Massachusetts Senate OKs Escalator Safety Plans

The Massachusetts Senate passed measures designed to tighten escalator safety rules Thursday as it debated its $30.5 billion state spending plan for the next fiscal year.

The Senate passed amendments toughening inspection requirements on escalators and elevators.

The escalator amendment adopted by senators was filed in memory of Mark DiBona, a 4-year-old Dudley boy who fell to his death from an escalator at the Auburn Mall in March.

The measure would require that all escalators and elevators in the state have valid inspection certificates before they can operate and that a new inspection be performed before certificates are renewed.

The escalator involved in the accident had been inspected in December, but investigators found that inspectors failed to properly close a small gap between the escalator and a wall. Two inspectors were suspended and could be fired.

The measure would impose fines of $1,000 per day on violators.