South Carolina § 41-18-80 - Inspection procedures.

§ 41-18-80. Inspection procedures.

(A) In the case of a permanent device, the amusement device must be inspected by the director or special inspector. Thereafter, as a requirement for the issuance of each subsequent permit, the amusement device must be inspected at least annually by the director or by a special inspector. The inspection shall at minimum comply with the requirements of the director. An affidavit of the annual inspection must be filed with the director.

(B) In the case of a temporary device, before first operation in the State each year, the amusement device must be inspected by the director or special inspector for the permit to be issued. Thereafter, the amusement device must be inspected at least annually by the director or a special inspector. The inspection must at minimum comply with the requirements of the director. An affidavit of the annual inspection must be filed with the director.

(C) In the case of an amusement device which is substantially rebuilt or substantially modified so as to change the structure, mechanism, or capacity of the device, the owner or lessee shall give written notice to the director who shall cause the device to be inspected before the time in which it is put into operation and who shall cause any current permit to be updated so as to include any modifications made to the device.

(D) In the event an operator is unable to secure an inspection within one year from the date of the previous inspection, the previous inspection is considered valid for purposes of this chapter for a period of thirty additional days, if the operator made an inspection request to any of those individuals qualified to make the inspection at least sixty days before the permit expiration date.

(E) Upon proper presentation of credentials, the director or his inspectors may enter unannounced and inspect amusement devices at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner and have the right to question any owner, manager, or agent of the owner, to inspect, investigate, photograph, and sample all pertinent places, areas, and devices, and to examine and reproduce all pertinent documents and records for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this chapter. No fee may be charged for these unannounced inspections.

(F) No amusement device which fails to pass an inspection may be operated for public use until it has passed a subsequent inspection.

(G) Each sponsor of a fair or carnival and the owner of the land or their designees, upon which the fair or carnival is located, shall make a visual inspection of each amusement device at least once each week during the period the fair or carnival is operating. The director shall provide a checklist for this inspection. If an unsafe amusement device or condition is discovered, it must be immediately reported to the director.

(H) A special inspector shall have:

(1) at least five years' experience in amusement device maintenance and safety, and completion of approved courses in materials inspection and testing and in fasteners, or a four-year college degree in engineering or architecture with a minimum of twelve semester hours of course work in the area of mechanics and strength of materials and

(2) evidence of successful completion of an approved Rides Safety Inspection Course within the previous two calendar years.

HISTORY: 1985 Act No. 103, SECTION 2; 1986 Act No. 514, SECTION 2, eff June 12, 1986; 1993 Act No. 144, SECTION 5, eff June 14, 1993; 1998 Act No. 283, SECTION 1, eff upon approval (became law without the Governor's signature on April 8, 1998).

Effect of Amendment

The 1986 amendment made grammatical changes; revised subsections 1 and 2 so as to allow inspections to be performed by the commissioner's designee or a special inspector, as well as by the commissioner, and so as to no longer require annual inspections by an approved "licensed architect, professional engineer, qualified inspector of an insurance underwriter, or other qualified inspector"; revised subsection 1 by deleting a provision requiring the initial inspection to be made "at the time of application for the initial permit"; revised subsection 5 by substituting "special inspector" for "licensed architect, professional engineer, qualified inspector of an insurance underwriter, or other qualified inspector, each of whom must be approved by the commissioner,"; substantially rewrote subsection 8; and added subsection 9.

The 1993 amendment, in subsections (1), (2) and (5) deleted references to inspector's designee or agent; in subsection (2) substituted "before first operation in the state each year" for "upon first entry into the state"; deleted former subsection (3) pertaining to visual inspections of temporary devices, and renumbered the remaining subsections; and in subsection (4), formerly (5), deleted "by a special inspector" following "secure an inspection" and substituted "permit expiration date" for "inspection anniversary date".

The 1998 amendment substituted "director" for "commissioner" throughout the section, and made nonsubstantive changes.