(1) An appeal under this section is subject to ORS chapter 183.

(2) An appeal under this section must be made first to the Chief Electrical Inspector of the Department of Consumer and Business Services. The decision of the Chief Electrical Inspector may be appealed to the Electrical and Elevator Board. The decision of the Electrical and Elevator Board may be appealed to the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services only if codes in addition to the electrical code are at issue.

(3) If the Electrical and Elevator Board determines that a decision by the Chief Electrical Inspector is a major code interpretation, then the inspector shall distribute the decision in writing to all public and private electrical inspection authorities in the state. The decision shall be distributed within 60 days after the board’s determination, and there shall be no charge for the distribution of the decision. As used in this subsection, a "major code interpretation" means a code interpretation decision that affects or may affect more than one job site or more than one inspection jurisdiction.

(4) If an appeal is made under this section, an inspection authority shall extend the electrical plan review deadline by the number of days it takes for a final decision to be issued for the appeal.

(5) Unless the department determines that the electrical product or electrical installation presents an immediate fire or life safety hazard, a person may operate an electrical product or electrical installation that is the subject of an appeal under this section until the appeal process is complete. If the department determines that an immediate fire or life safety hazard exists and the product or installation may not be operated during appeal, the department shall provide the person with a written report detailing the problems found by the department. If a determination is made under this subsection that products described in ORS 479.540 (11) may not be operated during appeal, that determination may be appealed immediately under the procedure established in subsection (2) of this section without first completing any appeal procedure established by a city or county. [1981 c.815 §38; 1993 c.573 §1; 2001 c.573 §19; 2001 c.709 §2; 2005 c.22 §366; 2005 c.435 §8]