Request By:
George Muehlenkamp, Esq.
Campbell County Attorney
504 Campbell Towers
Newport, Kentucky 41071
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Thomas R. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General
This is in reply to your letter seeking our opinion as to whether, under KRS 227.450, 227.500, 278.045 and 807 KAR 2:061, the county has a right to grant exclusive privileges for electrical inspections or whether it must permit inspections by anyone who has been certified by the Public Service Commission.
KRS 278.045, effective June 21, 1974, provides:
"There are hereby transferred and vested in the public service commission all functions, powers and duties, funds, personnel, equipment and supplies relating to electrical inspection (KRS 227.450 to 227.500) existing in the present law in the department of public safety."
807 KAR 2:061 is an administrative regulation adopted by the Public Service Commission pertaining to the certification of electrical inspectors. Section 2 thereof provides that the regulations apply to all electrical inspectors in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and to applicants for certification as electrical inspectors. The regulation, which became effective February 2, 1977, after the original version was amended, provides that the Public Service Commission shall require inspectors to be certified. A photostatic copy of the regulation is enclosed.
KRS 227.450(4) defines an "electrical inspector" in part as any person certified by the public service commission pursuant to KRS 227.489 who, for compensation, inspects the construction and installation of electrical equipment to ascertain the compliance with the national electrical code incorporated in article I of the standards of safety of the Commonwealth of Kentucky or the electrical code of any city or county in Kentucky. KRS 227.480 provides in part that a county may require any person to obtain permits before commencing construction, alteration or repairs of any electrical wiring and require such inspection as it deems necessary for the safety of life and property. Furthermore, the standards adopted by the county shall be used by the electrical inspector in making his inspections. KRS 227.500 provides that a county may fix a penalty for the violation of any ordinance or resolution passed under its authority to adopt an electrical code.
In OAG 76-296, copy enclosed, we said that the Public Service Commission has no statutory authority pursuant to KRS 227.450 to 227.500 to make electrical inspections. Its primary function is to examine and certify electrical inspectors to be employed by a city or county to perform inspections under whatever electrical ordinance the city or county may adopt. Thus, if the city or county has an electrical code it can only employ as its electrical inspector a person certified by the Public Service Commission.
As to whether the county has the authority to designate a specific firm to conduct electrical inspections for the county, we again direct your attention to OAG 76-296. We said that a particular firm could be so designated provided the persons designated by the firm to represent it and the governmental body (the county, in your case) are certified as electrical inspectors by the Public Service Commission pursuant to KRS 227.489. The word "person" as used in the definition of "electrical inspector" under KRS 227.450(4) can include a corporation. See KRS 446.010(26) for the definition of "person." If a contract is made with a firm or corporation to do the electrical inspection work, the county should comply with the bidding requirements set forth in KRS 424.260.
An examination of the materials you have submitted indicates that there may be some confusion as to the role of the Public Service Commission and the local authorities in connection with electrical inspectors, electrical contractors and electricians, and electrical codes. The Public Service Commission certifies electrical inspectors under KRS 227.489 but not electrical contractors and electricians generally. A county pursuant to KRS 227.480 may adopt an electrical inspection program and under KRS 227.490 a county may set up an examining procedure for electrical contractors and electricians. If a county has an inspection program, such inspections must be performed by certified electrical inspectors. The county may designate a particular firm or person to act as its electrical inspector if it desires to do so and satisfies all statutory requirements applicable thereto.