By: Price (Senate Sponsor - Nichols) H.B. No. 1717
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 24, 2013;
April 25, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on
Business and Commerce; May 7, 2013, reported favorably by the
following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 7, 2013, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the continuation and functions of the Texas Board of
Architectural Examiners; changing certain fees.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1051.003, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1051.003. APPLICATION OF SUNSET ACT. The Texas Board
of Architectural Examiners is subject to Chapter 325, Government
Code (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence as provided
by that chapter, the board is abolished and this subtitle expires
September 1, 2025 [2013].
SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 1051, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 1051.3041 to read as follows:
Sec. 1051.3041. CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION
REQUIREMENT FOR REGISTRATION. (a) The board shall require that an
applicant for a certificate of registration submit a complete and
legible set of fingerprints, on a form prescribed by the board, to
the board or to the Department of Public Safety for the purpose of
obtaining criminal history record information from the Department
of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(b) The board may not issue a certificate of registration to
a person who does not comply with the requirement of Subsection (a).
(c) The board shall conduct a criminal history check of each
applicant for a certificate of registration using information:
(1) provided by the individual under this section; and
(2) made available to the board by the Department of
Public Safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and any other
criminal justice agency under Chapter 411, Government Code.
(d) The board may:
(1) enter into an agreement with the Department of
Public Safety to administer a criminal history check required under
this section; and
(2) authorize the Department of Public Safety to
collect from each applicant the costs incurred by the Department of
Public Safety in conducting the criminal history check.
SECTION 3. Section 1051.351, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
(c-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a person who holds a
certificate of registration issued under Chapter 1053 without
examination may not renew the certificate on or after September 1,
2016, unless, before September 1, 2016, the person has passed the
registration examination adopted by the board under Section
1053.154 and in effect on September 1, 2013. This subsection
expires January 1, 2018.
SECTION 4. Sections 1051.353(b), (c), and (e), Occupations
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) A person whose certificate of registration has been
expired for 90 days or less may renew the certificate by paying to
the board a renewal fee that is equal to 1-1/2 times the [normally]
required renewal fee set by the board under Section 1051.651(b).
(c) A person whose certificate of registration has been
expired for more than 90 days but less than two years may renew the
certificate by paying to the board a renewal fee equal to two times
the [normally] required renewal fee set by the board under Section
1051.651(b).
(e) A person who was registered in this state, moved to
another state, and is currently licensed or registered and has been
in practice in the other state for the two years preceding the date
of the application may obtain a new certificate of registration
without reexamination. The person must pay to the board a fee that
is equal to two times the [normally] required renewal fee set by the
board under Section 1051.651(b) for the certificate of
registration.
SECTION 5. Subchapter G, Chapter 1051, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 1051.3531 to read as follows:
Sec. 1051.3531. CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION
REQUIREMENT FOR RENEWAL. (a) An applicant renewing a certificate
of registration shall submit a complete and legible set of
fingerprints for purposes of performing a criminal history check of
the applicant as provided by Section 1051.3041.
(b) The board may not renew the certificate of registration
of a person who does not comply with the requirement of Subsection
(a).
(c) A holder of a certificate of registration is not
required to submit fingerprints under this section for the renewal
of the certificate of registration if the holder has previously
submitted fingerprints under:
(1) Section 1051.3041 for the initial issuance of the
certificate of registration; or
(2) this section as part of a prior renewal of a
certificate of registration.
SECTION 6. Section 1051.452(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The amount of an administrative penalty may not exceed
$5,000 for each violation. Each day a violation continues or occurs
is a separate violation for purposes of imposing a penalty.
SECTION 7. Section 1051.652(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The fee for the issuance of a certificate of
registration under this chapter [to an applicant possessing a
license or certificate to practice architecture in another state]
and the fee for the renewal of a certificate of registration under
this chapter are increased by $200.
SECTION 8. Section 1053.158, Occupations Code, is repealed.
SECTION 9. (a) Not later than December 1, 2013, the Texas
Board of Architectural Examiners shall adopt rules necessary to
implement the changes in law made by this Act to Chapter 1051,
Occupations Code.
(b) Sections 1051.3041 and 1051.3531, Occupations Code, as
added by this Act, and Sections 1051.353 and 1051.652, Occupations
Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to an application for a
certificate of registration or renewal of a certificate of
registration filed with the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners
on or after January 1, 2014. An application filed before that date
is governed by the law in effect at the time the application was
filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(c) Section 1051.452(a), Occupations Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to a violation of Subtitle B, Title 6,
Occupations Code, committed on or after the effective date of this
Act. A violation committed before that date is governed by the law
in effect at the time the violation was committed, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
* * * * *