(a) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a county or local government may employ an individual as an electrical inspector only if the individual:
(i) holds a State license or local license, as applicable;
(ii) previously held, within the last 5 years, a State license or local license, as applicable, that was not suspended or revoked; or
(iii) is certified by:
1. the International Code Council as a combination inspector or as an electrical inspector for residential or commercial buildings;
2. the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners; or
3. a certifying entity that is comparable to the entity listed in item 1 or 2 of this item.
(2) Paragraph (1) of this subsection does not apply to a county or local government that uses code inspectors or combination building code inspectors to conduct trade–specific inspections on residential or commercial buildings to determine compliance with adopted electrical codes or related building codes.
(b) An individual may not have any financial interest in any electrical business while employed by the State, a county, or a local government as an electrical inspector.
(c) (1) On appointment or employment as an electrical inspector, the individual:
(i) shall place the State license of the individual on inactive status; and
(ii) except for the renewal fee, shall meet the inactive status requirements of § 6–311 of this subtitle.
(2) The State Board may issue an electrical inspector identification card to an electrical inspector who has placed the State license on inactive status.
(3) The State Board may not charge a fee to issue the identification card.
(d) The State Board may change the status of an electrical inspector to individual inactive status, if the electrical inspector:
(1) meets the inactive status requirements of § 6–311 of this subtitle; and
(2) pays an inactive status fee set by the State Board.
(e) On termination of the appointment or employment of an individual as an electrical inspector, the State Board shall reactivate the State license of the individual who is on inactive status, without examination, if the individual meets the reactivation requirements for a State license under § 6–311(f) of this subtitle, including payment of the reactivation fee.