Chapter 024
2011 -- S 0511
05/27/11
A N A C T
RELATING TO
BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS - ARCHITECTS
Introduced By: Senators Miller, and Picard
Date Introduced: March 10, 2011
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 5-1-6, 5-1-8, 5-1-12, 5-1-15.1 and
5-1-16 of the General Laws in
Chapter 5-1 entitled
"Architects" are hereby amended to read as follows:
5-1-6. Board --
Records of proceedings -- Roster of architects -- Report of
transactions. -- (a)
The secretary board executive of the
board shall keep a record of its
proceedings. The record shall include the name, age, and last
known address of each applicant for
registration, information concerning each applicant's education,
experience, and other
qualifications, the text of all examinations administered and their
results and any other
information that the board deems appropriate. The record of the
board is prima facie evidence of
the proceedings and a certified transcript by the secretary
board executive is admissible in
evidence with the same force and effect as if the original
were produced.
(b) The board shall
maintain a roster of architects. Copies of the roster may be mailed
annually to resident architects and to federal agencies within
the state, and to state, city and town
officials, and may be distributed or sold to the public.
5-1-8.
Examination and qualifications of applicants for certificates of registration.
--
(a) Any individual who is at least twenty-one (21)
years of age may apply for a certificate of
registration under this chapter.; provided, that the
board may waive the requirement of residency
in any case or category of cases where the board
determines that the applicant is not seeking to
avoid the registration requirements of his or her state or
country of residence.
(b) Each applicant for
a certificate of registration shall submit satisfactory evidence to
the board that he or she holds a National Architectural
Accrediting Board (NAAB) professional
degree in architecture from an accredited school and has had
any practical experience including
academic training, that the board, by regulations uniformly
applied, deems appropriate. The board
may, in its discretion, adopt as its standards for
minimum experience the guidelines on practical
experience of the National Council of Architectural Registration
Boards.
(c) Each applicant for
a certificate of registration who satisfies subsections subsection
(a)
and (b) of this
section and holds a professional degree in architecture as described in
subsection
(b) of this section shall submit to a registration examination. Results
of the examination are
announced within ninety (90) days of the date on which the
examination commenced. The board
shall adopt the examinations and recommended grading
procedures of the National Council of
Architectural Registration Boards.
(d) The board may
require applicants under this section and under section 5-1-9 to
submit to a personal interview.
5-1-12.
Architect's stamp. -- (a) Every
architect shall obtain a stamp designated and
approved by the board, and shall impress that stamp on
drawings and specifications prepared by
him or her or under his or her responsible control for
use in this state. An architect who impresses
his or her stamp, or knowingly permits it to be impressed
on drawings or specifications which
were not prepared by him or her or under his or her
responsible control is guilty of a
misdemeanor and is subject to the penalties provided in section
5-1-7(c). Any person who
impresses an architect's stamp, or knowingly permits it to be
impressed on drawings and
specifications after the architect's certificate of registration has
expired, or has been revoked,
annulled, or suspended, is guilty of a misdemeanor and is
subject to the penalties provided in
section 5-1-7(c).
(b) Upon forfeiture,
revocation, suspension, annulment of his or her certificate of
registration, or upon expiration of his or her certificate of
registration without renewal, an
architect shall surrender his or her stamp to the board. Upon
the death of an architect, his or her
personal representatives shall surrender his or her stamp to
the board. The board has the power to
institute proceedings in superior court or probate court to
enforce this subsection.
5-1-15.1.
Certificate of authorization for sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited
liability partnerships, corporations or limited liability
companies. -- (a) A sole
proprietorship,
partnership, limited liability partnership, corporation or
limited liability company shall be
admitted to practice architecture in this state if:
(1) Two-thirds ( 2/3) of the partners (if a partnership or limited
liability partnership) two-
thirds ( 2/3) of the directors and officers (or shareholders
if there are no directors, if a
corporation) or two-thirds ( 2/3) of the managers (or members if
there are no managers, if a
limited liability company) are registered under the laws of
any state or any reciprocal jurisdiction
as defined by the National Council of Architectural
Registration Boards to practice architecture or
engineering;
(2) One-third ( 1/3) of the partners (if a partnership or limited
liability partnership) or
one-third ( 1/3) of the directors and officers (or
shareholders if there are no directors, if a
corporation), or one-third ( 1/3) of the managers (or members if
there are no managers, if a
limited liability company) are registered under the laws of
any state or reciprocal jurisdiction as
defined by the National Council of Architectural Registration
Boards to practice architecture; and
(3) The person having
the practice of architecture in his or her charge is himself or
herself a partner (if a partnership or limited liability
partnership) a director or officer (or
shareholders if there are no directors, if a corporation) or a manager
(or members if there are no
managers, if a limited liability company) and registered to
practice architecture in this state.
(b) The board is
empowered to require any sole proprietorship, partnership, or limited
liability partnership, corporation or limited liability company
practicing architecture in this state
to file information concerning its partners,
shareholders, officers, directors, members, managers,
and other aspects of its business organization, upon any
forms that the board prescribes.
(c) The practice or
offer to practice architecture as defined by this chapter by a sole
proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership, corporation,
or limited liability company
subsequently referred to as the "firm", through one or
more architects registered under the
provisions of this chapter, is permitted provided that the
registered architect or architects are in
direct control of the practice or exercise responsible
control of all personnel who act in behalf of
the firm in professional and technical matters; and
provided, that the firm has been issued a
certificate of authorization by this board.
(d) Within one year
after the enactment of this chapter, every Every firm must obtain a
certificate of authorization from this board, and those individuals
in direct control of the practice
or who exercise responsible control 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 a fee as
determined by the board in accordance with section 5-1-11. This
fee shall be waived if the firm
consists of only one person who is the registered architect.
Every firm must file an application for
a certificate of authorization with the board on a form
provided by the board.
(e) Every certificate
of authorization is valid for a period of two (2) years and expires on
the last day of December of each even numbered year
following its issuance. A separate form
provided by the board shall be filed with each renewal of the
certificate of authorization. The firm
shall complete a renewal form 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
the board's judgment, the information contained on the
application and/or renewal form is
satisfactory and complete, the board will issue a certificate of
authorization for the firm to
practice architecture in this state. The board may require all
applicants for renewal to provide the
board with information, including but not limited to, a
brief outline setting forth the professional
activities of any applicant during a period in which a
certificate of authorization has lapsed and
other evidence of the continued competence and good
character of the applicant, all as the board
deems necessary.
(f) In the event of
ownership transition or change in the responsible control of a firm, the
board may permit a six (6) month grace period to allow a
continue to practice until a new certificate of authorization
is issued.
5-1-16. Architects
rendering assistance during disaster emergency -- Immunity from
civil liability. -- (a) An architect or architectural firm, duly
licensed to practice in
under this chapter, who voluntarily and without
compensation provides architectural services at
the scene of a disaster emergency is not liable for any
personal injury, wrongful death, property
damage, or other loss or damages caused by an act or
omission of the architect or architectural
firm in performing the services.
(b) As used in this
section, "disaster emergency" means a disaster emergency declared by
executive order or proclamation of the governor pursuant to
chapter 15 of title 30.
(c) The immunity
provided in subsection (a) of this section applies only to the practice of
architecture as defined in this chapter regarding an architectural
service that:
(1) Concerns any
building, structure, or system, whether publicly or privately owned that
is identified pursuant to a disaster emergency executive
order or proclamation;
(2) Relates to the
structural integrity of the entire building, structure, or system or any
portion of the structure or system, or to a nonstructural
element of the structure or system,
affecting public safety; and
(3) Is rendered during
the time in which a state of disaster emergency exists, as provided
in chapter 15 of title 30.
(d) The immunity
granted by this section shall not apply to acts or omissions constituting
gross negligence or willful misconduct.
(e) In the event that
the governor of
architects with a National Council of Architectural Registration
Boards (NCARB) certification
will be allowed to practice for a period of ninety (90)
days from the date of the declared disaster.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01317
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