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Sub. S. B. No. 77As Reported by the House Commerce and Labor Committee
As Reported by the House Commerce and Labor Committee
124th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2001-2002 |
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SENATORS Coughlin, Amstutz, Armbruster, Robert Gardner, Mumper, Nein, Spada, Wachtmann
REPRESENTATIVES Williams, Kilbane, Collier, Rhine, Young, Lendrum
A BILL
To amend sections 4733.12 and 4733.16 of the Revised
Code to modify professional ownership and
management requirements a
business entity must
satisfy to obtain a
certificate of authorization
to
provide
professional engineering or surveying
services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 4733.12 and 4733.16 of the Revised
Code be amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 4733.12. (A) Applications for registration as a
professional engineer or professional surveyor shall be on forms
prescribed and furnished by the state board of registration for
professional engineers and surveyors, shall contain statements
made under oath setting forth the applicant's education, a
detailed summary of
his
the applicant's technical work, and the
branch in which
he
the applicant specializes, and shall contain
not less than
five references,
of whom three or more shall be
professional engineers or
professional surveyors having personal
knowledge of
his
the
applicant's
engineering or surveying
experience. The application shall be
accompanied by an
application fee, which shall be established by
the board at an
amount adequate to cover the costs of processing
the application. The examination fee for professional engineers, which shall
accompany the "notice of intention" for each scheduled first
stage
and second stage examination, shall be established by the
board at
an amount adequate to cover the expense of procuring,
administering, and grading the examination. The registration
fee,
which shall be paid after the applicant has passed both
examinations, shall be established by the board at an amount
adequate to cover the expense of issuing a certificate of
registration. The examination fee for professional surveyors, which shall
accompany the "notice of intention" for each scheduled first
stage
and second stage examination, shall be established by the
board at
an amount adequate to cover the expense of procuring,
administering, and grading the examination. The registration
fee,
which shall be paid after the applicant has passed both
examinations, shall be established by the board at an amount
adequate to cover the expense of issuing a certificate of
registration. (B) The board shall establish the fee for a certificate of
authorization issued under
division (F) of section 4733.16 of the
Revised Code in an amount not to exceed fifty dollars and the fee
for annual renewal of a certificate of authorization, not to
exceed twenty-five dollars. The fee for a duplicate certificate
of authorization is five dollars.
Sec. 4733.16. (A) A firm, partnership, association,
limited
liability company, or corporation may provide
professional
engineering or professional surveying services in
this state as
long as the services are provided only through
natural persons
registered to provide those services in the state,
subject to the
exemptions in sections 4733.17 and 4733.18 of the
Revised Code and
subject otherwise to the requirements of this
chapter. (B) No firm, partnership, association, limited liability
company, or corporation, except a corporation that was granted a
charter prior to August 7, 1943, to engage in providing
professional engineering or
professional surveying services
in
this state or that was otherwise lawfully
providing engineering
services
in this state prior to November 15,
1982, shall
engage in
providing
professional engineering or
professional
surveying
services, hold
itself out to the public as being engaged in
providing
professional
engineering or
professional surveying
services, or use a name including
one or
more of the words
"engineer," "engineering,"
or "surveyor,"
or
"surveying" or any
modification or derivation of those words,
unless the firm,
partnership, association, limited liability
company, or
corporation
obtains a certificate of authorization from the
state
board of registration for professional engineers and
surveyors and
files all information required to be
filed under this section with
the state board of registration for
professional engineers and
surveyors and otherwise complies with
all requirements of this
chapter. A nonprofit membership
corporation may use a name
including one or more of the words
"engineer," "engineering,"
"surveyor," or "surveying" or any
modification or derivation of
those words without complying with
this section. (C) A corporation may be organized under Chapter 1701. of
the Revised Code, a professional association may be organized
under Chapter 1785. of the Revised Code, or a limited liability
company may be formed under Chapter 1705. of the Revised Code for
the purpose of providing professional engineering, professional
surveying, architectural, or landscape architectural services or
any combination of those services. A corporation organized under
Chapter 1701. of the Revised Code for the purpose of providing
those services also may be organized for any other purpose in
accordance with that chapter. (D)
No firm, partnership, association, limited liability
company, or corporation shall provide or offer to provide
engineering or surveying services in
this state unless
more than
fifty per cent of the partners,
members, or shareholders, more
than fifty per cent of the
directors in the case of a corporation
or professional
association, and more than fifty per cent of the
managers in the
case of a limited liability company the
management
of which is not
reserved to its members, are
professional
engineers, professional
surveyors, architects, or
landscape
architects, or a combination
of those professions, who
are
registered in this state
and who
own more than fifty per
cent of
the interests in the firm,
partnership, association,
limited
liability company, or
corporation; unless the
requirements of this
division and of
section 1785.02 of the
Revised Code are satisfied
with respect to
any professional
association organized under
Chapter 1785. of the
Revised Code; or
unless the requirements of
this division and of
Chapter 1705. of
the Revised Code are
satisfied with respect to a
limited
liability company formed under
that chapter. (E) Each firm, partnership, association, limited liability
company, or corporation through which professional engineering or
professional surveying services are offered or provided in this
state shall designate one or more partners, managers, members,
officers, or directors as being
responsible for and in responsible
charge of the
professional engineering or professional surveying
activities and
decisions, and those designated persons shall be
registered in
this state. In the case of a corporation holding a
certificate
of
authorization
provided for in division
(F)(E) of
this section, at
least one of the persons so designated shall be a
director of the
corporation. Each firm, partnership, association,
limited
liability company, or corporation
of that type shall
annually
file
with the state board of registration for
professional
engineers
and surveyors
the name and address of each
partner,
manager,
officer, director, member, or shareholder, and
each
firm,
partnership, association, limited liability company, or
corporation of that type shall annually file with the board the
name
and address of
all owners and all persons designated as
being
in
responsible charge of the professional engineering or
professional surveying activities and decisions and any other
information the board may require.
If there is a change in any
such person in the interval between filings, the change shall be
filed with the board in the manner and within the time that the
board determines.
(F)
No corporation organized under Chapter 1701. of the
Revised Code shall engage in providing engineering or surveying
services in this state without obtaining a certificate of
authorization from the
(E) The state board of registration for
professional
engineers and surveyors. A corporation desiring a
certificate of
authorization shall file with the board a copy of
a
certificate of
good standing from the secretary of state and a
listing on the
form that the board directs of the names and
addresses of all
officers, directors, and shareholders of the
corporation, the
names and addresses of any individuals providing
professional
services on behalf of the corporation who are
registered to
practice professional engineering or professional
surveying in
this state, and any other information the board
requires. If all
requirements of this chapter are met, the board
may
shall issue a
certificate of authorization to
the
each firm, partnership,
association, limited liability company, or corporation
that
satisfies the requirements of this chapter, including providing
information that the board may require pursuant to division (D) of
this section.
No
certificate of authorization shall be issued
unless persons
owning
more than fifty per cent of the
corporation's shares and
more than
fifty per cent of the interests
in the corporation are
professional engineers, professional
surveyors, architects, or
landscape architects, or a combination
of those professions, who
are registered in this state. Any
corporation that holds a
certificate of authorization under this
section and that
otherwise
meets the requirements of this chapter
may be organized
for any
purposes for which corporations may be
organized under
Chapter
1701. of the Revised Code and shall not be
limited to the
purposes
of providing professional engineering,
surveying,
architectural,
or landscape architectural services or
any
combination of those
services. The board, by rules adopted in
accordance with Chapter
119. of the Revised Code, may require any
firm, partnership,
association, or limited liability company not
organized under
Chapter 1701. of the Revised Code that provides
engineering or
surveying services to obtain a certificate of
authorization. If
the board so requires, no firm, partnership,
association, or
limited liability company shall engage in
providing engineering or
surveying services without obtaining the
certificate and complying
with the rules. (G)(F) This section does not modify any law applicable to
the
relationship between a person furnishing a professional
service
and a person receiving that service, including liability
arising
out of that service.
(H)(G) Nothing in this section shall restrict or limit in
any
manner the authority or duty of the state board of
registration
for professional engineers and surveyors with respect
to natural
persons providing professional services or any law or
rule
pertaining to standards of professional conduct.
(I)(H) Corporations, partnerships, associations, limited
liability companies, or firms organized under the laws of another
state or country wishing to provide professional engineering or
professional surveying services shall obtain a certificate of
authorization and meet the applicable requirements of this
section.
Section 2. That existing sections 4733.12 and 4733.16 of the
Revised Code are
hereby repealed.
Section 3. In amending Chapter 4733. of the Revised Code in
this act and in all previous acts of the General Assembly from
June 2, 1988, through the effective date of this act, it is the
intent of the General Assembly to reflect and accept the holding
of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas in S.E.A., Inc. v.
State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and
Surveyors (Franklin Cty. C.P., June 2, 1988), No. 86CV-05-2754,
unreported, that Chapter 4733. of the Revised Code does not apply
to the business activities of the firms or their successors as
described in that case.
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