-400 man hours every year  entering data for the reports filed                                                               
without using  the department's  online system.   She  noted that                                                               
the  bill would  institute a  $10 fee  for each  report submitted                                                               
without using  "Jurisdiction Online."   The fees  collected would                                                               
be deposited into  the building safety account  to compensate the                                                               
department  for  the  data  entry and  support  provided  to  the                                                               
inspectors paying the fees.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS. KELLY stated  that HB 114 would also reduce  the time allowed                                                               
for submission  of boiler inspection  reports.  The  current time                                                               
limit  of  30 days  was  set  when  reports  were mailed  by  the                                                               
inspector  in the  field  to the  company  headquarters and  then                                                               
mailed to  the department.   She explained  that all  reports are                                                               
now submitted  electronically, either  through direct  data entry                                                               
or  e-mailed PDFs;  most  reports  arrive within  a  week of  the                                                               
inspection.  She  said, "Shortening the time to  15 days reflects                                                               
current technology  and practice  and ensures that  device owners                                                               
are in compliance with the law in a more timely manner."                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:35:49 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH  asked how long  it takes to enter  the data                                                               
from the reports.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MS. KELLY  answered that the  department estimates that  it takes                                                               
just a few minutes per report:   350-400 man hours are spent each                                                               
year for  3,200 reports.   She added  that the inspectors  in the                                                               
field who  don't have access  to "Jurisdiction  Online" sometimes                                                               
have to  call the department  asking for device  information that                                                               
they otherwise could have gotten from that online database.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  BIRCH offered  his  opinion that  a push  towards                                                               
electronic reporting would be good.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
3:37:00 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SULLIVAN-LEONARD asked how  many total reports are                                                               
filed each year.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MS. KELLY answered that the  department sees around 11,000-12,000                                                               
total inspections per year:   of those, 3,200 are being submitted                                                               
in manners  that require data  entry.   She clarified that  it is                                                               
12,000 inspections - not devices -  in a year, since most devices                                                               
are in a two- to five-year inspection interval.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
3:37:59 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO opened public testimony on HB 114.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:38:13 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO announced that HB 114 was held over.