SF 181

1st Engrossment - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 03/25/2022 09:35am

A bill for an act
relating to the State Building Code; clarifying exemptions from inspections for
load control allowed for electrical utilities; amending Minnesota Statutes 2020,
section 326B.36, subdivision 7, by adding a subdivision.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 326B.36, subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Exemptions from inspections.

Installations, materials, or equipment shall not
be subject to inspection under sections 326B.31 to 326B.399:

(1) when owned or leased, operated and maintained by any employer whose maintenance
electricians are exempt from licensing under sections 326B.31 to 326B.399, while performing
electrical maintenance work only as defined by rule;

(2) when owned or leased, and operated and maintained by any electrical,
communications, or railway utility, cable communications company as defined in section
238.02, or telephone company as defined under section 237.01, in the exercise of its utility,
antenna, or telephone function; and

(i) are used exclusively for the generations, transformation, distribution, transmission,
new text begin load control, new text end or metering of electric current, or the operation of railway signals, or the
transmission of intelligence, and do not have as a principal function the consumption or use
of electric current by or for the benefit of any person other than such utility, cable
communications company, or telephone company; and

(ii) are generally accessible only to employees of such utility, cable communications
company, or telephone company or persons acting under its control or direction; and

(iii) are not on the load side of the service point or point of entrance for communication
systems;

(3) when used in the street lighting operations of an electrical utility;

(4) when used as outdoor area lights which are owned and operated by an electrical
utility and which are connected directly to its distribution system and located upon the
utility's distribution poles, and which are generally accessible only to employees of such
utility or persons acting under its control or direction;

(5) when the installation, material, and equipment are in facilities subject to the
jurisdiction of the federal Mine Safety and Health Act; or

(6) when the installation, material, and equipment is part of an elevator installation for
which the elevator contractor, licensed under section 326B.164, is required to obtain a permit
from the authority having jurisdiction as provided by section 326B.184, and the inspection
has been or will be performed by an elevator inspector certified and licensed by the
department. This exemption shall apply only to installations, material, and equipment
permitted or required to be connected on the load side of the disconnecting means required
for elevator equipment under National Electrical Code Article 620, and elevator
communications and alarm systems within the machine room, car, hoistway, or elevator
lobby.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 326B.36, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Electric utility exemptions; additional requirements. new text end

new text begin For exemptions to
inspections exclusively for load control allowed for electrical utilities under subdivision 7,
clause (2), item (i), the following requirements apply:
new text end

new text begin (1) the exempted work must be conducted by a Class A electrical contractor. If a
deficiency or code violation is found when conducting such work, the electrical contractor
or other designee must report the deficiency or code violation to the electric utility; and
new text end

new text begin (2) the electric utility must, within ten calendar days of discovering the need for repair,
inform the owner of:
new text end

new text begin (i) the location of the materials or equipment that need repair;
new text end

new text begin (ii) that a permit is required for the work; and
new text end

new text begin (iii) provide a time frame for the repair to be complete, not to exceed six months, after
which time the utility must disconnect the materials or equipment.
new text end