A. The department shall issue a license for a class I crane operator with an endorsement to an applicant who files a completed application, accompanied by the required fees, and who submits satisfactory evidence that the applicant:

(1) is at least twenty-one years of age;

(2) has passed a written examination as prescribed by the department or has successfully completed an employer's in-house training program approved by the council;

(3) has had a physical examination, including substance abuse testing, within the twelve-month period preceding the date of application, showing that the applicant is in satisfactory physical condition for performing the functions of a class I crane operator; and

(4) within the past three years, has completed at least five hundred hours of seat time in the type of crane for which the applicant seeks a license and an endorsement and has successfully passed a practical examination administered by a council-approved examining vendor or completed an employer's in-house training course approved by the council in the type of crane for which the applicant seeks a license and an endorsement.

B. The department shall issue a license for a class II crane operator to an applicant who files a completed application, accompanied by the required fees, and who submits satisfactory evidence that the applicant:

(1) is at least eighteen years of age;

(2) has passed a written examination prescribed by the department or has successfully completed an employer's in-house training course approved by the council;

(3) has had a physical examination, including substance abuse testing, within the twelve-month period preceding the date of application, showing that the applicant is in satisfactory physical condition for performing the functions of a class II crane operator; and

(4) within the past three years, has completed at least five hundred hours of seat time in the actual operation of hydraulic cranes with over ten tons and up to one hundred tons lifting capacity with a maximum boom length of one hundred fifty feet, regardless of mounting or means of mobility, and has successfully passed a practical examination administered by a council-approved examining vendor or has completed an employer's in-house training course approved by the council in the type of crane for which the applicant seeks a license.

C. A class II crane operator who seeks to become licensed as a class I crane operator shall keep a log book of the class II crane operator's seat time and must accumulate fifty hours of seat time under the direct supervision of a class I crane operator.

D. The department shall issue a license for a class III crane operator to an applicant who files a completed application, accompanied by the required fees, and who submits satisfactory evidence that the applicant:

(1) is at least eighteen years of age;

(2) has passed an examination prescribed by the department; and

(3) has had a physical examination, including substance abuse testing, within the twelve-month period preceding the date of application, showing that the applicant is in satisfactory physical condition for performing the functions of a class III crane operator.

E. A class III crane operator who seeks to become licensed as a class I or class II crane operator shall keep a log book of the class III crane operator's seat time within the past three years and must accumulate five hundred hours of seat time under the direct supervision of a class I or class II crane operator who is properly licensed in the kind of crane being operated.

F. A class III crane operator shall not operate a crane unless under the direct supervision of a class I or class II crane operator who is properly licensed in the type of crane being operated.

G. The department shall recognize an in-house crane operator card issued to an applicant who:

(1) is at least eighteen years of age;

(2) is participating in an in-house training course approved by the council; and

(3) has had a physical examination, including substance abuse testing, within the twelve-month period preceding the date of application, showing that the applicant is in satisfactory physical condition for performing the functions of a crane operator.

H. A person with an in-house crane operator card shall only operate a crane for the employer who provided the approved in-house training course. The employer of a person with an in-house crane operator card shall provide that operator with supervision and additional training by a class I or class II crane operator who is properly licensed in the type of crane being operated to ensure compliance and safe operation of the crane pursuant to the Crane Operators Safety Act.

I. An in-house crane operator card shall be valid for two years and is not subject to extension or renewal.

History: Laws 1993, ch. 183, § 7; 1995, ch. 138, § 5; 2013, ch. 76, § 2; 2017, ch. 31, § 6.

The 2017 amendment, effective June 16, 2017, replaced "hoisting" or "hoisting equipment" with "crane" throughout the section; in Subsection A, after "crane operator with", deleted "a conventional crane, hydraulic crane or tower crane" and added "an"; and in Subsection C, after "must accumulate", deleted "five hundred" and added "fifty".

The 2013 amendment, effective July 1, 2013, provided the requirements for Class I, II, and III hoisting operator licenses; in Subsection A, after "Class I hoisting operator", added "with a conventional crane, hydraulic crane or tower crane endorsement"; in Paragraph (2), after "prescribed by the department", added the remainder of the sentence; deleted former Paragraph (4), which permitted the issuance of a license to a person who had three years' experience operating a conventional crane, hydraulic crane or tower crane, and added Paragraph (4); in Subsection B, in Paragraph (2), after "prescribed by the department", added the remainder of the sentence and in Paragraph (4), at the beginning of the sentence, added "within the past three yeas", after "three years, has", deleted "had at least two years' experience" and added "completed at least five hundred hours of seat time", and after "means of mobility", deleted "or otherwise demonstrates his operating experience and competency by examination prescribed by the department" and added the remainder of the sentence; in Subsection E, after "log book of", deleted "his" and added "the class III hoisting operator's", after "operator's seat time", added "within the past three years", after "five hundred hours of seat time", deleted "or six thousand hours of experience", and after "class II hoisting operator", added the remainder of the sentence; and added Subsections F through I.

The 1995 amendment, effective July 1, 1995, rewrote this section.