Section 327.031

Title XXII OCCUPATIONS AND PROFESSIONS

Chapter 327

Effective - 28 Aug 2014, 3 histories   

  327.031.  Board established, membership, officers, qualifications of members — how appointed — terms — vacancy, how filled — may sue and be sued. — 1.  The "Missouri Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors and Professional Landscape Architects" is hereby established and shall consist of fifteen members:  a chairperson, who may be either an architect, a professional engineer, a professional land surveyor, or a professional landscape architect; three architects, who shall constitute the architectural division of the board; four professional engineers, who shall constitute its professional engineering division; three professional land surveyors, who shall constitute its professional land surveying division; three professional landscape architects, who shall constitute its professional landscape architectural division; and a voting public member.

  2.  After receiving his or her commission and before entering upon the discharge of his or her official duties, each member of the board shall take, subscribe to and file in the office of the secretary of state the official oath required by the constitution.

  3.  The chairperson shall be the administrative and executive officer of the board, and it shall be his or her duty to supervise and expedite the work of the board and its divisions, and, at his or her election, when a tie exists between the divisions of the board, to break the tie by recording his or her vote for or against the action upon which the divisions are in disagreement.  Each member of the architectural division shall have one vote when voting on an action pending before the board; each member of the professional engineering division shall have one vote when voting on an action pending before the board; each member of the professional land surveying division shall have one vote when voting on an action pending before the board; and each member of the professional landscape architectural division shall have one vote when voting on an action pending before the board.  Every motion or proposed action upon which the divisions of the board are tied shall be deemed lost, and the chairperson shall so declare, unless the chairperson shall elect to break the tie as provided in this section.  Eight voting members of the board, including at least one member of each division, shall constitute a quorum, respectively, for the transaction of board business.

  4.  Each division of the board shall, at its first meeting in each even-numbered year, elect one of its members as division chairperson for a term of two years.  Two voting members of each division of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of division business.  The chairpersons of the architectural division, professional engineering division, professional land surveying division, and professional landscape architectural division so elected shall be vice chairpersons of the board, and when the chairperson of the board is an architect, the chairperson of the architectural division shall be the ranking vice chairperson, and when the chairperson of the board is a professional engineer, the chairperson of the professional engineering division shall be the ranking vice chairperson, when the chairperson of the board is a professional land surveyor, the chairperson of the professional land surveying division shall be the ranking vice chairperson, and when the chairperson of the board is a professional landscape architect, the chairperson of the professional landscape architectural division shall be the ranking vice chairperson.  The chairperson of each division shall be the administrative and executive officer of his or her division, and it shall be his or her duty to supervise and expedite the work of the division, and, in case of a tie vote on any matter, the chairperson shall, at his or her election, break the tie by his or her vote.  Every motion or question pending before the division upon which a tie exists shall be deemed lost, and so declared by the chairperson of the division, unless the chairperson shall elect to break such tie by his or her vote.

  5.  Any person appointed to the board, except a public member, shall be a currently licensed architect, licensed professional engineer, licensed professional land surveyor or licensed professional landscape architect in Missouri, as the vacancy on the board may require, who has been a resident of Missouri for at least five years, who has been engaged in active practice as an architect, professional engineer, professional land surveyor or professional landscape architect, as the case may be, for at least ten consecutive years as a Missouri licensee immediately preceding such person's appointment, and who is and has been a citizen of the United States for at least five years immediately preceding such person's appointment.  Active service as a faculty member while holding the rank of assistant professor or higher in an accredited school of engineering shall be regarded as active practice of engineering, for the purposes of this chapter.  Active service as a faculty member, after meeting the qualifications required by section 327.314, while holding the rank of assistant professor or higher in an accredited school of engineering and teaching land surveying courses shall be regarded as active practice of land surveying for the purposes of this chapter.  Active service as a faculty member while holding the rank of assistant professor or higher in an accredited school of landscape architecture shall be regarded as active practice of landscape architecture, for the purposes of this chapter.  Active service as a faculty member while holding the rank of assistant professor or higher in an accredited school of architecture shall be regarded as active practice of architecture for the purposes of this chapter; provided, however, that no faculty member of an accredited school of architecture shall be eligible for appointment to the board unless such person has had at least three years' experience in the active practice of architecture other than in teaching.  The public member shall be, at the time of appointment, a citizen of the United States; a resident of this state for a period of one year and a registered voter; a person who is not and never was a member of any profession licensed or regulated pursuant to this chapter or the spouse of such person; and a person who does not have and never has had a material, financial interest in either the providing of the professional services regulated by this chapter, or an activity or organization directly related to any profession licensed or regulated pursuant to this chapter.  All members, including public members, shall be chosen from lists submitted by the director of the division of professional registration.  The duties of the public member shall not include the determination of the technical requirements to be met for licensure or whether any person meets such technical requirements or of the technical competence or technical judgment of a licensee or a candidate for licensure.

  6.  The governor shall appoint the chairperson and the other members of the board when a vacancy occurs either by the expiration of a term or otherwise, and each board member shall serve until such member's successor is appointed and has qualified.  The position of chairperson shall rotate sequentially with an architect, then professional engineer, then professional land surveyor, then professional landscape architect, and shall be a licensee who has previously served as a member of the board.  The appointment of the chairperson shall be for a term of four years which shall be deemed to have begun on the date of his or her appointment and shall end upon the appointment of the chairperson's successor.  The chairperson shall not serve more than one term.  All other appointments, except to fill an unexpired term, shall be for terms of four years; but no person shall serve on the board for more than two consecutive four-year terms, and each four-year term shall be deemed to have begun on the date of the expiration of the term of the board member who is being replaced or reappointed, as the case may be.  Any appointment to the board which is made when the senate is not in session shall be submitted to the senate for its advice and consent at its next session following the date of the appointment.

  7.  In the event that a vacancy is to occur on the board because of the expiration of a term, then ninety days prior to the expiration, or as soon as feasible after a vacancy otherwise occurs, the president of the American Institute of Architects/Missouri if the vacancy to be filled requires the appointment of an architect, the president of the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers if the vacancy to be filled requires the appointment of a professional engineer, the president of the Missouri Society of Professional Surveyors if the vacancy to be filled requires the appointment of a professional land surveyor, and the president of the Missouri Association of Landscape Architects if the vacancy to be filled requires the appointment of a professional landscape architect, shall submit to the director of the division of professional registration a list of five architects or five professional engineers, or five professional land surveyors, or five professional landscape architects as the case may require, qualified and willing to fill the vacancy in question, with the recommendation that the governor appoint one of the five persons so listed; and with the list of names so submitted, the president of the appropriate organization shall include in a letter of transmittal a description of the method by which the names were chosen.  This subsection shall not apply to public member vacancies.

  8.  The board may sue and be sued as the Missouri board for architects, professional engineers, professional land surveyors and professional landscape architects, and its members need not be named as parties.  Members of the board shall not be personally liable either jointly or severally for any act or acts committed in the performance of their official duties as board members, nor shall any board member be personally liable for any court costs which accrue in any action by or against the board.

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(L. 1969 S.B. 117, A.L. 1981 S.B. 16, A.L. 1986 H.B. 1163, A.L. 1988 H.B. 1573, A.L. 1997 S.B. 141, A.L. 1999 H.B. 343, A.L. 2001 H.B. 567, A.L. 2010 H.B. 1692, et al. merged with H.B. 2226, et al., A.L. 2014 S.B. 809)