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May 10, 2011
Hallelujah! Boiler Inspection Reform is on the Horizon!
Sure, it's a small matter in the great scheme of things. But it's been a particularly galling one.
The General Assembly may finally have harkened to the outraged voices of business owners about the insanity that comprises our boiler inspection law. Yes, it's only one of many regulations that cause an unnecessary drag on Rhode Island businesses. But as one of the more pointless ones, its elimination would be a good start to ameliorating the state's business climate.
Providence Business News reported the good news yesterday.
The DLT is in the process of changing the payment structure to cut in half the fee that companies must pay for state boiler inspections, from $120 to $60 every two years, according to DLT spokeswoman Laura Hart.The department for the first time also supports a change in existing law to limit the number of businesses in the state required to have boiler inspections. New DLT Director Charles J. Fogarty, who took over the agency in January, led the drive to revise the fee and the law after hearing continued protests from business owners across the state, many of them in charge of small businesses such as pizza parlors and fitness centers, Hart told Providence Business News.
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Great news. Too bad I'm about to get a $500.00 fine for not complying.
Posted by: michael at May 10, 2011 5:48 PMThis is another example of inertia in government, old taxes and regulations never go away. There was a time when many factories were powered by substantial steam boilers (tending them at night was a great job for retired Marine Engineers), without doubt these could be dangerous. For the most part, these have disappeared. Of course, the regulations don't disappear.
Another good example is shutting off you car to pump gas. This stems from the bad old days when cars didn't have fuel pumps. Gas was delivered to the engine by gravity, with the tank mounted ahead of the windshield and above the engine. Any spillage would pour onto the motor. I suppose one could argue there is some safety factor in continuing to turn off the engine while fueling, but the reason for the regulation is long gone.
Posted by: Warrington Faust at May 10, 2011 5:51 PMMichael - Didn't you have a post last year about how easy it was to open a small business in RI?
Posted by: Dan at May 10, 2011 7:52 PMOpening was easy. Staying open is difficult.
Posted by: michael at May 11, 2011 8:56 AMThe biggest expenses are actually rent, utilities,insurance and credit card processing. The boiler inspection thing just made me boil.
Posted by: michael at May 11, 2011 8:58 AMMakes sense. Tony Soprano is very welcoming to new businesses on his turf. It's when you don't pay Paulie or Silvio their protection money that you have a real problem. Welcome to RI.
Posted by: Dan at May 11, 2011 12:45 PMthe $120.00 inspection fee by DLT at my business was for a fifty gallon hot water tank not a boiler...
Posted by: Sandra at May 11, 2011 9:20 PMCorrect, Sandra. But under current Rhode Island law, your hot water tank is defined as a boiler.
The proposed modifications to the law should correct the absurdity that you describe.
Posted by: Monique at May 12, 2011 9:14 AM