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Cities May Take Over Electrical Inspections During State Shutdown

A city can pass an ordinance authorizing inspections of electrical installations within its jurisdiction.
(Published Jul 8, 2011)

Across the state, construction projects are being delayed by a lack of state-provided electrical inspectors. Fortunately, cities can do something about this.

Electrical inspections
Under state law, any new electrical installation in virtually any construction, remodeling, replacement or repair must be inspected for compliance with accepted standards of construction for safety to life and property. While it’s usually the state that performs these inspections, the state isn’t doing any electrical inspections during shutdown. However, a city can pass an ordinance authorizing inspections of electrical installations within its jurisdiction.

Once the city conveys the adopted ordinance to the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), the city can allow inspections to be performed within the city by individuals licensed by the state as master or journeyman electricians. The city cannot require any electrician it uses to pay a licensing or registration fee to the city, but the ordinance may require that any “individual, partnership, corporation, or other business association doing electrical work” keep on file with the city a copy of his or her valid electrician’s license.

Inspections must be performed by individuals insulated from conflicts. The statutes require the person doing the electrical inspections for a city not to engage in or be employed in the sale, installing, altering, or repairing of electrical wiring, apparatus, or equipment for light, heat, power, and other purposes, and the person cannot have a financial interest in any concern engaged in such business.

Once the ordinance authorizing electrical inspections is passed, cities may be looking for an immediate source of electrical inspectors. One idea is to call cities that have already passed such an ordinance and contract for electrical inspection services. Again, both cities must have passed an ordinance authorizing inspections in their respective jurisdictions.
View a list of only local inspectors from the DLI website (pdf)

DLI also has a directory of both state and municipal electrical inspectors.
View the directory of state and municipal electrical inspectors (pdf)

League staff did hear some rumblings from the state, questioning whether cities may indeed pass such an ordinance authorizing electrical inspections in their jurisdiction. However, the League has learned through communications with the governor’s office, that the DLI commissioner believes cities do indeed have the authority. Some cities have already decided to pass an ordinance, including Edina and Minneapolis. If your city would like to pass such an ordinance, the League has a sample ordinance.

View Sample Ordinance: Temporary Authority for City Electrical Inspections (doc)

Given that no one can predict the duration of the state government shutdown, cities have the option to pass local ordinances temporarily filling in for the lack of state electrical services, and moving local construction projects along.

Plumbing inspections
Cities may also pass a local ordinance to perform plumbing inspections. However, state officials say cities do not have authority to approve most plumbing plans or specifications.
Read more about plumbing inspections during the state shutdown

Read the current issue of the Cities Bulletin