FIRST REGULAR SESSION

SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE BILL NO. 478

92ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY


Reported from the Committee on Financial and Governmental Organization, Veterans' Affairs and Elections, March 3, 2003, with recommendation that the Senate Committee Substitute do pass and be placed on the Consent Calendar.

TERRY L. SPIELER, Secretary.

1395S.02C


AN ACT

To repeal sections 327.401, 327.411, and 337.030, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof four new sections relating to professional licensing.


Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:

Section A. Sections 327.401, 327.411, and 337.030, RSMo, are repealed and four new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 327.401, 327.411, 327.172, and 337.030, to read as follows:

327.401. 1. The right to practice as an architect or to practice as a professional engineer or to practice as a professional land surveyor or to practice as a landscape architect shall be deemed a personal right, based upon the qualifications of the individual, evidenced by such individual's professional license and shall not be transferable; but any architect or any professional engineer or any professional land surveyor or any landscape architect may practice his or her profession through the medium of, or as a member or as an employee of, a partnership or corporation if the plans, specifications, estimates, plats, reports, surveys or other like documents or instruments of the partnership or corporation are signed and stamped with the personal seal of the architect, professional engineer [or], professional land surveyor, or landscape architect by whom or under whose immediate personal supervision the same were prepared and provided that the architect or professional engineer or professional land surveyor or landscape architect who affixes his or her signature and personal seal to any such plans, specifications, estimates, plats, reports or other documents or instruments shall be personally and professionally responsible therefor.

2. Any domestic corporation formed under the corporation law of this state, or any foreign corporation, now or hereafter organized and having as one of its purposes the practicing of architecture or professional engineering or professional land surveying or landscape architecture and any existing corporation which amends its charter to propose to practice architecture or professional engineering or professional land surveying or landscape architecture shall obtain a certificate of authority for each profession named in the articles of incorporation or articles of organization from the board which shall be renewed in accordance with the provisions of section 327.171 or 327.261 or 327.351, as the case may be, and from and after the date of such certificate of authority and while the authority or a renewal thereof is in effect, may offer and render architectural or professional engineering or professional land surveying or landscape architectural services in this state if:

(1) At all times during the authorization or any renewal thereof the directors of the corporation shall have assigned responsibility for the proper conduct of all its architectural or professional engineering or professional land surveying or landscape architectural activities in this state to an architect licensed and authorized to practice architecture in this state or to a professional engineer licensed and authorized to practice engineering in this state or to a professional land surveyor licensed and authorized to practice professional land surveying in this state, or to a landscape architect licensed and authorized to practice landscape architecture in this state, as the case may be; and

(2) The person or persons who is or are personally in charge and supervises or supervise the architectural or professional engineering or professional land surveying or landscape architectural activities, as the case may be, of any such corporation in this state shall be licensed and authorized to practice architecture or professional engineering or professional land surveying or landscape architecture, as the case may be, as provided in this chapter; and

(3) The corporation pays such fees for the certificate of authority, renewals or reinstatements thereof as are required.

327.411. 1. Each architect and each professional engineer and each professional land surveyor and each landscape architect shall have a personal seal in a form prescribed by the board, and he or she shall affix the seal to all final documents including, but not limited to, plans, specifications, estimates, plats, reports, surveys, proposals and other documents or instruments prepared by the licensee, or under such licensee's immediate personal supervision, and such licensee shall be held personally responsible for the contents of all such documents sealed by such licensee.

2. The personal seal of an architect or professional engineer or professional land surveyor or landscape architect shall be the legal equivalent of the licensee's signature whenever and wherever used, and the owner of the seal shall be responsible for the architectural, engineering [or], surveying, or landscape architectural documents, as the case may be, when the licensee places his or her personal seal on such plans, specifications, estimates, plats, reports, surveys or other documents or instruments for, or to be used in connection with, any architectural or engineering project [or], survey, or landscape architectural project.

3. Any architect, professional engineer [or], professional land surveyor, or landscape architect may, but is not required to, attach a statement over his or her signature, authenticated by his or her personal seal, specifying the particular plans, specifications, plats, reports, surveys or other documents or instruments, or portions thereof, intended to be authenticated by the seal, and disclaiming any responsibility for all other plans, specifications, estimates, reports, or other documents or instruments relating to or intended to be used for any part or parts of the architectural or engineering project or survey or landscape architectural project.

4. Nothing in this section, or any rule or regulation of the board shall require any professional to seal preliminary or incomplete documents.

327.172. 1. An architect licensed in this state may apply to the board for inactive license status on a form furnished by the board. Upon receipt of the completed inactive status application form and the board's determination that the licensee meets the requirements established by rule, the board shall declare the licensee inactive and shall place the licensee on an inactive status list. A person whose license is inactive shall not offer or practice architecture within this state, but may continue to use the title "architect".

2. If a licensee is granted inactive status, the licensee may return to active status by notifying the board in advance of such intention, by paying appropriate fees as determined by the board, and by meeting all established requirements of the board including the demonstration of current knowledge, competency, and skill in the practice of architecture as a condition of reinstatement.

3. In the event an inactive licensee does not maintain a current license in any state for a five-year period immediately prior to requesting reinstatement, that person may be required to take an examination as the board deems necessary to determine such person's qualifications. Such examination shall cover areas designed to demonstrate the proficiency in current methods of architecture.

337.030. 1. Each psychologist licensed pursuant to the provisions of sections 337.010 to 337.090, who has not filed with the committee a verified statement that the psychologist has retired from or terminated the psychologist's practice of psychology in this state, shall register with the division on or before the registration renewal date. The division shall require a registration fee which shall be submitted together with proof of compliance with the continuing education requirement as provided in section 337.050 and any other information required for such registration. Upon receipt of the required material and of the registration fee, the division shall issue a renewal certificate of registration. The division shall, when issuing an initial license to an applicant who has met all of the qualifications of sections 337.010 to 337.093 and has been approved for licensure by the committee shall grant the applicant, without payment of any further fee, a certificate of registration valid until the next registration renewal date.

2. The division shall mail a renewal notice to the last known address of each licensee prior to the registration renewal date. Failure to provide the division with the proof of compliance with the continuing education requirement and other information required for registration, or to pay the registration fee after such notice shall effect a revocation of the license after a period of sixty days from the registration renewal date. The license shall be restored if, within two years of the registration renewal date, the applicant provides written application and the payment of the registration fee and a delinquency fee and proof of compliance with the requirements for continuing education as provided in section 337.050.

3. A new certificate to replace any certificate lost, destroyed or mutilated may be issued subject to the rules of the committee, upon payment of a reasonable fee.

4. The committee shall set the amount of the fees authorized by sections 337.010 to 337.093 and required by rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to section 536.021, RSMo. The fees shall be set at a level to produce revenue which shall not substantially exceed the cost and expense of administering sections 337.010 to 337.090.

5. The committee is authorized to issue an inactive license to any licensee who makes written application for such license on a form provided by the board and remits the fee for an inactive license established by the committee. An inactive license may be issued only to a person who has previously been issued a license to practice psychology in this state, who is no longer regularly engaged in such practice and who does not hold himself or herself out to the public as being professionally engaged in such practice in this state. Each inactive license shall be subject to all provisions of this chapter, except as otherwise specifically provided. Each inactive license may be renewed by the committee subject to all provisions of this section and all other provisions of this chapter. The inactive licensee shall not be required to submit evidence of completion of continuing education as required by this chapter. An inactive licensee may apply for a license to regularly engage in the practice of psychology upon filing a written application on a form provided by the committee, submitting the reactivation fee established by the committee, and submitting proof of current competency as established by the committee.




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