(a) It shall be the duty of the Elevator Safety Board to license elevator inspectors, elevator mechanics, and elevator contractors as provided in this chapter and to revoke or suspend any such license for cause.
(b) The board shall have the power and it shall be its duty to consult with engineering authorities and organizations studying and developing standard safety codes, including that of the American National Safety Institute/American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and determine what rules governing the qualifications, training, and duties of elevator operators and the operation, maintenance, construction, alteration, and installation of elevators, dumbwaiters, and escalators and the inspection and tests of new and existing installations are adequate, reasonable, and necessary to provide for the safety of life, limb, and property and to protect the public welfare.
(c) Upon the determination, the board shall make, amend, or repeal from time to time rules regarding:
(1) The maintenance, inspection, tests, and operation of all elevators and escalators;
(2) The construction of new elevators, dumbwaiters, and escalators;
(3) The alteration of existing elevators, dumbwaiters, and escalators;
(4) Prescribing minimum safety requirements for all existing elevators, dumbwaiters, and escalators;
(5) Prescribing the fees for construction permits, operating permits, acceptance inspections, initial inspections, and periodic inspections for new and existing elevators, escalators, and dumbwaiters; and
(6) The revocation, suspension, nonrenewal, and reinstatement of licenses and for the imposition of lesser disciplinary measures.
(d) The board shall also have the power in any particular case to grant exceptions and variations which shall only be granted when it is clearly evident that they are necessary in order to prevent undue hardship or when the existing conditions prevent compliance with the literal requirements of the rules. In no case shall any exception or variation be granted unless, in the opinion of the board, reasonable safety will be secured thereby.
(e) It shall also be the duty of the board to hear and decide any appeals from the orders or acts of the Department of Labor and Licensing or its authorized representative as provided in § 20-24-119.