H. B. 2867


(By Delegates Boggs, Martin, Varner, Douglas,
Cann and Facemyer)

[Introduced February 22, 1999; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization then Finance.]



A BILL to amend and reenact article nineteen, chapter thirty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to qualifications for licensing and registration of foresters; legislative findings and declaration of policy; short title; definitions; board of registration continued, rules, appointment and terms of members, qualifications of members, removal of members, vacancies, payment for services; license required, exceptions, certification of documents; general requirements and categories for licensing; license fees, expiration and renewal of license; license denial, suspension, revocation and reinstatement; due process procedure; code of ethics; continuing education; reciprocity; penalties and legal representation.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article nineteen, chapter thirty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 19. FORESTERS.
§30-19-1. Legislative findings and declaration of public policy.
The Legislature finds that West Virginia has extensive forest resources and the continued development of these forests is vital to the economic well-being of the state and its people. It is therefore declared to be the public policy of this state that the practice of forestry affects the general welfare and public interest of the state and its citizens; that persons without the necessary educational qualifications and practical experience should not hold themselves out to the public as professional foresters and that the problem of unqualified representations may be best prevented and the interest of the public best served by regulating and controlling such representations as provided in this article.
§30-19-2. Short title.
This article shall be known and cited as the "Professional Forester Registration Act."
§30-19-3. Definitions.
(a) "Board" means the state board of registration for foresters, as provided for by this article.
(b) "Forester" means a person who, by reason of his or her knowledge of the natural sciences, mathematics, silviculture, forest protection, forest management, forest economics, and forest use, acquired by professional forestry education and subsequent practical experience, is qualified to engage in the practice of professional forestry as hereinafter defined.
(c) "Practice of professional forestry" means professional forestry service, including, but not limited to, consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, or responsible supervision of any forestry activities when the professional service requires the application of forestry principles and techniques.
(d) "Registered forester" means a person who has been licensed pursuant to this article.
§30-19-4. Board of registration continued, rules; appointment and terms of members; qualifications of members; removal of members; vacancies; payment for services.
(a) The state board of registration for foresters is hereby continued with five members and charged with the responsibility of administering the provisions of this article. The board shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code as are necessary to implement this article, and may promulgate emergency rules pursuant to the provision of section fifteen, article three, section twenty-nine-a of this code.
(b) On the expiration of the term of any member of the board, the governor, with the consent of the senate, shall appoint, for a term of three years, a registered forester from five nominees recommended by the West Virginia section, Allegheny chapter, Society of American Foresters, each of whom shall possess the qualifications set forth in subsection (d) of this section.
(c) Each member shall hold office until the expiration of the term for which such member is appointed and until a successor shall have been duly appointed and qualified.
(d) Each member shall be a citizen of the United States and a resident of this state and shall have been a registered forester under the terms of this article for a minimum of five years.
(e) The governor may remove any member of the board for neglect of duty, gross immorality or malfeasance in office. Vacancies in the membership of the board shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as for an appointment for a full term.
(f) Members of the board shall not receive compensation for meetings attended, but shall be reimbursed in accordance with the standard West Virginia state travel regulations for all actual and necessary expenses incurred in carrying out board duties.
§30-19-5. License required, exceptions, certification of documents.
In order to protect and benefit the public, promote public welfare and to insure standards of competency, any individual practicing or offering to practice professional forestry or holding himself or herself out to the public as a professional forester in this state shall have first obtained a license issued by the state board of registration for foresters in accordance with the provisions of this article. Individuals practicing on their own land, employed as a forester by a federal agency to work on federal land, or working under the license of another forester shall be excepted. Each licensed forester shall obtain a seal of a design approved by the board and before a licensed forester issues to any person any plan, map, specification, or report, the licensed forester who prepared or approved the document shall endorse on the document the licensed forester's name, registration number and seal. Registration shall be determined upon the basis of individual personal qualifications and no firm, company, partnership, corporation or public agency shall be licensed as a registered professional forester.
§30-19-6. General requirements and categories for licensing.
(a) The following shall be considered as minimum evidence satisfactory to the board that the applicant is qualified for licensing as a registered professional forester:
(1) Possess a bachelor of science degree in forestry from a professional forestry degree program accredited by the Society of American Foresters plus three years experience within the last ten years of a nature satisfactory to the board or possess a degree from a two-year technical forestry program recognized by the Society of American Foresters plus a bachelor of science degree in a related field and four years of experience within the last ten years of a nature satisfactory to the board;
(2) Possess a degree from a two-year technical forestry program recognized by the Society of American Foresters plus five-years experience within the last ten years of a nature satisfactory to the board;
(3) Possess a bachelor of science degree in a related field plus five years of experience within the last ten years of a nature satisfactory to the board; or
(4) Possess eight years of experience within the last ten years of a nature satisfactory to the board plus satisfactory completion of a written examination designed to show knowledge approximating that obtained through graduation from a curriculum in forestry leading to a bachelor of science degree or a two-year technical degree recognized by the Society of American Foresters.
(b) Time spent in pursuit of an advanced academic degree in forest resource management or a closely relating discipline may be credited toward professional experience, but only one year of experience will be credited for completion of a master's degree and only two years additional experience will be credited for completion of a doctor of philosophy degree. The board may require an applicant to pass an oral or written examination, or otherwise meet the approval of the board. Written examinations shall be at such time and place as the board may determine. The methods and procedure shall be prescribed by the board. An applicant failing an examination may apply for reexamination at the expiration of six months and shall be entitled to one reexamination without payment of an additional application fee. Subsequent reexaminations may be granted upon payment of a fee to be fixed by the board. An individual who meets the educational requirements, but does not meet the experience requirements necessary under this section may practice forestry without a license if the individual practices forestry under the responsible charge of a licensed forester.
§30-19-7. License fees, expiration and renewal of license.
An applicant for a license shall submit an application on a form designed and provided by the board. After the thirtieth day of September, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, the fee for the initial license shall be fifty dollars which shall be submitted with each application. Licenses shall expire on the last day of the fiscal year following their issuance or renewal and shall become invalid on that date unless renewed. It shall be the duty of the secretary of the board to notify every person registered under this article, at his or her last registered address, of the date of the expiration of the license and the amount of the fee that shall be required for its renewal for one year. This notice shall be mailed at least sixty days in advance of the date of the expiration of said license. On the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, the annual fee for renewal of a license shall be fifteen dollars per year. Thereafter the board may increase the annual renewal fee in increments of five dollars per year, up to a maximum annual renewal fee of forty dollars. The fees collected by the board pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be expended solely for the purpose of this article. All expenses incurred under this article, including part-time clerical assistance and board contracted liability insurance, excepting assistance specifically cited elsewhere in this article, shall be paid from these fees.
§30-19-8. License denial, suspension, revocation and reinstatement.
Whenever the board finds that an applicant meets all of the qualifications of this article for a license to engage in the practice of forestry, it shall forthwith issue a license to the applicant. The board shall deny a license to any applicant who does not meet all of the qualifications.
The board may at any time upon its own motion, and shall upon the written complaint of any person, conduct an investigation to determine whether there are grounds for placing a licensed professional forester on probation or for the suspension or revocation of a license issued under the provisions of this article.
The board, upon the affirmative vote of at least four of its members, shall place a licensed professional forester on probation, or suspend or revoke any license when it finds that the holder thereof: (1) Has been convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude; (2) is under a declaration of mental incompetence; (3) has obtained a license issued under the provisions of this article by fraud, deceit or willful misrepresentation; (4) has failed or refused to comply with the provisions of this article or any rule promulgated by the board hereunder or any order or final decision of the board; (5) has impersonated another licensed professional forester; or (6) has violated the code of ethics adopted by the board.
Any licensee who allows his or her license to lapse by failing to renew for a period not exceeding three years, may be reinstated by the board upon receipt of a satisfactory explanation for such failure to renew the license and payment of the annual renewal fee for the lapsed years plus a reinstatement fee of fifty dollars.
§30-19-9. Due process procedure.
 Upon filing with the board a written complaint charging a person with being guilty of any of the acts described in section eight of this article, the board shall provide a copy of the complaint or list of allegations to the person about whom the complaint has been filed. That person will have twenty days thereafter to file a written response to the complaint. The board shall thereafter, if the allegations warrant, make an investigation. If the board finds reasonable grounds for the complaint, a time and place for a hearing shall be set, notice of which shall be served on the licensee or applicant at least fifteen days in advance of the hearing date. The notice shall be by personal service or by certified or registered mail sent to the last known address of the person.
The board may petition the circuit court for the county within which the hearing is being held to issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of necessary evidence in any hearing before it. Upon request of the respondent or of his or her counsel, the board shall petition the court to issue subpoenas in behalf of the respondent. The circuit court upon petition may issue subpoenas as it deems necessary.
Hearing procedures shall be promulgated in accordance with, and a person who feels aggrieved by a decision of the board may take an appeal pursuant to the administrative procedures in this state as provided in chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
§30-19-10. Code of ethics.
The board shall adopt a code of ethics for practicing forestry similar to, but not necessarily identical to those adopted by the Society of American Foresters and the Association of Consulting Foresters of America.
§30-19-11. Continuing education.
In order to keep abreast of changing techniques and circumstances associated with the practice of forestry, professional foresters licensed under this article shall each year complete a minimum of ten hours of continuing forestry education through programs approved by the Society of American Foresters and/or the board.
§30-19-12. Reciprocity.
Any individual licensed to practice forestry in another state may practice forestry in this state without a license obtained under the provisions of this article if the individual is legally licensed as a registered professional forester in his or her own state and the state in which the individual is licensed waives the license requirements for licensees of this state to a similar extent as this state waives the license requirements for individuals licensed in that state. The provisions of this section only apply after the individual submits evidence to the board of being licensed in the other state, is not a resident of this state, does not maintain a place of business in this state, or has become a resident of this state within the preceding six months.
§30-19-13. Penalties, legal representation.
 Any person who violates any of the provisions of this article, any of the rules promulgated hereunder or any order or any final decision of the board shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both fined and imprisoned. Magistrates have concurrent jurisdiction with circuit courts to enforce the provisions of this article. In addition, the board is authorized and empowered to apply to any court having equity powers, or to the judge thereof in vacation, for an injunction to restrain any violation of the provisions of this article.
The board shall be represented in all such proceedings by the attorney general or his or her assistants and in such proceedings in the magistrate and circuit courts by the prosecuting attorneys of the several counties as well, all without additional compensation.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change the qualifications for licensing and registration of foresters.

This article has been completely rewritten; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.