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CS/SB 998 — Sale of Liquefied Petroleum Gas
by Fiscal Policy Committee and Senator Collins
This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.
Prepared by: Commerce and Tourism Committee (CM)
The bill makes a number of changes with regard to the regulation of liquefied petroleum (LP) gas by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS). Specifically the bill:
- Provides that a category I liquefied petroleum gas dealer license must include one licensed location, and may include up to two remote bulk storage locations, and that remote bulk storage locations must be located within 75 miles of the licensed location and included in the category I liquefied petroleum gas dealer license application;
- Specifies that a competency exam must be completed within 90 days after the application has been accepted by the DACS;
- Requires that category I or category V qualifiers must have one year of verifiable LP gas experience;
- Clarifies that a qualifier for a business must actually function in a position with authority to monitor and enforce safety provisions at the licensed location, and that a separate qualifier is required for every 10 employees performing LP gas activities;
- Provides that a person may not act as a master qualifier for more than one licensee;
- Empowers the DACS to revoke the license of a qualifier or master qualifier who demonstrates a lack of trustworthiness;
- Gives the DACS the authority to condemn unsafe equipment and issue an immediate final order requiring the immediate removal of LP gas that is deemed a threat to public health;
- Adjusts language relating to aggregate capacity of containers;
- Requires LP gas technicians to provide their name and qualifier number on all work orders;
- Prohibits anyone other than those authorized from adding or removing gas from a customer’s tank, and gives the DACS the authority to adopt rules to provide exceptions for emergencies; and
- Revises and clarifies the minimum storage requirement to account for aggregate storage.
If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature, these provisions take effect July 1, 2024.
Vote: Senate 39-0; House 112-0