(The Center Square) – Making elevators great again in North Carolina, with a $4.6 million impact over two years, has been helped by the first-term Democratic governor.
Make Elevators Great Again, known also as House Bill 559, was one of six proposals signed into law on Monday by Gov. Josh Stein.
Safety standards and fees are the crux of the bill. Republican Labor Commissioner Luke Farley – and others who succeed him – can set “alternative standards that are reasonably equivalent” to the American National Safety Standards. Caps on inspection and certificate issuing fees are repealed.
Among the fee caps included in the proposal are $1,000 for an expedited special inspection fee; $500 for holiday and weekend inspections; $300 for water slide inspections; $250 for amusement major ride inspections; and $100 for amusement rock wall inspections.
According to a fiscal note, special fund revenues for the state will be $2.2 million this year, $2.6 million in fiscal year 2027, $2.8 million in 2028, $3.1 million 2029 and $3.4 million in 2030.
“I appreciate that Governor Stein has signed the Make Elevators Great Again Act – my plan to enhance public safety on elevators and amusement rides and restore trust in government services,” first-term Republican Labor Commissioner Luke Farley said. “This bipartisan law is a model for government efficiency, giving the North Carolina Department of Labor the tools we need to eliminate the elevator inspection backlog, strengthen rider safety, and deliver faster, more reliable service to the people of North Carolina – all without costing taxpayers a dime.
“This was my top legislative priority, and I’m proud to see it signed into law just months into my first term as labor commissioner. With this law in place, we’re ready to go to work – recruiting more inspectors, reducing delays, and raising the bar for safety across North Carolina.”
The law also amended interim appointment criteria for the Building Code Council and Residential Code Council.
Implementation of the law is immediate. Only six Democrats in the Senate and one in the House of Representatives were noes in the respective 39-6 and 108-1 passages.
Elevators and inspections garnered attention in the Tarheel State this generation more than others in part because former five-term Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry, a Republican, came to be known as the Elevator Lady. The Labor Department inspection is posted in each, and her photo was on them.
Republican Josh Dobson was her successor, winning election in 2020, but declined to have his photo on the certificates. Farley won in November and pledged in his campaign and after winning to have a plan to instill public confidence, be sure inspections were not out of date, and return the commissioner photo to the inspection certificate in each vertical transport car.
Other legislation signed into law by Stein on Monday included:
• Medicaid Modernization (House Bill 546): State laws related to the Medicaid program are adjusted in this law. There’s 12 months for women just having given birth, more access to telehealth, and a new plan for children and young adults.
• County Waste Management Assistance (SB706): This law is for certain municipalities getting assistance in the cleanup of scrap tires.
• JMAC/ABC/Other Revisions (SB664).
• Perpetual Care of Certain Cemeteries (HB210).
• Various State and Local Gov’t Provisions (HB23).
