(a) Each individual whom the State, a county, or a local government appoints or employs as a plumbing inspector shall:
(1) each year attend a continuing education course that the Board or, with the approval of the Board, a county or local government conducts; and
(2) meet minimum standards that:
(i) adequately ensure that the plumbing inspector is qualified to inspect in accordance with the State Plumbing Code;
(ii) are established:
1. by the county or local government in consultation with the Board; or
2. if there is no standard established by the county or local government, by the Board; and
(iii) are administered:
1. for a county or local government inspector, by the county or local government that appoints or employs the inspector; and
2. for a State inspector, by the State.
(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a county or local government may employ an individual as a plumbing inspector only if the individual holds a master plumber license issued by the Board, the Baltimore County Plumbing Board, or the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.
(2) Paragraph (1) of this subsection does not apply to a county or local government that uses combination building code inspectors to conduct concurrent trade–specific inspections on residential or commercial buildings to determine compliance with adopted plumbing codes and building codes if the combination building code inspector, as part of the inspector’s training, has passed:
(i) a master plumber examination given by the Board, the Baltimore County Plumbing Board, or the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission; or
(ii) the plumbing inspector’s test administered by the Board.
(c) An individual may not have any financial interest in any plumbing business while employed by the State, a county, or any local government as a plumbing inspector.
(d) (1) On appointment or employment, the individual shall place the master plumber license, journey plumber license, or limited license on inactive status.
(2) The Board may issue a plumbing inspector identification card to a plumbing inspector who has placed the appropriate license on inactive status.
(3) On termination of the appointment or employment of an individual as a plumbing inspector, the Board shall reactivate the master plumber license, journey plumber license, or limited license of an individual who is on inactive status, without examination, if the individual:
(i) makes a written request to the Board; and
(ii) pays to the Board a reactivation fee set by the Board.
(e) The Board may impose a reasonable fee to cover the costs of conducting the continuing education courses under subsection (a) of this section.