Chapter
407
2005 -- H 6007
Enacted 07/19/05
A N A C T
RELATING TO LAND SURVEYORS
Introduced By: Representative John J. McCauley
Date Introduced: March 01,
2005
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Section 5-8.1-13 of the General Laws in Chapter 5-8.1 entitled "Land
Surveyors"
is hereby amended to read as follows:
5-8.1-13.
Board of registration for professional land surveyors -- Permitted
practices.
-- (a) Exemption clause. - This
chapter shall not be construed to prevent or to affect:
(1) Employees and subordinates. - The work of an employee or subordinate of a
person
holding
a certificate of registration under this chapter; provided, that the work does
not include
final
land surveying work or decisions and is done under the direct supervision of,
or checked by,
a person
holding a certificate of registration issued under this chapter.
(2) Federal employees. - The practice by officers and employees of the
government of
the United
States while engaged within this state in the practice of land surveying for
the
government
on property owned by the federal government; provided, that no right to
practice land
surveying
accrues to those persons as to any other land surveying work. The right to
registration
after
government employment shall not be granted except under the provisions
prescribed under
section
5-8.1-11.
(3) Other professions. - The practice of engineering, architecture, or
landscape
architecture.
(b) Sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership, corporate
and limited
liability
company practice.
(1) The practice or offer to practice land surveying as defined by this chapter
by sole
proprietorship,
partnership, limited liability partnership, corporation or limited liability
company,
subsequently
referred to as the "firm", through individuals is permitted;
provided, that the
individuals
are in direct control of that practice; exercise personal supervision of all
personnel
who act
in behalf of the firm in professional and technical matters; and are registered
under the
provisions
of this chapter; and provided, that the firm has been issued a certificate of
authorization
by the board of land surveyors.
(2) Within one year after the enactment of this chapter [July 12, 1990] every
firm must
obtain a
certificate of authorization from the board and those individuals in direct
control of the
practice
and who exercise direct supervision of all personnel who act in behalf of the
firm in
professional
and technical matters must be registered with the board. The certificate of
authorization
shall be issued by the board upon satisfaction of the provisions of this
chapter and
the
payment of an annual fee not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00).
(3) It is the intent of the board of registration to establish that the
professional land
surveyor
is responsible for land surveying services.
(4) Every firm desiring a certificate of authorization must file with the board
an
application
for the certificate on a form provided by the board. A separate form provided
by the
board
shall be filed with each renewal of the certificate of authorization and within
thirty (30)
days of
the time any information previously filed with the board has changed, is no
longer true or
valid,
or has been revised for any reason. If, in its judgment, the information
contained on the
application
and renewal form is satisfactory and complete, the board shall issue a
certificate of
authorization
for the firm to practice land surveying in this state.
(5) No firm that has been granted a certificate of authorization by the board
of land
surveyors
is relieved of responsibility for the conduct or acts of its agents, employees,
partners (if
a partnership
or a limited liability partnership), officers or directors (if a corporation),
or members
or
managers (if a limited liability company) because of its compliance with the
provisions of this
section.
No individual practicing land surveying under the provisions of this chapter is
relieved of
responsibility
for land surveying services performed by reason of his or her employment or
other
relationship
with a firm holding a certificate of authorization as subsequently described. In
the
event
of unexpected death, retirement, dismissal or any other occasion where an
entity has one
person
who is a registered land surveyor, and that person no longer can continue in
the operation
of
the entity, then the board of registration may waive certain requirements for a
certificate of
authorization,
for a period of not longer than forty-five (45) days, provided that the entity
retains
a
person who is a registered professional land surveyor to review and pursue the
duties of
surveying
that are required under chapter 5-8.1.
(6) A land surveyor may not, for the purposes of this section, be designated as
being in
responsible
charge on more than two (2) certificates of authorization.
(7) Certificates of authorization shall be treated for all purposes hereunder,
including, but
not
limited to, renewal, expiration and lapsing, as previously provided for
certificates of
registration
in section 5-8.1-10; provided, however, that renewal may be effected at any
time
prior to
or during the month of June of each even-numbered year (meaning biennially)
commencing
in year 2004.
(8) Limited liability partnerships, corporations and limited liability
companies shall
submit a
copy of their articles of incorporation, articles of organization or
certificate of
registration
in order to obtain a certificate of authorization from the board of land
surveyors.
(9) Corporations other than those organized under chapter 5.1 of title 7,
partnerships and
sole
proprietorships practicing in this state prior to July 12, 1990, shall fully
comply with the
provisions
of this section within one year of that date.
(10) Effective one year from July 1, 1990, the secretary of state shall not
issue a
certificate
of incorporation or certificate of organization or certificate of registration
to any
applicant,
or a registration as a foreign corporation, limited liability partnership or
limited liability
company,
to any firm, which includes among the objectives for which it is being
established any
of the
words "surveyor", "surveying" or any modification or
derivation of those words, unless the
board of
land surveyors has issued for the applicant a certificate of authorization or a
letter
indicating
the eligibility of the applicant to receive the certificate. The firm applying
shall supply
the
certificate or letter from the board with its application for incorporation or
registration as a
foreign
corporation, limited liability partnership or limited liability company.
(c) Land surveyor previously registered. - Each land surveyor holding a
certificate of
registration
and each land surveyor-in-training under the laws of this state as previously
in effect
shall be
deemed registered as a land surveyor or land surveyor-in-training as
appropriate under
this
chapter.
(d) This section does not exempt the political subdivisions of the state, such
as county,
city, or
town, or legally constituted boards, districts, or commissions, from obtaining
a certificate
of
authorization from the board of registration when applicable.
SECTION 2. This act shall
take effect upon passage.
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LC02262
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