1424                                      LAWS OF MARYLAND                                Ch. 679

Where belts are used for transporting [men] PERSONS, a minimum clearance
of 18 inches shall be maintained between the belt and the roof or crossbars,
projecting equipment, cap pieces, overhead cables, wiring, and other objects; but
where the height of the coal bed permits, the clearance shall be not less than 24
inches.

The belt speed shall not exceed 250 feet a minute while [men] PERSONS are
loading, unloading, or being transported.

The space between [men] PERSONS riding on a belt line shall be not less than
5 feet.

Loading and unloading stations shall be illuminated properly.

An official or some other person designated by the mine foreman shall supervise
the loading and unloading of belts and man trips.

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take
effect July 1, 1973.

Approved May 24, 1973.

CHAPTER 680
(Senate Bill 391)

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, Section 13(j) of Article 100 of
the Annotated Code of Maryland (1964 Replacement Volume), title "Work,
Labor and Employment," subtitle "Employment of Minors," to provide that
minors of certain ages may not work in coal mines and to provide that minors
of certain ages may work in other related jobs, and eliminating the references to
minors of a particular sex.

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That Section 13(j) of Article 100 of the Annotated Code of
Maryland (1964 Replacement Volume), title "Work, Labor and Employment,"
subtitle "Employment of Minors," be and it is hereby repealed and re-enacted,
with amendments, to read as follows:

100.
13.

(j) No (male) minor under 18 years of age [and no female of any age] shall be
employed, permitted, or suffered to work in any coal mine, tunnel or excavation
except that [male] minors 16 or 17 years of age may be employed in the
occupation of slate or other refuse picking at a picking table or picking chute in a
tipple or breaker or in repair or maintenance shops located in the surface part of
any coal mining plant and [both male and female] minors 16 and 17 years of age
may be employed in occupations requiring the performance of duties solely in
offices located in the surface part of the mine.

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take
effect July 1, 1973.