H*3781 Session 108 (1989-1990)
H*3781(Rat #0410, Act #0372 of 1990) General Bill, By
House Agriculture and Natural Resources
A Bill 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.
03/29/89 House Introduced, read first time, placed on calendar
without reference HJ-17
04/04/89 House Read second time HJ-27
04/05/89 House Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-13
04/06/89 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-14
04/06/89 Senate Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and
Industry SJ-15
02/07/90 Senate Committee report: Favorable with amendment Labor,
Commerce and Industry SJ-17
02/15/90 Senate Amended SJ-45
02/15/90 Senate Read second time SJ-47
02/15/90 Senate Ordered to third reading with notice of
amendments SJ-47
02/20/90 Senate Read third time and returned to House with
amendments SJ-11
03/07/90 House Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled HJ-62
03/13/90 Ratified R 410
03/19/90 Signed By Governor
03/19/90 Effective date 03/19/90
03/19/90 Act No. 372
03/27/90 Copies available
(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.
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