H. B. 3031
(By Delegates Beane, Butcher, Martin,
Perdue and Yost)
[Introduced March 15, 2005; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §30-22-1, §30-22-2, §30-22-3, §30-22-6,
§30-22-7 and §30-22-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new
section, designated §30-22-19, all relating to
landscape
architects
; prohibiting unlicensed practice of landscape
architecture; revising licensure requirements; providing for
fees to be set by legislative rule; providing for
reinstatement of licenses; providing for rule-making
authority; and making technical corrections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §30-22-1, §30-22-2, §30-22-3, §30-22-6, §30-22-7 and
§30-22-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a
new section, designated §30-22-19, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 22. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS.
§30-22-1. Legislative findings and declaration of public policy.
In order to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of the
public, The the Legislature of the State of West Virginia hereby
determines and finds that the regulation of the practice of
landscape architecture is in the public interest. persons should
not hold themselves out as It is unlawful for any person to
practice or offer to practice landscape architects architecture in
this state without the requisite experience and training. and
without adequate regulation and control. It is therefore declared
to be the public policy of this state that the practice of
landscape architecture affects the general welfare and public
interest of the state and its citizens; that persons without the
necessary qualifications, training and education should not
practice landscape architecture, nor hold themselves out to the
public as landscape architects; and that the evils of such
unauthorized and unqualified representations may be best prevented
and the interest of the public best served by regulating the
practice of landscape architecture and controlling such
representations as provided in this article.
§30-22-2. Definitions.
(a) Unless the context in which used clearly requires a
different meaning, as used in this article:
(1) "Applicant" means any person making application for an
original or renewal license or a temporary permit under the provisions of this article.
(2) "Licensee" or "landscape architect" means any person
holding a license or a temporary permit issued under the provisions
of this article and hence licensed to practice landscape
architecture in the State of West Virginia under the provisions of
this article.
(3) "Board" means the West Virginia State Board of Landscape
Architects created in section four of this article.
(4) "Examination" means the examination in landscape
architecture required by subdivision (5), subsection (a), section
six of this article.
(5) "LAAB" means the Landscape Architecture Accreditation
Board, or its successor.
(5) (6) "Landscape architecture" means the performance of
professional services, including, but not limited to,
consultations, research, planning, design or responsible
supervision in connection with the development of land, where the
dominant purpose of such professional services is the preservation,
enhancement or determination of:
(i) Land uses;
(ii) Natural land features;
(iii) Ground cover and planting;
(iv) Naturalistic and aesthetic value;
(v) Settings and approaches to structures or other improvements;
(vi) Natural drainage; and
(vii) Consideration and determination of inherent problems of
the land relating to erosion, wear and tear, blight or other
hazard.
(b) The practice of landscape architecture shall include
includes the location and arrangement of such tangible objects and
features as are incidental and necessary to the purposes outlined
in the above definition of such the term, but shall does not
include the design of structures or facilities with separate and
self-contained purposes such as are ordinarily included in the
practice of engineering or architecture; and shall does not include
the making of final land plats for official approval or recording:
Provided, That nothing contained herein shall preclude precludes a
landscape architect from performing any of the services described
in the foregoing provisions of this subsection in connection with
the settings, approaches or surroundings for buildings, structures
or facilities.
§30-22-3. License to practice landscape architecture required.
On and after July one, one thousand nine hundred seventy- one
two thousand five, no person shall may practice or offer to
practice landscape architecture, nor hold himself or herself out to
the public as a landscape architect unless and until he or she
shall first obtain obtains a license or temporary permit in accordance with the provisions of this article, which license or
temporary permit remains unexpired, unsuspended and unrevoked.
§30-22-6. Qualifications of applicants; exceptions; applications;
fee.
(a) To be eligible for a license as a landscape architect, the
applicant must:
(1) Be at least eighteen years of age;
(2) Be of good moral character;
(3) Not, within the next preceding twelve months, have had his
or her application for a license or a certificate or for
registration to engage in the practice of landscape architecture or
as a landscape architect refused, suspended or revoked in any state
of the United States;
(4) Either (i) (A) be a holder of an undergraduate degree or
graduate degree in landscape architecture from an accredited
institution of higher learning accredited by LAAB or by an
organization considered by the Board to be equivalent, with
adequate course study at such an institution in landscape
architecture, the adequacy of any such course study to be
determined by the Board, and when the degree held is an
undergraduate degree, have had at least two years' experience
subsequent to receiving such a degree in the practice of landscape
architecture under the supervision of a licensed landscape
architect or a person having qualifications acceptable to the Board and similar to the qualifications of a landscape architect and,
when the degree held is a graduate degree, have had at least one
year's experience subsequent to receiving such the graduate degree
in the practice of landscape architecture under the supervision of
a licensed landscape architect or a person having qualifications
acceptable to the board and similar to the qualifications of a
landscape architect; or (ii) (B) have had at least ten years'
experience in the practice of landscape architecture, of a grade
and character to qualify him or her to assume responsibility for
the work involved in the practice of landscape architecture, at
least six years of which shall have been under the supervision of
a licensed landscape architect or a person having qualifications
acceptable to the Board and similar to the qualifications of a
landscape architect; and
(5) Have passed the examination prescribed by the Board, which
examination shall cover the theory and practice of landscape
architecture.
(b) The following persons shall be eligible for a license as
a landscape architect without examination:
(1) Any person who was once licensed under the provisions of
this article, who temporarily abandoned the practice of landscape
architecture and did not renew his license, provided he satisfies
the board that he remains qualified to engage in the practice of
landscape architecture; and
(2) The Board may issue a reciprocal license to Any any person
who holds a license or certificate or is registered to engage in
the practice of landscape architecture issued by or effected in any
other state, the requirements for which license, certificate or
registration are found by the Board to be at least as great as
equivalent to or greater than those provided in this article.
(c) Any person meeting the qualifications set forth in
subdivisions (1), (2) and (3), subsection (a) of this section who
submits evidence satisfactory to the board that for at least one
year prior to the effective date of this article he regularly
engaged in the practice of landscape architecture as a principal
livelihood shall be entitled to be licensed under the provisions of
this article, without meeting the qualifications set forth in
subdivisions (4) and (5), subsection (a) of this section, if he
files such application with the board within three years from and
after the effective date of this article.
(d) (c) Any applicant for any such license shall submit an
application therefor at such any time (subject to the time
limitation set forth in subsection (c) of this section), in such a
manner, on such forms and containing such any information as the
Board may from time to time by reasonable rule and regulation
prescribe, and pay to the Board a license fee of forty dollars,
which fee shall be returned to the applicant if he or she is denied
a license.
(d)
A person licensed under the provisions of this article as
of the reenactment of this section in the year two thousand five
will be considered to have met the requirements set forth in
subdivisions (4) and (5), subsection (a) of this section for
purposes of license renewal
.
§30-22-7. Issuance of license; renewal of license; renewal fee;
duplicate license; display of license; reinstatement
of license; seal.
(a) Whenever the Board finds that an applicant meets all of
the requirements of this article for a license as a landscape
architect, it shall forthwith issue to him or her such a license;
and otherwise the Board shall deny the same. Licenses shall expire
on June thirty thirtieth of each year, but shall be are renewable
each year without examination upon application for renewal on a
form prescribed by and filed with the Board and payment to the
Board of an annual renewal fee in such amount as may be prescribed
by the Board: not to exceed fifty dollars: Provided, That if
application for renewal is filed with the Board after June thirty
thirtieth of the year of expiration, an additional renewal fee of
fifteen dollars must accompany such the application: Provided,
however, That, subject to the provisions of subsection (d) of
section six of this article, the Board may deny an application for
renewal for any reason which would justify the denial of an
original application for a license. A duplicate license may be obtained upon the payment to the Board of a fee. of ten dollars.
The Board shall prescribe the form of licenses and each license
shall be conspicuously displayed by the licensee at his or her
principal place of practice.
(b) The Board may reinstate a license which has lapsed, upon
the licensee's satisfactory explanation for the failure to renew,
payment of a reinstatement fee and satisfaction of all requirements
lawfully imposed by the Board.
(c) Every person licensed under the provisions of this article
as a landscape architect shall have a seal, approved by the Board,
which shall contain the name of the licensee and the words
"Professional Landscape Architect, State of West Virginia" and such
other words or figures as the Board may prescribe. All working
drawings and specifications, prepared by such a landscape architect
or under the supervision of such landscape architect, shall have
such a seal affixed: thereto: Provided, further, That nothing
contained in this article shall may be construed to permit the seal
of a landscape architect to serve as a substitute for the seal of
an architect, an engineer or a land surveyor whenever the seal of
such architect, engineer or land surveyor is required by law.
§30-22-8. Temporary permits.
(a) Upon proper application the Board may issue, without
examination, a temporary permit as a landscape architect, pending
examination, to an applicant who meets the qualifications of subdivisions (1), (2), (3) and (4), subsection (a), section six of
this article, which temporary permit shall expire thirty days after
the Board gives written notice of the results of the examination
held next following the issuance of such temporary permit, and such
permit may not be renewed nor another thereof issued to the same
person.
(b) The fee for such temporary permit shall be fifteen
dollars.
§30-22-19. Rule-making authority.
(a) The Board shall propose rules for legislative approval in
accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code, to provide for:
(1) Licensure requirements, including requirements for
applications, examinations, reciprocity, renewals, temporary
permits and reinstatement;
(2) Fees for applications for examinations, initial licenses,
renewals of licenses, applications for reciprocal licenses, late
renewals, verifications of licenses, certifications of licenses or
scores, applications for temporary permits, duplicate certificate
fees, and other fees for services provided by the Board.
(3) Experience, education and continuing education
requirements and approval of courses; and
(4) Any other purpose to carry out the requirements of this
article.
(b) Any rules and any fee schedules in effect as of the
enactment of this section will remain in effect until amended,
modified, repealed or replaced.
Note: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit unlicensed
practice of landscape architecture; revise licensure requirements;
provide for fees to be set by legislative rule; provide for
reinstatement of licenses; provide for rule-making authority; and
make technical corrections.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§30-22-19 is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.