98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
SB3488

 

Introduced 2/14/2014, by Sen. Iris Y. Martinez

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
225 ILCS 305/9  from Ch. 111, par. 1309
225 ILCS 305/12  from Ch. 111, par. 1312
225 ILCS 305/21  from Ch. 111, par. 1321

    Amends the Illinois Architecture Practice Act of 1989. Removes a provision stating that a member's service on the Illinois Architecture Licensing Board that occurred prior to the effective date of the Act shall not be considered in determining the length of his or her consecutive years of service. Further provides that an applicant for licensure under the Act shall be required to complete certain experience requirements in addition to the examination requirements under the Act, and that he or she has one year from the date of notification of successful completion of all examination and experience requirements to apply to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation for a license. Includes a professional land surveyor in the definition of "Illinois licensed design professional". Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Architecture Practice Act of 1989
5is amended by changing Sections 9, 12, and 21 as follows:
 
6    (225 ILCS 305/9)  (from Ch. 111, par. 1309)
7    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2020)
8    Sec. 9. Creation of the Board. The Director shall appoint
9an Architecture Licensing Board which will consist of 6
10members. Five members shall be licensed architects, one of whom
11shall be a tenured member of the architectural faculty of an
12Illinois public university accredited by the National
13Architectural Accrediting Board. The other 4 shall be licensed
14architects, residing in this State, who have been engaged in
15the practice of architecture at least 10 years. In addition to
16the 5 licensed architects, there shall be one public member.
17The public member shall be a voting member and shall not hold a
18license as an architect, professional engineer, structural
19engineer or land surveyor.
20    Board members shall serve 5 year terms and until their
21successors are appointed and qualified. In making the
22designation of persons to the Board, the Director shall give
23due consideration to recommendations by members and

 

 

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1organizations of the profession.
2    The membership of the Board should reasonably reflect
3representation from the geographic areas in this State.
4    No member shall be reappointed to the Board for a term
5which would cause his or her continuous service on the Board to
6be longer than 10 successive years. Service prior to the
7effective date of this Act shall not be considered.
8    Appointments to fill vacancies shall be made in the same
9manner as original appointments, for the unexpired portion of
10the vacated term. Initial terms shall begin upon the effective
11date of this Act and Board members in office on that date under
12the predecessor Act may be appointed to specific terms as
13indicated in this Section.
14    Persons holding office as members of the Board under the
15Illinois Architecture Act immediately prior to the effective
16date of this Act shall continue as members of the Board under
17this Act until the expiration of the term for which they were
18appointed and until their successors are appointed and
19qualified.
20    Four members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. A
21quorum is required for Board decisions.
22    The Director may remove any member of the Board for
23misconduct, incompetence, neglect of duty, or for reasons
24prescribed by law for removal of State officials.
25    The Director may remove a member of the Board who does not
26attend 2 consecutive meetings.

 

 

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1    Notice of proposed rulemaking shall be transmitted to the
2Board and the Department shall review the response of the Board
3and any recommendations made therein. The Department may, at
4any time, seek the expert advice and knowledge of the Board on
5any matter relating to the administration or enforcement of
6this Act.
7    Members of the Board are immune from suit in any action
8based upon any disciplinary proceedings or other activities
9performed in good faith as members of the Board.
10(Source: P.A. 96-610, eff. 8-24-09.)
 
11    (225 ILCS 305/12)  (from Ch. 111, par. 1312)
12    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2020)
13    Sec. 12. Examinations; subjects; failure or refusal to take
14examination. The Department shall authorize examination of
15applicants as architects at such times and places as it may
16determine. The examination shall be in English and shall be
17written or written and graphic. It shall include at a minimum
18the following subjects:
19        (a) pre-design (environmental analysis, architectural
20    programming, and application of principles of project
21    management and coordination);
22        (b) site planning (site analysis, design and
23    development, parking, and application of zoning
24    requirements);
25        (c) building planning (conceptual planning of

 

 

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1    functional and space relationships, building design,
2    interior space layout, barrier-free design, and the
3    application of the life safety code requirements and
4    principles of energy efficient design);
5        (d) building technology (application of structural
6    systems, building components, and mechanical and
7    electrical systems);
8        (e) general structures (identification, resolution,
9    and incorporation of structural systems and the long span
10    design on the technical aspects of the design of buildings
11    and the process and construction);
12        (f) lateral forces (identification and resolution of
13    the effects of lateral forces on the technical aspects of
14    the design of buildings and the process of construction);
15        (g) mechanical and electrical systems (as applied to
16    the design of buildings, including plumbing and acoustical
17    systems);
18        (h) materials and methods (as related to the design of
19    buildings and the technical aspects of construction); and
20        (i) construction documents and services (conduct of
21    architectural practice as it relates to construction
22    documents, bidding, and construction administration and
23    contractual documents from beginning to end of a building
24    project).
25    It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to be
26familiar with this Act and its rules.

 

 

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1    Examination subject matter headings and bases on which
2examinations are graded shall be indicated in rules pertaining
3to this Act. The Department may adopt the examinations and
4grading procedures of the National Council of Architectural
5Registration Boards. Content of any particular examination
6shall not be considered public record under the Freedom of
7Information Act.
8    If an applicant neglects without an approved excuse or
9refuses to take the next available examination offered for
10licensure under this Act, the fee paid by the applicant shall
11be forfeited. If an applicant fails to pass an examination for
12licensure under this Act within 3 years after filing an
13application, the application shall be denied. The applicant
14may, however, make a new application for examination
15accompanied by the required fee and must furnish proof of
16meeting the qualifications for examination in effect at the
17time of the new application.
18    An applicant shall have 5 years from the passage of the
19first examination to successfully complete all examinations
20required by rule of the Department.
21    The Department may by rule prescribe additional subjects
22for examination.
23    An applicant has one year from the date of notification of
24successful completion of all the examination and experience
25requirements to apply to the Department for a license. If an
26applicant fails to apply within one year, the applicant shall

 

 

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1be required to again take and pass the examination, unless the
2Department, upon recommendation of the Board, determines that
3there is sufficient cause for the delay that is not due to the
4fault of the applicant.
5(Source: P.A. 96-610, eff. 8-24-09.)
 
6    (225 ILCS 305/21)  (from Ch. 111, par. 1321)
7    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2020)
8    Sec. 21. Professional design firm registration;
9conditions.
10    (a) Nothing in this Act shall prohibit the formation, under
11the provisions of the Professional Service Corporation Act, of
12a corporation to offer the practice of architecture.
13    Any business, including a Professional Service
14Corporation, that includes the practice of architecture within
15its stated purposes, practices architecture, or holds itself
16out as available to practice architecture shall register with
17the Department under this Section. Any professional service
18corporation, sole proprietorship, or professional design firm
19offering architectural services must have a resident architect
20in responsible charge of the architectural practices in each
21location in which architectural services are provided who shall
22be designated as a managing agent.
23    Any sole proprietorship not owned and operated by an
24Illinois licensed design professional licensed under this Act
25shall be prohibited from offering architectural services to the

 

 

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1public. "Illinois licensed design professional" means a person
2who holds an active license as an architect under this Act, as
3a structural engineer under the Structural Engineering
4Practice Act of 1989, or as a professional engineer under the
5Professional Engineering Practice Act of 1989, or as a
6professional land surveyor under the Professional Land
7Surveyor Act of 1989. Any sole proprietorship owned and
8operated by an architect with an active license issued under
9this Act and conducting or transacting such business under an
10assumed name in accordance with the provisions of the Assumed
11Business Name Act shall comply with the registration
12requirements of a professional design firm. Any sole
13proprietorship owned and operated by an architect with an
14active license issued under this Act and conducting or
15transacting such business under the real name of the sole
16proprietor is exempt from the registration requirements of a
17professional design firm.
18    (b) Any corporation, including a Professional Service
19Corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or
20professional design firm seeking to be registered under this
21Section shall not be registered unless:
22        (1) two-thirds of the board of directors, in the case
23    of a corporation, or two-thirds of the general partners, in
24    the case of a partnership, or two-thirds of the members, in
25    the case of a limited liability company, are licensed under
26    the laws of any State to practice architecture,

 

 

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1    professional engineering, land surveying, or structural
2    engineering; and
3        (2) a managing agent is (A) a director in the case of a
4    corporation, a general partner in the case of a
5    partnership, or a member in the case of a limited liability
6    company, and (B) holds a license under this Act.
7    Any corporation, limited liability company, professional
8service corporation, or partnership qualifying under this
9Section and practicing in this State shall file with the
10Department any information concerning its officers, directors,
11members, managers, partners or beneficial owners as the
12Department may, by rule, require.
13    (c) No business shall offer the practice or hold itself out
14as available to offer the practice of architecture until it is
15registered with the Department. Every entity registered as a
16professional design firm shall display its certificate of
17registration or a facsimile thereof in a conspicuous place in
18each office offering architectural services.
19    (d) Any business seeking to be registered under this
20Section shall make application on a form provided by the
21Department and shall provide any information requested by the
22Department, which shall include but shall not be limited to all
23of the following:
24        (1) The name and architect's license number of at least
25    one person designated as the managing agent. In the case of
26    a corporation, the corporation shall also submit a

 

 

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1    certified copy of the resolution by the board of directors
2    designating at least one managing agent. If a limited
3    liability company, the company shall submit a certified
4    copy of either its articles of organization or operating
5    agreement designating at least one managing agent.
6        (2) The names and architect's, professional
7    engineer's, structural engineer's, or land surveyor's
8    license numbers of the directors, in the case of a
9    corporation, the members, in the case of a limited
10    liability company, or general partners, in the case of a
11    partnership.
12        (3) A list of all locations at which the professional
13    design firm provides architectural services.
14        (4) A list of all assumed names of the business.
15    Nothing in this Section shall be construed to exempt a
16    business from compliance with the requirements of the
17    Assumed Business Name Act.
18    It is the responsibility of the professional design firm to
19provide the Department notice, in writing, of any changes in
20the information requested on the application.
21    (e) In the event a managing agent is terminated or
22terminates his or her status as managing agent of the
23professional design firm, the managing agent and professional
24design firm shall notify the Department of this fact in
25writing, by certified mail, within 10 business days of
26termination.

 

 

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1    Thereafter, the professional design firm, if it has so
2informed the Department, has 30 days in which to notify the
3Department of the name and architect's license number of the
4architect who is the newly designated managing agent. If a
5corporation, the corporation shall also submit a certified copy
6of a resolution by the board of directors designating the new
7managing agent. If a limited liability company, the company
8shall also submit a certified copy of either its articles of
9organization or operating agreement designating the new
10managing agent. The Department may, upon good cause shown,
11extend the original 30 day period.
12    If the professional design firm has not notified the
13Department in writing, by certified mail within the specified
14time, the registration shall be terminated without prior
15hearing. Notification of termination shall be sent by certified
16mail to the address of record. If the professional design firm
17continues to operate and offer architectural services after the
18termination, the Department may seek prosecution under
19Sections 22, 36, and 36a of this Act for the unlicensed
20practice of architecture.
21    (f) No professional design firm shall be relieved of
22responsibility for the conduct or acts of its agents,
23employees, or officers by reason of its compliance with this
24Section, nor shall any individual practicing architecture be
25relieved of the responsibility for professional services
26performed by reason of the individual's employment or

 

 

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1relationship with a professional design firm registered under
2this Section.
3    (g) Disciplinary action against a professional design firm
4registered under this Section shall be administered in the same
5manner and on the same grounds as disciplinary action against a
6licensed architect. All disciplinary action taken or pending
7against a corporation or partnership before the effective date
8of this amendatory Act of 1993 shall be continued or remain in
9effect without the Department filing separate actions.
10(Source: P.A. 96-610, eff. 8-24-09.)
 
11    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
12becoming law.