Request By:
Byron Lee Hobgood, Esq.
City Attorney, City of Madisonville
P.O. Box 195
Madisonville, Kentucky 42431
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Thomas R. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General
This is in reply to your letter raising a question concerning the certification of the city's electrical inspector. You state that the city by ordinance has adopted an electrical code which provides for the inspection of electrical construction. The enforcement agent is an electrical inspector designated by the city with qualifications set forth in the ordinance. The city's electrical code was adopted in 1959 with subsequent amendments thereto and provides in part that the latest edition of the National Electrical Code is adopted as supplemental regulations (Article I, Sec. 9-6).
Your question is whether the city's electrical inspector, who enforces the city's electrical code, must be certified by the state in light of the 1978 legislative changes in KRS 227.450. If the city's electrical inspector must be certified, you then ask whether another inspector must be hired, who is certified, to enforce the ordinance until the uncertified inspector obtains certification.
KRS 227.489, as amended in 1978, provides that the commissioner of housing, buildings and construction shall require electrical inspectors to be certified. The statute then sets forth the conditions to be satisfied concerning certification. The statute formerly provided that the public service commission shall require electrical inspectors to be certified.
Prior to its amendment by the 1978 regular session of the General Assembly, KRS 227.450(4) defined "electrical inspector" as follows:
"'Electrical inspector' means any person certified by the public service commission pursuant to KRS 227.489 who, for compensation, inspects the construction and installation of electrical conductors, fittings, devices and fixtures for light, heat or power service 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 of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. (Emphasis supplied. )
Thus, under the above version of the statute the Public Service Commission examined and certified electrical inspectors who could then be employed by a city to perform inspections under whatever electrical ordinance the city might have adopted. If a city had an electrical code it could only employ as its electrical inspector a person certified by the Public Service Commission. In addition, prior to its amendment by the 1978 regular session of the General Assembly, KRS 227.320 provided in part that the authorities of any county, city or other political subdivision may adopt and enforce the standards of safety promulgated by the state.
KRS 227.450(4), as amended by the 1978 regular session of the General Assembly, defines "electrical inspector" as follows:
"'Electrical inspector' means any person certified by the commissioner of housing, buildings and construction pursuant to KRS 227.489 who, for compensation, inspects the construction and installation of electrical conductors, fittings, devices and fixtures for light, heat or power service equipment to ascertain the compliance with the national electrical code incorporated in the uniform state building code promulgated pursuant to KRS 198B.050 or the standards of safety of the Commonwealth of Kentucky." (Emphasis supplied. )
As you have no doubt observed, the above-quoted statute now excludes from the definition of an "electrical inspector" a person who inspects to ascertain the compliance with the electrical code of any city or county of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
In connection with the reference in KRS 227.450(4) to the national electrical code incorporated in the uniform state building code promulgated pursuant to KRS 198B.050, it is our understanding that a state building code has not yet been promulgated and probably will not be until some time late in 1979. We also direct your attention to KRS 227.480(1) which states:
"A city or county shall, when the uniform state building code as it pertains to the plan review responsibilities of local governments takes effect, 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. A city or county may require such permits and inspections prior to the time when the uniform state building code local government plan review responsibilities take effect."
KRS 227.450(4) as amended does include within the definition of an "electrical inspector" any person who inspects to ascertain the compliance with the standards of safety of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. KRS 227.320 was amended by the 1978 regular session of the General Assembly to provide that the authorities of any county, city or other political subdivision shall adopt and enforce the standards of safety promulgated by the commissioner of housing, buildings and construction. "Shall" is mandatory, KRS 446.010(29). The standards of safety which have been adopted and which are in effect include the National Fire Codes, Volumes 1-16, one volume of which is the National Electrical Code, which presumably is the same National Electrical Code which supplements the city's electrical ordinance. The standards of safety of the Commonwealth are set forth in 815 KAR 10:015 and the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, the 127 Building, U.S. Highway 127 South, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601 (Telephone: 502 - 564-8044) will be able to supply you with further information concerning the standards of safety.
The regulations dealing with the standards of safety provide that the standards contained therein are considered to be a minimum. Where a city ordinance has been adopted, the standards of safety do not modify any provision of the ordinance unless the standards impose greater restrictions, in which case the provisions of the standards shall control. Furthermore, a statute and administrative regulations adopted within the limits set by the statute prevail over a city ordinance which conflicts or is consistent with the state statute and regulations. See Franklin County v. Webster, Ky., 400 S.W.2d 693 (1966).
Thus, while KRS 227.450, as amended by the 1978 regular session of the General Assembly, excludes from the definition of an "electrical inspector" a person who inspects to ascertain the compliance with the electrical code of any city, it includes one who inspects to ascertain compliance with the state's standards of safety. Cities are now required to adopt and enforce the state's standards of safety which include the National Electrical Code. The state's standards prevail over any conflicting or inconsistent provisions adopted by the city. Therefore, the city, to perform its statutorily imposed duties, will have to have an electrical inspector certified, pursuant to KRS 227.489, by the Commissioner of Housing, Buildings and Construction. What the city enacts beyond the required minimum state standards of safety is left to its discretion but the city cannot avoid the necessity of having a certified electrical inspector to perform statutorily imposed duties. Furthermore, the Uniform Building Code, when adopted, shall be enforced by each local government within the boundaries of its jurisdiction, KRS 198B.060.