A. Upon the effective date of this act, owner-user inspectors following weldment procedures which conform to the applicable code for qualifying welders and testing weldments by nondestructive or destructive methods shall be exempt from this act. Any inspector who has been certified by the American Welding Society shall be exempt.

B. Any weld-test facility, which has been approved and certified under this title by the Oklahoma Department of Labor on or before January 1, 1979, to test and qualify welder operators and which has as its primary function the testing and qualifying of welder operators, shall be approved to continue as authorized and may operate using inspectors who have documentation of a minimum of seven (7) years of the last ten (10) years of experience in the inspection field.

C. The Commissioner of Labor shall, upon proper application and the payment of fees within ninety (90) days after the effective date of this act, and annually thereafter upon payment of the fees provided herein shall issue certification without examination to those persons who test and qualify welder operators, upon producing proof satisfactory to the Commissioner, that they meet the requirements of this section, and who have otherwise complied with the provisions of this act.

D. For one (1) year from the effective date of this act, structural steel welders with five (5) or more years of experience, as verified by the Department of Labor, shall not be required to pass a welding test, but must otherwise comply with the provisions of this act and the rules promulgated by the Department of Labor to implement the Oklahoma Welding Act.

Added by Laws 1978, c. 104, § 15, eff. Oct. 1, 1978. Amended by Laws 1979, c. 171, § 3, emerg. eff. May 15, 1979; Laws 2008, c. 312, § 15, eff. Nov. 1, 2008.