GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1999

S	1 

SENATE BILL 1083

Short Title:  LP Gas Registration/Training.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Senators Albertson; and Metcalf.

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Referred to:  Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources.

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April 15, 1999

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO AMEND THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS FOR DEALERS IN LIQUIFIED PETROLEUM GAS AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE TRAINING AND EXAMINATION OF PERSONS TRANSPORTING OR DISPENSING LIQUIFIED PETROLEUM GAS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 119-56 reads as rewritten:
"§ 119-56. Registration of dealers; liability insurance or substitute required.
A person shall not hold himself out as a dealer without first having registered as herein provided on a form to be furnished by the Commissioner.  Such form shall give the name and address of the dealer, the place of and type or types of business of such dealer, and such other pertinent information as the Commissioner may deem necessary.  A dealer shall reregister on or before the renewal date of its liability insurance policy by having the insurance provider submit satisfactory documentation of insurance coverage to the Commissioner.
A dealer shall obtain and maintain comprehensive general liability  insurance including product liability of one hundred thousand dollars  ($100,000) combined single limits and, when applicable, comprehensive  automobile liability insurance of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) combined single limits. Verification of said insurance coverage shall be made in a manner satisfactory to the Commissioner. In lieu of insurance, the dealer may file and maintain a bond, certificate of deposit or irrevocable letter of credit in a form satisfactory to the Commissioner which provides protection for the public in the same amounts and to the same extent as said insurance.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to a dealer who retails liquefied petroleum gas in containers of less than 50 pounds water capacity and which retailing does not involve the filling or transporting of such containers.  However, training shall be performed according to the provisions of G.S. 119-62(e)."
Section 2.  Chapter 119 of the General Statutes is amended by adding two new sections to read:
"§ 119-62.  Employee training requirements.
(a)	Employee Training Requirements. – Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, no person may work or be employed for more than 90 days in any capacity that requires the transporting or dispensing of liquified petroleum gas or performing any work on liquified petroleum gas systems unless that person has enrolled in and successfully completed a training program and has taken an examination that measures the competency of that person to perform liquified petroleum gas-related activities and tests the person's working knowledge of the applicable safety standards.  A person who has not yet completed this training program may perform the duties described in this subsection only under the direct supervision of properly trained personnel until that training and examination are complete.  The training program and examination shall be prepared or approved by the Commissioner.  An examination may not be administered by a person employed by the same company employing the person taking the test.
(b)	Training and Examination of Existing Employees. – Employees engaged in service installation, safety, or delivery activities involving liquified petroleum gas on January 1, 2000, shall enroll in an appropriate certified training program and complete an examination no later than July 1, 2000, unless they can provide proof of such training and examination within the previous three years.
(c)	Retraining and Examination. – All employees engaged in service installation, safety, or delivery activities involving liquified petroleum gas shall be retrained and reexamined no later than the third anniversary of the date of the completion of their previous training and examination and every three years thereafter.
(d)	Proof of Training. –  Proof of completion of an approved training and examination shall be provided to the Commissioner from the approved testing agent within 30 days of the examination and shall be maintained in a personnel training file available for examination at the place of employment.  Proof of previous training and examination authorized by subsection (b) of this section shall be provided by the dealer or designated manager to the Commissioner by July 1, 2000, and shall be maintained in a personnel training file available for examination at the place of employment.
(e)	Limited Training for Certain Employees. – Training for employees whose only liquified petroleum gas activity involves the selling and receiving at retail of exchange containers of less than 50 pounds water capacity shall be performed by the supplying cylinder exchange company or by the manager or agent of the retail location.   Such training shall be documented by a sign-off sheet maintained at the employment location and shall be supplemented by posting the training instructions at the point of sale or the exchange cabinet.  Proof of such training need not be provided to the Commissioner.  Persons involved in the sale of nominal one-pound LP-gas capacity containers and smaller liquified petroleum gas containers are exempt from this training requirement.
"§ 119-63.  Training program and examination preparation.
Training programs and examinations required under G.S. 119-62 shall be conducted by appropriate State personnel or training agents approved by the Commissioner.  Such training agents shall not conduct training or examinations until they have registered on a form to be furnished by the Commissioner and have received approval for conducting training and examination.  The form shall give the name and address of the agent applicant, documentation of appropriate qualification for conducting training, and such other pertinent information as the Commissioner may deem necessary."
Section 3.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services the sum of seventy-six thousand eight hundred thirty-three dollars ($76,833) for the 1999-2000 fiscal year and the sum of eighty-three thousand three hundred ninety-eight dollars ($84,398) for the 2000-2001 fiscal year to implement safety training for liquified petroleum gas dealers and their employees.
Section 4.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2000.