(a) The State Fire Marshal shall, as often as is required in the North Carolina Fire Code adopted by the North Carolina Building Code Council or more often if the State Fire Marshal considers it necessary, visit, inspect, and thoroughly examine every State property to analyze and determine its protection from fire, including the property's occupants or contents. The State Fire Marshal shall notify in writing the agency or official in charge of the property of any defect noted by the State Fire Marshal or any improvement considered by the State Fire Marshal to be necessary, and a copy of that notice shall be forwarded by the State Fire Marshal to the Department of Administration.
(b) No agency or person authorized or directed by law to select a plan or erect a building comprising 20,000 square feet or more for the use of any county, city, or school district shall receive and approve of the plan until it is submitted to and approved by the State Fire Marshal as to the safety of the proposed building from fire, including the property's occupants or contents.