§ 153A-351. Inspection department; certification of electrical inspectors.
§ 153A‑351. Inspection department; certification of electrical inspectors.
(a) A county may create an inspection department, consisting ofone or more inspectors who may be given the titles of building inspector,electrical inspector, plumbing inspector, housing inspector, zoning inspector,heating and air‑conditioning inspector, fire prevention inspector, deputyor assistant inspector, or any other title that is generally descriptive of theduties assigned. The department may be headed by a superintendent or directorof inspections.
(a1) Every county shall perform the duties and responsibilitiesset forth in G.S. 153A‑352 either by:
(1) Creating its own inspection department;
(2) Creating a joint inspection department in cooperation withone or more other units of local government, pursuant to G.S. 153A‑353 orPart 1 of Article 20 of Chapter 160A; or,
(3) Contracting with another unit of local government for theprovision of inspection services pursuant to Part 1 of Article 20 of Chapter160A.
Suchaction shall be taken no later than the applicable date in the schedule below,according to the county's population as published in the 1970 United StatesCensus:
Counties over 75,000 population July 1, 1979
Counties between 50,001 and 75,000 July 1, 1981
Counties between 25,001 and 50,000 July 1, 1983
Counties 25,000 and under July 1, 1985.
In the event that any county shall fail to provide inspection servicesby the date specified above or shall cease to provide such services at any timethereafter, the Commissioner of Insurance shall arrange for the provision ofsuch services, either through personnel employed by his Department or throughan arrangement with other units of government. In either event, theCommissioner shall have and may exercise within the county's jurisdiction allpowers made available to the board of county commissioners with respect tobuilding inspection under Part 4 of Article 18 of this Chapter and Part 1 ofArticle 20 of Chapter 160A. Whenever the Commissioner has intervened in thismanner, the county may assume provision of inspection services only aftergiving the Commissioner two years' written notice of its intention to do so;provided, however, that the Commissioner may waive this requirement or permitassumption at an earlier date if he finds that such earlier assumption will notunduly interfere with arrangements he has made for the provision of thoseservices.
(b) No person may perform electrical inspections pursuant tothis Part unless he has been certified as qualified by the Commissioner ofInsurance. To be certified a person must pass a written examination based onthe electrical regulations included in the latest edition of the State BuildingCode as filed with the Secretary of State. The examination shall be under thesupervision of and conducted according to rules and regulations prescribed bythe Chief State Electrical Inspector or Engineer of the State Department ofInsurance and the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors. It shall beheld quarterly, in Raleigh or any other place designated by the Chief StateElectrical Inspector or Engineer.
The rules and regulations may provide for the certification of class I,class II, and class III inspectors, according to the results of theexamination. The examination shall be based on the type and character ofelectrical installations being made in the territory in which the applicantwishes to serve as an electrical inspector. A class I inspector may serveanywhere in the State, but class II and class III inspectors shall be limitedto service in the territory for which they have qualified.
The Commissioner of Insurance shall issue a certificate to each personwho passes the examination, approving the person for service in a designatedterritory. To remain valid, a certificate must be renewed each January bypayment of an annual renewal fee of one dollar ($1.00). The examination feeshall be five dollars ($5.00).
If the person appointed by a county as electrical inspector fails topass the examination, the county shall continue to make appointments until anappointee has passed the examination. For the interim the Commissioner ofInsurance may authorize the county to use a temporary inspector.
The provisions of this subsection shall become void and ineffective on suchdate as the North Carolina Code Officials Qualification Board certifies to theSecretary of State that it has placed in effect a certification system forelectrical inspectors pursuant to its authority granted by Article 9C ofChapter 143 of the General Statutes. (1937, c. 57; 1941, c. 105; 1947, c. 719; 1951, c. 651; 1953, c. 984;1955, cc. 144, 942, 1171; 1957, cc. 415, 456, 1286, 1294; 1959, cc. 399, 940,1031; 1961, cc. 763, 884, 1036; 1963, cc. 639, 868; 1965, cc. 243, 371, 453,494, 846; 1967, cc. 45, 73, 113; c. 495, ss. 1, 3; 1969, cc. 675, 918; c. 1003,s. 7; c. 1010, s. 4; c. 1064, ss. 1, 4, 5; c. 1066, s. 1; 1973, c. 822, s. 1;1977, c. 531, ss. 2, 3; 1991, c. 720, s. 77.)