(1) (a) (I) The director of the division of professions and occupations is hereby authorized to appoint or employ, with the power of removal, competent persons licensed under this article as journeymen or master electricians as state electrical inspectors. The division director is also authorized to appoint or employ, with the power of removal, for the purpose of inspecting one-, two-, three-, or four-family dwellings, competent persons with the following qualifications:

(A) Persons who have passed the written residential wireman's examination described in section 12-23-106; or

(B) Persons who have been certified as residential electrical inspectors by a national certification authority approved by the board and who have furnished satisfactory evidence of at least two years' practical experience in the electrical inspection of residential dwellings.

(1) (a) (I) The director of the division of professions and occupations is hereby authorized to appoint or employ, with the power of removal, competent persons licensed under this article 23 as journeymen or master electricians as state electrical inspectors. The division director is also authorized to appointor employ, with the power of removal, for the purpose of inspecting one-, two-, three-, or four-family dwellings, competent persons with the following qualifications:

(A) Persons who have passed the written residential wireman's examination described in section 12-23-106; or

(B) Persons employed by any city, town, county, or city and county on or before January 1, 2019, who have been certified as residential electrical inspectors by a national certification authority approved by the board and who have furnished satisfactory evidence of at least two years' practical experience in the electrical inspection of residential dwellings. This subsection (1)(a)(I)(B) is repealed, effective January 1, 2023.

(II) Such inspectors may be employed either on a full-time or on a part-time basis as the circumstances in each case shall warrant; except that the division director may contract with any electrical inspector regularly engaged as such and certify him to make inspections in a designated area at such compensation as shall be fixed by the division director. State electrical inspectors have the right of ingress and egress to and from all public and private premises during reasonable working hours where this law applies for the purpose of making electrical inspections or otherwise determining compliance with the provisions of this article. In order to avoid conflicts of interest, a state electrical inspector hired under this section shall not inspect any electrical work in which such inspector has any financial or other personal interest and shall not be engaged in the electrical business by contracting, supplying material, or performing electrical work as defined in this article.

(b) Any employee of a private, municipal, or cooperative electric utility rendering service to the ultimate public shall be prohibited from employment as an electrical inspector only when in the performance of any electrical work as defined in this article. Electrical inspectors performing electrical inspections who are employed by any city, town, county, city and county, or qualified state institution of higher education shall possess the same qualifications required of state electrical inspectors under this section, shall be registered with the board prior to the assumption of their duties, shall not inspect any electrical work in which such inspector has any financial or other personal interest, and shall not be engaged, within the jurisdiction employing such inspector, in the electrical business by contracting, supplying material, or performing electrical work as defined in this article. Additionally, electrical inspectors performing electrical inspections who are employed by a qualified state institution of higher education shall possess an active journeyman or master electrician license. A supervisor overseeing the work of an electrical inspector who is employed by a qualified state institution of higher education shall not direct such electrical inspector to violate any provision of this article. An electrical inspector employed by a qualified state institution of higher education shall not be coerced by a supervisor when filing a complaint with the board, or when such electrical inspector disapproves an electrical installation that violates the provisions of this article.

(c) Nothing in this article shall be construed to limit any inspector from qualifying as an inspector in other construction specialties.

(2) Repealed.

(3) State electrical inspectors appointed or employed pursuant to subsection (1) of this section may:

(a) Conduct inspections and investigations pursuant to section 12-23-118 (4) on behalf of the program director;

(b) Provide service of process for a citation served pursuant to section 12-23-118 (6)(b) in compliance with rule 4 of the Colorado rules of civil procedure.