CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.House Bill 0625
Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 625
By Representative Fischer
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to environmental professionals;
3 creating chapter 485, F.S., relating to the
4 regulation of environmental professionals;
5 providing purpose; providing requirements for
6 practice; providing for exemptions from
7 regulation; providing definitions; creating the
8 Board of Environmental Professionals within the
9 Department of Business and Professional
10 Regulation; providing for fees; providing
11 licensure requirements; providing for licensure
12 by endorsement; providing for renewal of
13 license; providing for address of primary place
14 of practice; providing for reactivation from
15 inactive status; providing for continuing
16 education requirements; requiring a certificate
17 of authorization for a corporation,
18 partnership, association, or person practicing
19 under a fictitious name to practice or offer to
20 practice environmental management; providing
21 for official seals; prohibiting certain acts
22 and providing penalties therefor; providing
23 acts that constitute grounds for disciplinary
24 action and providing penalties therefor;
25 requiring the reporting of criminal violations
26 for prosecution; providing effect of the
27 chapter locally; providing construction;
28 providing for grandfathering; amending s.
29 20.165, F.S.; placing the board within the
30 Division of Professions of the department;
31 providing an effective date.
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1 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
2
3 Section 1. Chapter 485, Florida Statutes, consisting
4 of sections 485.001, 485.003, 485.005, 485.007, 485.009,
5 485.012, 485.013, 485.015, 485.017, 485.019, 485.021, 485.023,
6 485.025, 485.027, 485.029, 485.032, and 485.033, is created to
7 read:
8 485.001 Purpose.--It is hereby declared to be the
9 public policy of this state that, in order to safeguard the
10 health, safety, property, and welfare of its citizens and
11 natural resources, any person practicing or offering to
12 practice environmental management in the state must meet the
13 requirements of both the Department of Business and
14 Professional Regulation and the Board of Environmental
15 Professionals and must be licensed as provided in this
16 chapter.
17 485.003 License required to practice or use
18 professional title; exemptions.--
19 (1) No person other than an environmental professional
20 duly licensed under this chapter may practice environmental
21 management or use the name or title of "environmental
22 professional" or any other title, designation, words, letters,
23 abbreviations, or device tending to indicate that such person
24 holds an active license as an environmental professional in
25 this state.
26 (2) The following persons are not required to obtain a
27 license as an environmental professional under this chapter:
28 (a) Any person practicing environmental management for
29 the improvement of, or otherwise affecting, property legally
30 owned by such person, unless such practice involves a public
31 utility, the health, safety, or welfare of the public, or the
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1 health or safety of employees. This exemption does not
2 authorize the practice of environmental management through an
3 agent or employee who is not duly licensed under this chapter.
4 (b) Persons engaged solely in teaching the
5 environmental management sciences as a faculty member of a
6 college or university located in this state.
7 (c) Persons engaged in environmental management
8 research in the environmental management sciences which does
9 not affect the health, safety, or welfare of the public.
10 (d) Employees of a corporation not engaged in the
11 practice of environmental management as such, whose practice
12 of environmental management for such corporation is limited to
13 the design or fabrication of manufactured products and
14 servicing of such products or the operation of environmental
15 management systems or works.
16 (e) Any person, as a contractor, in the execution of
17 work designed by an environmental professional or, as a
18 foreman or superintendent, in the supervision of the
19 construction of such work. This exemption does not entitle a
20 contractor to certify that completed construction conforms to
21 the design prepared by an environmental professional.
22 (3) The following persons are specifically exempt from
23 regulation under this chapter, provided their work is reviewed
24 or prepared under the supervision of an environmental
25 professional or other authorized licensed professional to the
26 extent that the supervision meets the standards adopted by
27 rule of the board:
28 (a) Officers and employees of the state or of any
29 water management district or other local or regional
30 governmental entity practicing solely as such officers or
31 employees.
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1 (b) Employees of any firm, corporation, or partnership
2 who are acting within the scope of their employment as
3 subordinates of a person in responsible charge who is licensed
4 under this chapter.
5 485.005 Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the
6 term:
7 (1) "Board" means the Board of Environmental
8 Professionals.
9 (2) "Certificate of authorization" means a license to
10 practice environmental management issued by the department to
11 a corporation, partnership, association, or person practicing
12 under a fictitious name.
13 (3) "Department" means the Department of Business and
14 Professional Regulation.
15 (4) "Environmental management" includes the term
16 "professional environmental management" and means the
17 application of the scientific principles of the environmental
18 management sciences to the sound management of living natural
19 resources and their habitats; however, "environmental
20 management" does not include the management of agricultural or
21 aquacultural resources in the ordinary course of these
22 activities, except as such activities require environmental
23 permits or siting and offsite impact evaluations.
24 "Environmental management" does include, but is not limited
25 to, the activities set forth below, but only as such
26 activities pertain to the application of the scientific
27 principles of the environmental management sciences:
28 (a) Advising, consulting, planning, teaching,
29 researching, reporting, designing, and investigating as these
30 activities relate to living natural resources and their
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1 habitats, including specialized-habitat or species-specific
2 management plans.
3 (b) Reporting on environmental management work and
4 study, including environmental impact statements, categorical
5 exclusions, reports required by the National Environmental
6 Policy Act of 1969, the federal Clean Water Act, the federal
7 Clean Air Act, and such other environmental reports as may be
8 required by national, state, and local environmental
9 legislation or policy.
10 (c) Administration and management of environmental
11 work, including such administration and management as may be
12 required under Insurance Services Office (ISO) filing 14,000
13 or the Administrative Procedure Act.
14 (d) Maintenance, conservation, protection,
15 restoration, and enhancement of ecosystems and habitats.
16 (e) Collection, analysis, and interpretation of
17 scientific data and the inventory, evaluation, and monitoring
18 of living natural resources and habitats, including wetland
19 jurisdictional determinations.
20 (f) Assessment of the presence or threat of an
21 environmental hazard or contamination upon, in, or under real
22 property and the planning, designing, or implementation of
23 remedial activities to address such environmental hazard or
24 contamination.
25 (g) The assessment of historic, existing, and future
26 impacts to living natural resources and their habitats. This
27 assessment includes any work associated with assessments of
28 impacts to living natural resources and their habitats from
29 constructed or natural discharges to the environment of solid,
30 liquid, or gaseous materials and the determination of
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1 reduction goals required to maintain or restore acceptable
2 habitat quality.
3 (5) "Environmental management sciences" includes the
4 sciences of environmental agronomy, biology, environmental
5 chemistry, and environmental physics, as they relate to living
6 natural resources and their habitats. These sciences are
7 collectively referred to as "natural sciences" and a person
8 specializing in these sciences is referred to as a "natural
9 scientist." For purposes of this subsection, the term:
10 (a) "Environmental agronomy" includes the science of
11 agronomy as it relates to the common practice of the soil
12 sciences regarding the definition and characterization of soil
13 habitats as suitable or not suitable for successful use by
14 natural living resources and only to the extent of evaluating
15 the biological responses to physical and chemical changes in
16 habitat quality and suitability.
17 (b) "Biology" includes the science of biology and its
18 areas of specialization which pertain to living resources and
19 their habitats as well as the development of methods of study
20 of the biology of living resources and their habitats.
21 Included under this definition are areas of specialization
22 such as aquatic science, biology, botany, ecology, forestry,
23 herpetology, ichthyology, limnology, mammalogy, marine
24 science, microbiology, oceanography, ornithology, systems
25 ecology, systems energetics, wildlife science, and zoology.
26 Also included under this definition are the behavioral
27 sciences to the extent of evaluating the biological responses
28 to physical and chemical changes in habitat quality and
29 suitability. Excluded under this definition are areas of
30 biological specialization such as dentistry, chiropractic,
31 medicine, and veterinary medicine.
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1 (c) "Environmental chemistry" includes only the
2 specialized sciences of chemistry which pertain to living
3 resources and their habitats as well as the development of
4 methods of study of the chemistry of living resources and
5 their habitats. Included under this definition are areas of
6 specialization such as aquatic chemistry as it relates to
7 habitat quality, marine chemistry as it relates to habitat
8 quality, soil chemistry as it relates to habitat quality,
9 atmospheric chemistry as it relates to habitat quality,
10 biochemistry as it relates to responses of living resources to
11 habitat quality and changes in habitat quality, hazardous
12 materials as it relates to habitat quality, and environmental
13 toxicology. Excluded under this definition are areas of
14 specialization such as quantitative analysis, synthetic
15 chemistry, atomic chemistry, petrochemistry, and physical
16 chemistry, unless such application of the specialization
17 relates to living resources and the quality of their habitat
18 and then only to the extent of evaluating the biological
19 responses to physical and chemical changes in habitat quality
20 and suitability.
21 (d) "Environmental physics" includes only the
22 specialized sciences of physics which pertain to living
23 resources and their habitats as well as the development of
24 methods of study of the physics of living resources and their
25 habitats. Included under this definition are areas of
26 specialization such as the atmospheric sciences as they relate
27 to habitat quality, erosion and soil movement as it relates to
28 habitat quality, water movement as it relates to habitat
29 quality, the study of noise as it relates to habitat quality,
30 and biological responses to noise. Excluded under this
31 definition are areas of specialization in physics such as
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1 quantum mechanics, materials, optics, electromagnetism, and
2 atomic physics, unless the application of such specialization
3 relates to living resources and the quality of their habitat
4 and then only to the extent of evaluating the biological
5 responses to physical and chemical changes in habitat quality
6 and suitability.
7 (6) "Environmental professional" includes the term
8 "licensed environmental professional" and means a natural
9 scientist who performs environmental management work and is
10 licensed to engage in the practice of professional
11 environmental management as described in this chapter.
12 (7) "Habitat" or "habitat quality" includes the
13 determination of the suitability and sustainability of a
14 natural, created, restored, managed, or artificial habitat as
15 related to specific organisms, guilds, ecosystems, bioregions,
16 or other groups of biota, their habitats, their natural
17 histories, and their associated management requirements.
18 (8) "Practice of professional environmental
19 management" means the performance of, or offer to perform,
20 environmental management as defined in subsection (4), except
21 as specifically exempted under s. 485.003. Any person who
22 practices as an environmental professional, who by verbal
23 claim, sign, advertisement, letterhead, card, or any other
24 means represents himself or herself to be an environmental
25 professional, who through the use of some title implies that
26 he or she is an environmental professional or that he or she
27 is licensed under this chapter, or who holds himself or
28 herself out as able to perform or does perform any
29 environmental management services or work recognized as
30 professional environmental management, shall be construed to
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1 be engaged in the practice of professional environmental
2 management.
3 485.007 Board of Environmental Professionals.--
4 (1) There is created in the Department of Business and
5 Professional Regulation a Board of Environmental
6 Professionals. The board shall consist of seven members, four
7 of whom must be licensed and practicing environmental
8 professionals, with each being a representative of a separate
9 one of the environmental management sciences listed in s.
10 485.005(5), except that prior to October 1, 1997, such persons
11 shall be otherwise qualified as environmental professionals.
12 Of the remaining three members of the board, two shall be lay
13 persons who are not and have never been environmental
14 professionals or members of any closely related profession or
15 occupation, and one shall be a person engaged in the teaching
16 of environmental management science.
17 (2) Initially, the Governor shall appoint four members
18 for a term of 4 years each and three members for a term of 3
19 years each. Thereafter, members shall be appointed for 4-year
20 terms. Initially, and prior to initiation of the
21 grandfathering program under s. 485.033, the four members
22 seated as licensed and practicing environmental professionals
23 shall be unlicensed practicing environmental professionals who
24 the Governor has determined satisfy all of the requirements
25 for licensure as set forth in s. 485.012.
26 (3) The board is authorized to make such rules not
27 inconsistent with law as may be necessary to carry out the
28 duties and authority conferred upon the board by this chapter.
29 Every licensee shall be governed and controlled by this
30 chapter and the rules adopted by the board pursuant thereto.
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1 (4) The board shall establish, by rule,
2 classifications of environmental professional licensure based
3 on the specialties which exist in the field of environmental
4 management. Such classifications shall, at a minimum, include
5 the environmental management sciences of biology,
6 environmental agronomy, environmental chemistry, and
7 environmental physics.
8 (5) The board shall develop a test specific to each of
9 the classifications established by rule. Such testing may
10 rely on existing public or private certifications which in the
11 board's judgment adequately test an applicant's basic
12 qualifications and specific ability to practice in the
13 specialized area or areas of professional environmental
14 management designated by the applicant and may require, as a
15 prerequisite to examination, a combination of education and
16 experience consistent with the minimum requirements set forth
17 in s. 485.012. Such certifications may include those issued
18 by professional associations, scientific associations, or
19 government agencies, as determined by the board and adopted by
20 rule.
21 (6) By September 1, 1997, the board shall promulgate
22 by rule a code of ethics for the practice of professional
23 environmental management.
24 (7) The location of the board shall be in Leon County.
25 485.009 Fees.--The board, by rule, may establish fees
26 to be paid for applications, licensing and renewal,
27 reactivation of inactive or delinquent licenses, and
28 recordmaking and recordkeeping. The board may also establish,
29 by rule, a delinquency fee. The board shall establish fees
30 which are adequate to ensure the continued operation of the
31 board. Fees shall be based on department estimates of the
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1 revenue required to implement this chapter and the provisions
2 of law with respect to the regulation of environmental
3 professionals. The fees established for the first year of
4 this chapter shall be limited as follows:
5 (1) The application fee may not exceed $100 and is
6 nonrefundable.
7 (2) The initial license fee may not exceed $100.
8 485.012 Licensure; requirements.--
9 (1) Any person desiring to be licensed as an
10 environmental professional shall apply to the department.
11 Each applicant must:
12 (a) Complete the application form and remit the
13 application fee.
14 (b) Be at least 18 years of age.
15 (c) Attest that he or she has not committed any act or
16 offense in any jurisdiction which would constitute the basis
17 for disciplining an environmental professional licensed under
18 this chapter.
19 (d) Agree to abide by the code of ethics as adopted by
20 the board.
21 (2) The department shall issue a license to practice
22 professional environmental management to any person who has:
23 (a) Paid the appropriate license fee.
24 (b) Been certified by the board as qualified to
25 practice professional environmental management.
26 (c) Provided proof of having earned a 4-year degree in
27 one of the environmental management sciences from a fully
28 accredited college or university.
29 (d) Provided proof of having completed a minimum of 5
30 cumulative years of experience under the supervision of a
31 licensed environmental professional.
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1 (e) Provided proof of having met the continuing
2 education requirements under s. 485.015(4) during each of the
3 5 years prior to the application.
4 (3) The department may not issue a license to any
5 applicant who:
6 (a) Is under investigation in any jurisdiction for an
7 offense which would constitute a violation of this chapter;
8 however, upon completion of such investigation, the
9 disciplinary provisions of s. 485.025 shall apply; or
10 (b) The board has determined, based upon credentials
11 of the applicant and other documents provided by the
12 applicant, is not qualified for licensure.
13 485.013 Licensure by endorsement; requirements.--
14 (1) The department shall issue a license by
15 endorsement to any applicant who, upon applying to the
16 department and remitting the application fee, the board has
17 certified:
18 (a) Is at least 18 years of age.
19 (b) Holds an active, valid license in a least one
20 jurisdiction in the United States in which the current
21 requirements for licensure are equivalent to or more stringent
22 than those in this chapter.
23 (c) Has not committed any act or offense in any
24 jurisdiction which would constitute the basis for disciplining
25 an environmental professional licensed under this chapter.
26 (2) The department may not issue a license to any
27 applicant who:
28 (a) Is under investigation in any jurisdiction for an
29 offense which would constitute a violation of this chapter;
30 however, upon completion of the investigation, the
31 disciplinary provisions of s. 485.025 shall apply; or
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1 (b) The board has determined, based upon credentials
2 of the applicant and other documents provided by the
3 applicant, is not qualified for licensure.
4 485.015 Renewal of license; address of primary place
5 of practice; continuing education.--
6 (1) The department shall renew a license upon receipt
7 of the renewal application and fee, provided the licensee has
8 not committed any act or offense which would constitute a
9 basis for discipline under this chapter or any rule adopted
10 pursuant to this chapter.
11 (2) The department shall adopt rules establishing a
12 procedure for the biennial renewal of licenses.
13 (3) Prior to engaging in practice, a licensee must
14 have on file with the department the address of his or her
15 primary place of practice within the state. Prior to changing
16 the address of his or her primary place of practice, whether
17 or not within this state, the licensee must notify the
18 department of the address of his or her new primary place of
19 practice.
20 (4) Every person licensed as an environmental
21 professional under this chapter must complete at least 24
22 classroom hours in approved continuing education in the 24
23 months preceding each biennial renewal period as established
24 by the department. For the purpose of this subsection, each
25 hour spent in the continuing education course shall equal one
26 continuing education classroom hour. The board shall maintain
27 a list of approved continuing education courses, instructors,
28 and providers.
29 485.017 Inactive status; reactivation.--A license
30 which has become inactive may be reactivated under s. 485.015
31 upon application to the department, provided the licensee has
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1 not committed any act or offense which would constitute the
2 basis for discipline under this chapter or any rule adopted
3 pursuant to this chapter. The board shall prescribe by rule
4 continuing education requirements for reactivating a license.
5 However, the continuing education requirements for
6 reactivating a license may not exceed 12 classroom hours for
7 each year the license was inactive.
8 485.019 Practice of environmental management by
9 corporation, partnership, association, or person practicing
10 under a fictitious name; certificate of authorization.--
11 (1) The practice of, or the offer to practice,
12 environmental management by licensees through a corporation or
13 partnership offering environmental management services to the
14 public or by a corporation or partnership offering such
15 services to the public through licensees under this chapter as
16 agents, employees, officers, or partners is permitted only if
17 the firm possesses a certificate of authorization issued by
18 the department pursuant to qualification by the board, subject
19 to the provisions of this chapter. One or more of the
20 principal officers or employees of the corporation or one or
21 more partners or employees of the partnership and all
22 supervisory personnel of the corporation or partnership who
23 act on its behalf as environmental professionals in this state
24 must be licensed as provided by this chapter. Nothing in this
25 section shall be construed to mean that a certificate of
26 authorization to practice environmental management shall be
27 held by a corporation. Nothing in this section prohibits
28 corporations and partnerships from joining together to offer
29 environmental management services to the public, provided each
30 corporation or partnership otherwise meets the requirements of
31 this section. No corporation or partnership shall be relieved
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1 of responsibility for the conduct or acts of its agents,
2 employees, or officers by reason of its compliance with this
3 section, nor shall any individual practicing environmental
4 management be relieved of responsibility for professional
5 services performed by reason of his or her employment or
6 relationship with a corporation or partnership.
7 (2) For the purposes of this section, a certificate of
8 authorization shall be required for a corporation,
9 partnership, association, or person practicing under a
10 fictitious name, offering environmental management services to
11 the public. However, when an individual is practicing
12 environmental management in his or her own given name, the
13 individual is not required to hold a certificate of
14 authorization under this section.
15 (3) The fact that a licensed environmental
16 professional practices through a corporation or partnership
17 does not relieve the licensee from personal liability for
18 negligence, misconduct, or wrongful acts committed by the
19 licensee. Partnerships and all partners shall be jointly and
20 severally liable for the negligence, misconduct, or wrongful
21 acts committed by their agents, employees, or partners while
22 acting in a professional capacity. Any officer, agent, or
23 employee of a corporation shall be personally liable and
24 accountable only for negligent acts, wrongful acts, or
25 misconduct committed by such person or committed by any person
26 under the direct supervision and control of such person, while
27 rendering professional services on behalf of the corporation.
28 The personal liability of a shareholder of a corporation, in
29 his or her capacity as shareholder, shall be no greater than
30 that of a shareholder-employee of a corporation incorporated
31 under chapter 607. The corporation shall be liable up to the
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1 full value of its property for any negligent acts, wrongful
2 acts, or misconduct committed by any of its officers, agents,
3 or employees while they are engaged on behalf of the
4 corporation in the rendering of professional services.
5 (4) Persons seeking to incorporate under the
6 provisions of this section must obtain approval from the
7 department prior to filing articles of incorporation with the
8 Department of State.
9 (5) Each certification of authorization shall be
10 renewed every 2 years. Each partnership and corporation
11 certified under this section must notify the board within 1
12 month after any change in the information contained in the
13 application upon which the certification is based.
14 (6) Disciplinary action against a corporation or
15 partnership shall be administered in the same manner and on
16 the same grounds as disciplinary action against a licensed
17 environmental professional.
18 485.021 Seals.--
19 (1) The board shall prescribe, by rule, a form of seal
20 to be used by licensees holding valid licenses. Each licensee
21 must obtain an impression-type metal seal in the form
22 prescribed by the board. The board shall, by rule, determine
23 the types of environmental management papers, reports, or
24 documents prepared or issued by the licensee and being filed
25 for public record which must be signed by the licensee, dated,
26 and embossed with such seal. Such signature, date, and seal
27 shall be evidence of the authenticity of that to which they
28 are affixed. It is unlawful for any person to emboss or seal
29 any document with a seal without a current license.
30 (2) When a license has been revoked or suspended by
31 the board, the licensee must surrender his or her seal to the
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1 secretary of the board within a period of 30 days after the
2 revocation or suspension has become effective. In the event a
3 license has been suspended for a period of time, the seal
4 shall be returned to the licensee upon reinstatement.
5 (3) No licensee shall affix or permit to be affixed
6 his or her seal or name to any environmental management paper,
7 report, or document which depicts work that the licensee is
8 not licensed to perform or that is beyond the licensee's
9 profession or specialty therein.
10 485.023 Prohibitions; penalties.--
11 (1) No person shall knowingly:
12 (a) Practice environmental management unless the
13 person is licensed under this chapter.
14 (b) Use the name or title "licensed environmental
15 professional" or any other title, designation, words, letters,
16 abbreviations, or device tending to indicate that such person
17 holds an active license as an environmental professional when
18 the person is not licensed under this chapter.
19 (c) Present as his or her own the license of another.
20 (d) Give false or forged evidence to the board or a
21 member of the board for the purpose of obtaining a license.
22 (e) Use or attempt to use a license which has been
23 suspended, revoked, or placed on inactive or delinquent
24 status.
25 (f) Employ unlicensed persons to practice
26 environmental management, except as authorized in this
27 chapter.
28 (g) Conceal information relative to violations of this
29 chapter.
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1 (2) A person who violates any provision of this
2 section commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable
3 as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
4 (3) The board may adopt rules prescribing additional
5 rules of conduct for environmental management professionals,
6 violation of which may be punished pursuant to s. 485.025.
7 485.025 Disciplinary proceedings.--
8 (1) The following acts constitute grounds for which
9 the disciplinary actions in subsection (3) may be taken:
10 (a) Violation of any provision of s. 485.023 or s.
11 455.227(1) or any other provision of this chapter.
12 (b) Violation of any rule adopted by the board
13 pursuant to this chapter.
14 (c) Attempting to procure a license to practice
15 environmental management by bribery or fraudulent
16 misrepresentations.
17 (d) Having a license to practice environmental
18 management revoked, suspended, or otherwise acted against,
19 including the denial of licensure by the licensing authority
20 of another state, territory, or country.
21 (e) Being convicted or found guilty of, or entering a
22 plea of nolo contendere to, regardless of adjudication, a
23 crime in any jurisdiction which directly relates to the
24 practice of environmental management or the ability to
25 practice environmental management.
26 (f) Making or filing a report or record which the
27 licensee knows to be false, willfully failing to file a report
28 or record required by state or federal law, willfully impeding
29 or obstructing such filing, or inducing another person to
30 impede or obstruct such filing. Such reports or records shall
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1 include only those which are signed in the capacity of a
2 licensed environmental professional.
3 (g) Advertising environmental management services in a
4 manner which is fraudulent, false, deceptive, or misleading in
5 form or content.
6 (h) Engaging in fraud or deceit, negligence,
7 incompetence, or misconduct, in the practice of environmental
8 management.
9 (i) Violation of chapter 455.
10 (j) Practicing on a revoked, suspended, inactive, or
11 delinquent license.
12 (k) Affixing or permitting to be affixed his or her
13 seal or name to any environmental management papers, reports,
14 or documents that were not prepared by him or her or under his
15 or her responsible supervision, direction, or control.
16 (l) Violating a rule of the department or any order of
17 the department previously entered in a disciplinary hearing.
18 (2) The department shall specify, by rule, what acts
19 or omissions constitute a violation of subsection (1).
20 (3) When the department finds any person guilty of any
21 of the grounds set forth in subsection (1), it may enter an
22 order imposing one or more of the following penalties:
23 (a) Denial of an application for licensure.
24 (b) Revocation or suspension of a license.
25 (c) Imposition of an administrative fine not to exceed
26 $1,000 for each count or separate offense.
27 (d) Issuance of a reprimand.
28 (e) Placement of the licensee on probation for a
29 period of time and subject to such conditions as the
30 department may specify.
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1 (f) Restriction of the authorized scope of practice by
2 the licensee.
3 (4) The department shall reissue the license of a
4 disciplined environmental professional or business upon
5 certification by the board that the disciplined person or
6 business has complied with all of the terms and conditions set
7 forth in the final order.
8 485.027 Prosecution of criminal violations.--The board
9 shall report any criminal violation of this chapter to the
10 proper prosecuting authority for prompt prosecution.
11 485.029 Effect of the chapter locally.--
12 (1) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be
13 construed to repeal, amend, limit, or otherwise affect any
14 local building code or zoning law or ordinance, now or
15 hereafter enacted, which is more restrictive with respect to
16 the services of licensed environmental professionals than the
17 provisions of this chapter.
18 (2) In counties or municipalities which issue building
19 permits, such permits shall not be issued in any case in which
20 it is apparent from the application for such building permit
21 that the provisions of this chapter have been violated.
22 However, this shall not authorize the withholding of building
23 permits in any cases within the exempt classes set forth in
24 this chapter.
25 485.032 Construction of chapter.--Nothing in this
26 chapter shall be construed to restrict, prevent, or prohibit
27 the practice of any profession or trade for which a license is
28 required under any other law of this state, including the
29 practice by licensed professional engineers, licensed
30 professional geologists, licensed landscape architects, or
31 licensed surveyors.
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1 485.033 Grandfathering.--Prior to September 1, 1997,
2 the board shall initiate a program to award licenses to
3 applicants who meet the licensing requirements of this
4 chapter. Prior to December 1, 1997, the board shall initiate
5 a program to award licenses to applicants who substantially
6 meet the licensing requirements of this chapter but fail to
7 meet the formal educational requirements, recognizing that
8 life experience may be substituted for these requirements,
9 provided that adequate testimonials are received with the
10 application which attest to the quality of the applicant's
11 past performance. The grandfathering provisions of this
12 section shall also accept proof of having completed a minimum
13 of 5 cumulative years of experience in a position of
14 responsible charge of environmental management work as having
15 met the requirement of s. 485.012(2)(d). However, no other
16 requirements may be modified in considering the award of
17 licenses under the grandfathering provisions of this section.
18 Applications may not be accepted under this section after
19 September 1, 1998; and licenses may not be awarded under this
20 section after March 1, 1999.
21 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
22 20.165, Florida Statutes, 1996 Supplement, as amended by
23 chapter 96-403, Laws of Florida, is amended to read:
24 20.165 Department of Business and Professional
25 Regulation.--There is created a Department of Business and
26 Professional Regulation.
27 (4)(a) The following boards are established within the
28 Division of Professions:
29 1. Board of Architecture and Interior Design, created
30 under part I of chapter 481.
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1 2. Florida Board of Auctioneers, created under part VI
2 of chapter 468.
3 3. Barbers' Board, created under chapter 476.
4 4. Florida Building Code Administrators and Inspectors
5 Board, created under part XIII of chapter 468.
6 5. Construction Industry Licensing Board, created
7 under part I of chapter 489.
8 6. Board of Cosmetology, created under chapter 477.
9 7. Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board, created
10 under part II of chapter 489.
11 8. Board of Employee Leasing Companies, created under
12 part XI of chapter 468.
13 9. Board of Environmental Professionals, created under
14 chapter 485.
15 10.9. Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers,
16 created under chapter 470.
17 11.10. Board of Landscape Architecture, created under
18 part II of chapter 481.
19 12.11. Board of Pilot Commissioners, created under
20 chapter 310.
21 13.12. Board of Professional Engineers, created under
22 chapter 471.
23 14.13. Board of Professional Geologists, created under
24 chapter 492.
25 15.14. Board of Professional Surveyors and Mappers,
26 created under chapter 472.
27 16.15. Board of Veterinary Medicine, created under
28 chapter 474.
29 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 1997.
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1 *****************************************
2 HOUSE SUMMARY
3
Creates chapter 485, F.S., to provide for the regulation
4 of environmental professionals. Creates the Board of
Environmental Professionals within the Division of
5 Professions of the Department of Business and
Professional Regulation for such purpose. Requires
6 licensure of individuals and certification of
corporations, partnerships, associations, and person
7 practicing under a fictitious name. Provides for
exemption from regulation for certain persons and for the
8 grandfathering in of certain persons. See bill for
details.
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