South Carolina General Assembly
108th Session, 1989-1990

Bill 3781


                    Current Status

Bill Number:               3781
Ratification Number:       410
Act Number                 372
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Relating to landscape architects
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(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A372, R410, H3781)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 40-28-10, 40-28-40, 40-28-80, 40-28-100, 40-28-110, 40-28-120, 40-28-140, 40-28-160, 40-28-170, 40-28-180, 40-28-190, AND 40-28-200, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS, SO AS TO CHANGE THE DEFINITION OF "LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT" AND "LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE", TO REQUIRE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL APPOINTED BY THE BOARD OF REGISTRATION FOR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS TO BE REGISTERED LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS, TO CHANGE REFERENCES TO CERTIFICATES TO CERTIFICATES OR LICENSES, TO CHANGE QUALIFICATION AND EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSURE, TO REGULATE THE PRACTICE OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE BY A PARTNERSHIP OR CORPORATION, TO CHANGE FEES, AND TO CHANGE PENALTY PROVISIONS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Definitions

SECTION 1. Section 40-28-10(a) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(a) 'Landscape architect' means a person who is licensed to practice landscape architecture in this State."

Definitions, further

SECTION 2. Section 40-28-10(b) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(b) 'Landscape architecture' means the performance of professional services, such as consultation, investigation, research, planning, design, preparation of drawings and specifications, and responsible inspection in connection with the development of land areas where, and to the extent that, the dominant purpose of the services is the preservation, enhancement, or determination of proper site design, natural land features, planting, naturalistic and aesthetic values, the settings and approaches to structures or other improvements, the setting of grades and determining drainage and providing for drainage structures, and the consideration and determining of environmental problems. This practice includes the design of tangible objects, drainage structures and systems, and features as are incidental and necessary to an overall or ongoing landscape plan and site design, and the landscape architect may certify the design of the tangible objects, drainage structures and systems, features as to structural soundness and as to compliance with all requirements and standards of a government or subdivision of it. This practice does not include the design of structures, drainage structures and systems, and features which are not incidental and necessary to an overall landscape plan and site design and which have separate and self-contained purposes such as are ordinarily included in the practice of engineering or architecture and does not include the making of land surveys or final plats for official approval or recordation. Nothing contained in this definition precludes a duly licensed landscape architect from performing the services described in the first sentence of this definition in connection with the settings, approaches, or environment for buildings, structures, or facilities. Nothing contained in this chapter may be construed as authorizing a landscape architect to engage in the practice of architecture, engineering, or land surveying as these terms are defined in Section 40-28-150 of this chapter, except that a landscape architect may prepare and certify all design, grading, drainage, and construction plans for roads and site-related projects which are incidental and necessary to an overall or ongoing landscape plan and site design."

Qualifications for members of council

SECTION 3. Section 40-28-40 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 40-28-40. Each member of the council must be a registered landscape architect who has been actively engaged in the practice of landscape architecture for a period of at least five years and who has been in responsible charge of landscape architecture for at least three years."

Board records

SECTION 4. Section 40-28-80(b) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(b) To affix its official seal to each numbered certificate or license issued."

Powers of board

SECTION 5. Section 40-28-100 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 40-28-100. The board shall keep a record of its proceedings and of all applications for registration, which records shall show the name, age, and last known address of each applicant, the place of business of applicant, education, experience, and other qualifications, type of examination required, whether or not a license was granted, whether or not the applicant was denied a license, the date of the action of the board, and other information considered necessary by the board. The record of the board is evidence of the proceedings of the board and a transcript duly certified by the secretary under seal is admissible as evidence with the same force and effect as the original."

Qualifications for licensure

SECTION 6. Section 40-28-110 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 40-28-110. To be eligible for registration and licensing as a professional landscape architect in South Carolina an applicant shall read and write the English language and:

(1) be a graduate of an accredited landscape architectural curriculum approved by the board and have had two years of varied landscape architectural experience under the supervision of a landscape architect registered under this chapter or other qualified person, or experience approved by the board, and satisfactorily pass a written examination as prescribed by the board; or

(2) be a high school graduate or have an equivalent education as determined by the board and, in addition, at least eight years of varied landscape architectural experience under the supervision of a landscape architect registered under this chapter or other qualified person or experience approved by the board, and satisfactorily pass a written examination as prescribed by the board;

A maximum of three years of the experience requirement contained in subsection (2) of this section may be satisfied by proof of education or nonaccredited degree, as considered appropriate by the board; or

(3) hold a license or certification to practice landscape architecture issued to him upon examination by a legally constituted board of examiners of another state or the District of Columbia, or a territory or possession of the United States and if requirements of the state, district, territory, or possession in which the applicant is licensed or registered are substantially equivalent to those of this State; or

(4) submit certification documents from the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB) verifying his qualifications for registration, and an individual holding such a certification may be accepted at the discretion of the board."

Examinations

SECTION 7. Section 40-28-120 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 40-28-120. Examinations must be offered at least annually, the time and place to be established by the board.

At the discretion of the board, the written examination may be administered to candidates who are eligible for registration under Section 40-28-110. The board may admit to the examination a person who may complete the experience requirements within ninety days after the examination.

Administration and evaluation of the examination must be conducted in a manner prescribed by the board.

Candidates shall retain credit for any parts of the examination passed and may be permitted to retake a failed part of the examination.

Upon proper application, the board, at its discretion, may credit to a candidate a prescribed part of the examination successfully passed and properly attested to by another state, territory, or possession of the United States or the District of Columbia. The candidate then may take the remaining examination parts and, if successfully completed, may be registered and licensed by the board. The board shall accept the transfer of grades only from the state of original application."

Effective date of examination procedures

SECTION 8. The amendments made to Section 40-28-120 by this act changing examination procedures and requirements take effect January first of the year following the effective date of this act.

Seals, certificates, identification cards

SECTION 9. Section 40-28-140 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 40-28-140. Each landscape architect, upon registration, shall obtain a seal of the design authorized by the board, bearing the name of the registrant, number of certificate or license, and the legend 'South Carolina Registered Landscape Architect'. The seal may be used only while the registrant's certificate or license is in full force and effect. Certificates of registration, licenses, and identification cards must be signed by the chairman of the board and the secretary of the council. Nothing in this chapter may be construed to authorize the use or acceptance of the seal of the landscape architect in lieu of the seal of an architect, engineer, or land surveyor."

Practice by partnerships and corporations

SECTION 10. Section 40-28-160(c)(2), (3), and (4) of the 1976 Code are amended to read:

"(2) A corporation or partnership issued a Certificate of Authorization to provide or offer to provide landscape architectural services to the public in this State shall:

(a) submit an initial fee and file with the board, on a form prescribed by the board, a listing of names and addresses of all principals and officers, as well as all principals, officers, agents, and employees, who are in responsible charge of the practice in this State and are licensed to practice landscape architecture in this State;

(b) ensure that all documents involving the practice of landscape architecture which are prepared for the use of the corporation or partnership bear the signature and seal of a landscape architect registered and licensed in this State;

(c) advise the board in writing within thirty days of a change in status of a principal, officer, agent, or employee registered and licensed under this chapter;

(d) have a resident landscape architect duly registered to practice in this State in responsible charge of a place of business maintained in this State for the purpose of providing or offering to provide landscape architectural services to the public;

(e) file a form giving current information, as prescribed in (a) above, with the annual renewal fee to be determined by the board.

(3) No corporation or partnership is relieved of responsibility for conduct or acts of its agents, employees, or officers by reason of its compliance with the provisions of this section, nor is an individual practicing landscape architecture as defined in Section 40-28-10 relieved of responsibility of landscape architectural services performed by reason of his employment or relationship with the corporation or partnership.

(4) Disciplinary action against a corporation or partnership must be administered in the same manner and on the same grounds as disciplinary action against a registered landscape architect."

Licenses required, penalties

SECTION 11. Section 40-28-170 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 40-28-170. A person who, without possessing a valid, unrevoked certificate or license as required by this chapter, uses the title or term 'Landscape Architect' in a sign, card, listing, advertisement, or in any other manner states that he is a landscape architect, as defined in this chapter, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not exceeding six months or both."

Disciplinary actions

SECTION 12. Section 40-28-180 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 40-28-180. Each of the following facts constitutes a ground for disciplinary action against a holder of a license or certificate:

(1) he is practicing in violation of the provisions of this chapter;

(2) he has obtained the certificate or license by fraud or misrepresentation;

(3) he is impersonating a landscape architect or a former landscape architect of the same or similar name, or is practicing under an assumed, fictitious, or corporate name;

(4) he has aided or abetted, in the practice of landscape architecture, a person not authorized to practice landscape architecture under the provisions of this chapter;

(5) in the practice of landscape architecture, he has been guilty of fraud or deceit, negligence, wilful misconduct, or gross incompetence;

(6) he has affixed his seal to plans, drawings, specifications, or other instruments of service which have not been prepared by him or under his immediate and responsible direction or has permitted his name to be used for the purpose of assisting a person, not a landscape architect, to evade the provisions of this chapter."

Fees

SECTION 13. Section 40-28-190 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 40-28-190. The board annually shall prescribe reasonable fees, not to exceed the following prescribed limits, in an amount sufficient to pay for the costs of administering the provisions of this chapter in the following categories:

(1) Initial license fee 150.00

(2) Annual license renewal fee 100.00

(3) Initial certificate of

authorization fee 200.00

(4) Annual certificate of

authorization renewal fee 200.00

(5) Temporary license fee 100.00

(6) Initial examination fee

Cost of exam + 200.00

(7) Examination retake fee

Cost of section(s) + 100.00

(8) File transfer fee 50.00

(9) Duplicate license/certificate fee 25.00

(10) Late fee 20.00

An additional amount not to exceed one hundred dollars may be charged each out-of-state applicant in each of the above categories."

Annual license fees, delinquencies, suspensions

SECTION 14. Section 40-28-200 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 40-28-200. (A) Every landscape architect shall pay an annual license fee to the board. The fee is due and payable on the first day of January of each year and becomes delinquent after the thirty-first day of January.

(B) If the annual license fee is not paid before it becomes delinquent, a penalty of twenty dollars must be added to the amount of the fee.

(C) If the annual certificate or license fee and penalty are not paid within ninety days of the expiration date, the landscape architect's certificate or license must be suspended after the expiration of thirty days from the date of mailing of notice of the delinquency by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid and addressed to the landscape architect at his address as it appears in the records of the board. The notice of delinquency must state that upon the expiration of time allowed his certificate or license must be suspended unless, within time allowed, the annual certificate or license fee and penalty are remitted.

(D) After the certificate or license has been suspended, it may be reinstated upon the payment of the annual renewal fee for each delinquent year, plus the penalty for each year, and such proof of the landscape architect's qualification as required by the board. A landscape architect whose license has been suspended and who was registered by methods other than prescribed in Sections 40-28-110 and 40-28-130, is required to pass a written examination prescribed by the board.

(E) The board shall issue a receipt to each landscape architect promptly upon payment of the annual certificate or license fee."

Time effective

SECTION 15. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Approved the 19th day of March, 1990.