(430 ILCS 75/8) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 3209)
    Sec. 8. Special Inspectors.
    (a) The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall, upon the request of any company authorized to write boiler and pressure vessel insurance in this State or authorized under Section 15 of this Act, issue to inspectors of the company commissions as Special Inspectors, provided that each inspector before receiving his commission shall meet the experience requirements of the Board and shall:
        (1) satisfactorily pass the examination provided for
    
in Section 9 of this Act; or
        (2) in lieu of that examination, hold a Certificate
    
of Competency as an inspector of boilers or pressure vessels for a jurisdiction that has a standard of examination substantially equal to that of the State of Illinois; or
        (3) hold a Commission as an inspector of boilers and
    
pressure vessels from the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors.
    (b) Special Inspectors shall receive no salary from, nor shall any of their expenses be paid by, the State. The continuance of a Special Inspector's Commission shall be conditioned upon his continuing in the employ of the duly authorized insurance company or owner-user and upon maintenance of the standards imposed by this Act.
    (c) Special Inspectors shall inspect boilers and pressure vessels insured or operated by their respective companies. The Board may impose limitations on owner-user inspectors who have received their commissions based on the American Petroleum Institute API-510 Inspectors Examination. When so inspected, the owners and users of insured or self-insured boilers and pressure vessels shall be exempt from the payment to the State of the inspection fees provided for in Section 13 of this Act.
    (d) Within 10 business days following each boiler or pressure vessel certificate inspection, except the inspection of pressure vessels covered by subsection (c) of Section 11 of this Act, made by a Special Inspector, the company employing the inspector shall file a report of the inspection with the Chief Inspector either electronically or upon the appropriate forms. Reports of non-certificate external inspections need not be submitted except when those inspections disclose that the boiler or pressure vessel is in an unsafe condition or in violation of the rules and regulations of the Board.
    (e) The State Fire Marshal, the Chief Inspector, or any Deputy or Special Inspector, shall have free access to any premises in the State to perform inspections and investigations in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 94-748, eff. 5-8-06.)