(a) No person shall engage in, practice or offer to perform the work of a crane operator, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, who is not the holder of a valid license issued by the board. Each licensed crane operator shall carry his or her license on his or her person when operating a crane. No person may engage in, practice or perform the work of a crane operator apprentice unless he or she has obtained a certificate of registration from the board. An apprentice's certificate may be issued for the performance of work of a crane operator for the purpose of training, provided such work may be performed only under the direct supervision of a licensed crane operator and is in compliance with the provisions of section 29-224c. No crane owner may operate or permit the operation of any of his or her cranes in this state unless he or she has obtained a certificate of registration from the board. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require a hoisting equipment owner to obtain a certificate of registration from the board.

(b) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to: (1) Engineers under the jurisdiction of the United States, (2) engineers or operators employed by public utilities or industrial manufacturing plants, (3) any person operating either a bucket truck or a digger derrick designed and used for an electrical generation, electrical transmission, electrical distribution, electrical catenary or electrical signalization project, if such person: (A) Holds a valid limited electrical line contractor or journeyman's license issued pursuant to chapter 393 or any regulation adopted pursuant to said chapter, or (B) has engaged in the installation of electrical line work for more than one thousand hours, or (C) has enrolled in or has graduated from a federally recognized electrical apprenticeship program, (4) persons engaged in the recreational boating or fishing industry, except when engaged in construction-related work, or in agriculture or arboriculture, (5) persons engaged in activities, or using equipment, excluded under section 29-221a, or (6) persons operating equipment, except a tower crane, that can hoist, lower and horizontally move a suspended load and has a manufacturer's maximum rated hoisting or lifting capacity exceeding two thousand pounds but not exceeding ten thousand pounds who, pursuant to federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration Standard 1926.1427, are (A) certified by an accredited crane operator testing organization, (B) qualified by an audited employer program, (C) qualified by the United States military, or (D) licensed pursuant to this chapter.

(P.A. 81-321, S. 4; P.A. 82-472, S. 67, 183; P.A. 84-381, S. 8, 12; P.A. 04-27, S. 7; P.A. 08-59, S. 2; P.A. 12-99, S. 9, 10; P.A. 14-29, S. 3.)

History: P.A. 82-472 made technical changes; P.A. 84-381 added provisions re issuance of a certificate of registration for a crane operator apprentice, and requiring that crane owner obtain a certificate of registration before operating cranes; P.A. 04-27 amended Subsec. (a) to provide that nothing in subsection shall be construed to require a hoisting equipment owner to obtain a certificate of registration from the board and made a technical change in Subsec. (b), effective April 28, 2004; P.A. 08-59 amended Subsec. (b) to add new Subdiv. (4) re exemption for operators of certain bucket trucks and digger derricks and redesignate existing Subdiv. (4) as Subdiv. (5), effective May 12, 2008; P.A. 12-99 amended Subsec. (a) to require apprentice training work to be under direct supervision of licensed operator and in compliance with Sec. 29-224c and make technical changes, effective October 1, 2012, and amended Subsec. (b) to delete former Subdiv. (1) re temporary exemption of person engaged in occupation of crane operator on October 1, 1981, redesignate existing Subdivs. (2) to (5) as Subdivs. (1) to (4), replace in redesignated Subdiv. (4) “persons engaged in boating, fishing, agriculture or arboriculture” with “persons engaged in the recreational boating or fishing industry, except when engaged in construction-related work, or in agriculture or arboriculture”, add new Subdiv. (5) re persons engaged in activities or using equipment excluded under Sec. 29-221a and add Subdiv. (6) re persons operating certain equipment with maximum hoisting or lifting capacity exceeding 2,000 pounds but not exceeding 10,000 pounds, effective October 1, 2014; P.A. 14-29 changed effective date of P.A. 12-99, S. 10, from October 1, 2014, to October 1, 2017, effective May 16, 2014.