Bill Text: CA SB1452 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Architecture and landscape architecture.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-07-01 - Re-referred to Com. on APPR pursuant to Assembly Rule 96. [SB1452 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB1452-Introduced.html

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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1452

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Introduced by Senator Ashby

February 16, 2024

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An act to amend Sections 5515, 5536.1. 5536.25, 5536.4, 5550, 5550.1, 5558, 5565, 5570, 5582.1, 5610.5, 5640, 5641.3, and 5641.4 of, and to add Section 5658 to, the Business and Professions Code, relating to architects and landscape architects.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1452, as introduced, Ashby. Architecture and landscape architecture.

Existing law, the Architects Practice Act, establishes the California Architects Board in the Department of Consumer Affairs for the licensure and regulation of persons engaged in the practice of architecture. The board is also responsible for the licensure and regulation of landscape architects.

This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to various provisions of existing law relating to licensees of the board.

Existing law relating to landscape architecture requires each licensee to file their current mailing address with the board and notify the board of any change, as specified.

This bill would also require each applicant for examination or licensure as a landscape architect who has a valid email address to report to the board that email address at the time of application. The bill would require each licensee who has a valid email address to report to the board or verify that email address at the time of renewal. Under the bill, email addresses provided to the board pursuant to the bill would not be considered a public record and would not be subject to public disclosure.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 5515 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

5515.

 (a) Every person appointed shall serve for four years and until the appointment and qualification of his or her their successor or until one year shall have has elapsed since the expiration of the term for which he or she was they were appointed, whichever first occurs. occurs first.

No

(b) No person shall serve as a member of the board for more than two consecutive terms.

Vacancies

(c) Vacancies occurring prior to before the expiration of the term shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term.

Each

(d) Each appointment shall expire on June 30 of the fourth year following the year in which the previous term expired.

The

(e) The Governor shall appoint three of the public members and the five licensed members qualified as provided in Section 5514. The Senate Rules Committee and the Speaker of the Assembly shall each appoint a public member.

SEC. 2.

 Section 5536.1 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

5536.1.

 (a) All persons preparing or being in responsible control of plans, specifications, and instruments of service for others shall sign those plans, specifications, and instruments of service and all contracts therefor, and and, if licensed under this chapter chapter, shall affix a stamp, which complies with subdivision (b), to those plans, specifications, and instruments of service, as evidence of the person’s responsibility for those documents. Failure The failure of any person to comply with this subdivision is a misdemeanor punishable as provided in Section 5536. This section shall not apply to employees of persons licensed under this chapter while acting within the course of their employment.

(b) For the purposes of this chapter, any stamp used by any architect licensed under this chapter shall be of a design authorized by the board board, which shall at a minimum bear the licensee’s name, his or her their license number, the legend “licensed architect” and the legend “State of California,” and which shall provide a means of indicating the renewal date of the license.

(c) The preparation of plans, specifications, or instruments of service for any building, except the buildings described in Section 5537, by any person who is not licensed to practice architecture in this state, is a misdemeanor punishable as provided in Section 5536.

(d) The board may adopt regulations necessary for the implementation of this section.

SEC. 3.

 Section 5536.25 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

5536.25.

 (a) A licensed architect who signs and stamps plans, specifications, reports, or documents shall not be responsible for damage caused by subsequent changes to or uses of those plans, specifications, reports, or documents, where the subsequent changes or uses, including changes or uses made by state or local governmental agencies, are not authorized or approved in writing by the licensed architect who originally signed the plans, specifications, reports, or documents, provided that the written authorization or approval was not unreasonably withheld by the architect and the architectural service rendered by the architect who signed and stamped the plans, specifications, reports, or documents was not also a proximate cause of the damage.

(b) The signing and stamping of plans, specifications, reports, or documents which relate to the design of fixed works shall not impose a legal duty or responsibility upon the person signing the plans, specifications, reports, or documents to observe the construction of the fixed works which that are the subject of the plans, specifications, reports, or documents. However, this section shall not preclude an architect and a client from entering into a contractual agreement which that includes a mutually acceptable arrangement for the provision of construction observation services. This subdivision shall not modify the liability of an architect who undertakes, contractually or otherwise, the provision of construction observation services for rendering those services.

(c) “Construction (1) For purposes of this section, “construction observation services” means periodic observation of completed work to determine general compliance with the plans, specifications, reports, or other contract documents. However, “construction observation services” does not mean the superintendence of construction processes, site conditions, operations, equipment, or personnel, or the maintenance of a safe place to work or any safety in, on, or about the site.

For

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, “periodic observation” means visits by an architect, or his or her their agent, to the site of a work of improvement.

SEC. 4.

 Section 5536.4 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

5536.4.

 (a) No person may use an architect’s instruments of service, as those professional services are described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 5500.1, without the consent of the architect in a written contract, written agreement, or written license specifically authorizing that use.

(b) An architect shall not unreasonably withhold consent to use his or her their instruments of service from a person for whom the architect provided the services. An architect may reasonably withhold consent to use the instruments of service for cause, including, but not limited to, lack of full payment for services provided or failure to fulfill the conditions of a written contract.

SEC. 5.

 Section 5550 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

5550.

 Subject to the rules and regulations governing examinations, any person who meets the qualifications set forth in this article shall be entitled to an examination for a license to practice architecture. Before taking the examination he or she examination, the person shall file his or her their application therefor for examination with the board and pay the application fee fixed by this chapter. The fee shall be retained by the board.

SEC. 6.

 Section 5550.1 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

5550.1.

 (a) An applicant for a license to practice architecture shall be required, as part of the examination for licensure, to demonstrate to the board’s satisfaction his or her their knowledge and understanding of and proficiency in exterior and interior barrier free design.

The

(b) The board shall include questions regarding exterior and interior barrier free design as part of the examination. Those questions shall periodically be reviewed by the board in order to ensure that the examination reflects current regulations and the latest developments in barrier free design.

SEC. 7.

 Section 5558 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

5558.

 Each person holding a license to practice architecture under this chapter shall file with the board his or her their current mailing address and the proper and current name and address of the entity through which he or she provides they provide architectural services. For purposes of this section, “entity” means any individual, firm, corporation, or limited liability partnership.

SEC. 8.

 Section 5565 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

5565.

 The board’s decision may: may do the following:

(a) Provide for the immediate complete suspension by the holder of the license of all operations as an architect during the period fixed by the decision.

(b) Permit the holder of the license to complete any or all contracts for the performance of architectural services shown by evidence taken at the hearing to be then unfinished.

(c) Impose upon the holder of the license compliance with any specific conditions as may be just in connection with his or her their operations as an architect disclosed at the hearing, and may further provide that until those conditions are complied with no application for restoration of the suspended or revoked license shall be accepted by the board.

(d) Assess a fine not in excess of to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) against the holder of a license for any of the causes specified in Section 5577. A fine may be assessed in lieu of, or in addition to, a suspension or revocation. All fines collected pursuant to this subdivision shall be deposited to the credit of the California Architects Board Fund.

SEC. 9.

 Section 5570 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

5570.

 In any proceeding for review by a court, the court may, may permit, in its discretion, upon the filing of a proper bond by the holder of the license in an amount to be fixed by the court, guaranteeing the compliance by the holder of the license with specific conditions imposed upon him or her them by the board’s decision, if any, permit the holder of the license to continue to practice as an architect pending entry of judgment by the court in the case. There shall be no stay of the board’s decision pending an appeal or review of any proceeding proceeding, unless the appellant or applicant for review shall file files a bond in all respects conditioned as, and similar to, the bond required to stay the effect of the board’s decision in the first instance.

SEC. 10.

 Section 5582.1 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

5582.1.

 (a) The fact that the holder of a license has affixed his or her their signature to plans, drawings, specifications, or other instruments of service which have not been prepared by him or her, them, or under his or her their responsible control, constitutes a ground for disciplinary action.

(b) The fact that the holder of a license has permitted his or her their name to be used for the purpose of assisting any person to evade the provisions of this chapter constitutes a ground for disciplinary action.

SEC. 11.

 Section 5610.5 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

5610.5.

 The income of a professional architectural corporation attributable to professional services rendered while a shareholder is a disqualified person (as person, as defined in the Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act) Act (Part 4 (commencing with Section 13400) of Division 3 of Title 1 of the Corporations Code), shall not in any manner accrue to the benefit of that shareholder or his or her their shares in the professional architectural corporation.

SEC. 12.

 Section 5640 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

5640.

 It is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or by both that fine and imprisonment, for a person to do any of the following without possessing a valid, unrevoked license as provided in this chapter:

(a) Engage in the practice of landscape architecture.

(b) Use the title or term “landscape architect,” “landscape architecture,” “landscape architectural,” or any other titles, words, or abbreviations that would imply or indicate that he or she is they are a landscape architect architect, as defined in Section 5615.

(c) Use the stamp of a licensed landscape architect, as provided in Section 5659.

(d) Advertise or put out a sign, card, or other device that might indicate to the public that he or she is they are a licensed landscape architect or qualified to engage in the practice of landscape architecture.

SEC. 13.

 Section 5641.3 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

5641.3.

 An architect, professional engineer or land surveyor licensed or registered under the statutes of this state, insofar as the licensed or registered professional practices the profession for which he or she is they are licensed or registered, is exempt from the provisions of this chapter, except that an architect, professional engineer, or land surveyor may shall not use the title “landscape architect” unless he or she holds they hold a license as required under this chapter.

SEC. 14.

 Section 5641.4 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

5641.4.

 A landscape contractor licensed under the statutes of this state, insofar as he or she works they work within the classification for which the license is issued, may design systems and facilities for work to be performed and supervised by that landscape contractor and is exempt from the provisions of this chapter, except that a landscape contractor may shall not use the title “landscape architect” unless he or she holds they hold a license as required under this chapter.

SEC. 15.

 Section 5658 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:

5658.

 (a) Each applicant for examination or licensure who has a valid email address shall report to the board that email address at the time of application.

(b) Each licensee who has a valid email address shall report to the board or verify that email address at the time of renewal.

(c) Email addresses provided to the board pursuant to this chapter shall not be considered a public record and shall not be subject to public disclosure.

SEC. 16.

 The Legislature finds and declares that Section 15 of this act, which adds Section 5658 to the Business and Professions Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:

This act balances the public’s right to access records of the California Architects Board with the need to protect the privacy of applicants and licensees.