| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the practice of architecture; amending |
| 3 | s. 481.203, F.S.; defining "administration of construction |
| 4 | contracts"; amending s. 481.223, F.S.; authorizing certain |
| 5 | architects to use the title "Architect, Retired"; |
| 6 | prohibiting a person from applying for a construction |
| 7 | permit or constructing or allowing the construction of any |
| 8 | structure requiring the services of a registered architect |
| 9 | under certain circumstances, for which there are |
| 10 | penalties; amending s. 481.225, F.S.; providing grounds |
| 11 | for disciplinary action relating to the reporting of |
| 12 | construction contract administration services; amending s. |
| 13 | 481.229, F.S.; providing an exemption for certain |
| 14 | professional engineers; providing an effective date. |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Section 1. Subsection (16) is added to section 481.203, |
| 19 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 20 | 481.203 Definitions.--As used in this part: |
| 21 | (16) "Administration of construction contracts" means: |
| 22 | (a) The visitation of the construction site as often as |
| 23 | necessary to observe the construction work to determine that the |
| 24 | work is proceeding in accordance with the technical submissions |
| 25 | submitted to the building official and approved under the terms |
| 26 | of the building permit; |
| 27 | (b) The processing of shop drawings, product samples, and |
| 28 | other submittals in connection with the construction work; and |
| 29 | (c) The notification of the project owner and the |
| 30 | appropriate building official of construction changes that |
| 31 | affect building code compliance, code violations, or substantial |
| 32 | differences between the technical submittals approved by the |
| 33 | building official and ongoing construction or any construction |
| 34 | deviation that constitutes a hazard to the public. |
| 35 | Section 2. Paragraphs (a), (g), and (h) of subsection (1) |
| 36 | of section 481.223, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph |
| 37 | (i) is added to that subsection, to read: |
| 38 | 481.223 Prohibitions; penalties; injunctive relief.-- |
| 39 | (1) A person may not knowingly: |
| 40 | (a) Practice architecture unless the person is an |
| 41 | architect or a registered architect; however, an architect who |
| 42 | has been licensed by the board and who chooses to relinquish or |
| 43 | not to renew his or her license may use the title "Architect, |
| 44 | Retired" but may not otherwise render any architectural |
| 45 | services; |
| 46 | (g) Employ unlicensed persons to practice architecture or |
| 47 | interior design; or |
| 48 | (h) Conceal information relative to violations of this |
| 49 | part; or |
| 50 | (i) Apply for a construction permit or construct or allow |
| 51 | the construction of any structure requiring the services of a |
| 52 | registered architect under this part, unless the person has |
| 53 | employed or assured the employment of a registered architect to |
| 54 | provide the administration of the construction contract. |
| 55 | Section 3. Paragraphs (m) and (n) are added to subsection |
| 56 | (1) of section 481.225, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 57 | 481.225 Disciplinary proceedings against registered |
| 58 | architects.-- |
| 59 | (1) The following acts constitute grounds for which the |
| 60 | disciplinary actions in subsection (3) may be taken: |
| 61 | (m) Failing to report to the appropriate building |
| 62 | official, in writing, whether he or she has been employed to |
| 63 | perform construction contract administration services, as |
| 64 | described in s. 481.203(16), on or before the date that |
| 65 | technical submissions for the work are provided to the building |
| 66 | official. |
| 67 | (n) Failing to report to the board construction work |
| 68 | proceeding without the employment of an architect performing |
| 69 | construction contract administration services, as described in |
| 70 | s. 481.203(16). |
| 71 | Section 4. Subsection (8) is added to section 481.229, |
| 72 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 73 | 481.229 Exceptions; exemptions from licensure.-- |
| 74 | (8) Nothing in this part shall be construed as precluding |
| 75 | the employment of a qualified professional engineer to perform |
| 76 | construction contract administration services relative to the |
| 77 | engineering technical submittals for a construction project. |
| 78 | Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |