327.031. Board established, membership, officers, qualifications of members--how appointed--terms--vacancy, how filled--may sue and be sued--abolishment of council--transfer of powers, duties and fund - Missouri Statutes

Board established, membership, officers, qualifications ofmembers--how appointed--terms--vacancy, how filled--may sue andbe sued--abolishment of council--transfer of powers, duties andfunds.

327.031. 1. The "Missouri Board for Architects, ProfessionalEngineers, Professional Land Surveyors and Landscape Architects" is herebyestablished and shall consist of fourteen members: a chairperson, who maybe either an architect, a professional engineer or a professional landsurveyor; three architects, who shall constitute the architectural divisionof the board; three professional engineers, who shall constitute itsprofessional engineering division; three professional land surveyors, whoshall constitute its professional land surveying division; three landscapearchitects, who shall constitute its landscape architecture division; and avoting public member.

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

3. The chairperson shall be the administrative and executive officerof the board, and it shall be his or her duty to supervise and expedite thework of the board and its divisions, and, at his or her election, when atie exists between the divisions of the board, to break the tie byrecording his or her vote for or against the action upon which thedivisions are in disagreement. Each member of the architectural divisionshall have one vote when voting on an action pending before the board; eachmember of the professional engineering division shall have one vote whenvoting on an action pending before the board; the chairperson of thelandscape architecture division or the chairperson's designee shall haveone vote when voting on an action pending before the board; and each memberof the professional land surveying division shall have one vote when votingon an action pending before the board. Every motion or proposed actionupon which the divisions of the board are tied shall be deemed lost, andthe chairperson shall so declare, unless the chairperson shall elect tobreak the tie as provided in this section. Seven voting members of theboard and two members of each division shall constitute a quorum,respectively, for the transaction of business.

4. Each division of the board shall, at its first meeting in eacheven-numbered year, elect one of its members as division chairperson for aterm of two years. The chairpersons of the architectural division,professional engineering division and the professional land surveyingdivision so elected shall be vice chairpersons of the board, and when thechairperson of the board is an architect, the chairperson of thearchitectural division shall be the ranking vice chairperson, and when thechairperson of the board is a professional engineer, the chairperson of theprofessional engineering division shall be the ranking vice chairperson,and when the chairperson of the board is a professional land surveyor, thechairperson of the professional land surveying division shall be theranking vice chairperson. The chairperson of each division shall be theadministrative and executive officer of his or her division, and it shallbe 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 herelection, break the tie by his or her vote. Every motion or questionpending before the division upon which a tie exists shall be deemed lost,and so declared by the chairperson of the division, unless the chairpersonshall elect to break such tie by his or her vote.

5. Any person appointed to the board, except a public member, shallbe a currently licensed architect, licensed professional engineer, licensedprofessional land surveyor or registered or licensed landscape architect inMissouri, as the vacancy on the board may require, who has been a residentof Missouri for at least five years, who has been engaged in activepractice as an architect, professional engineer, professional land surveyoror landscape architect, as the case may be, for at least ten consecutiveyears immediately preceding such person's appointment and who is and hasbeen a citizen of the United States for at least five years immediatelypreceding such person's appointment. Active service as a faculty memberwhile holding the rank of assistant professor or higher in an accreditedschool 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 holdingthe rank of assistant professor or higher in an accredited school ofengineering and teaching land surveying courses shall be regarded an activepractice of land surveying for the purposes of this chapter. Activeservice as a faculty member while holding the rank of assistant professoror higher in an accredited school of architecture shall be regarded asactive practice of architecture for the purposes of this chapter; provided,however, that no faculty member of an accredited school of architectureshall be eligible for appointment to the board unless such person has hadat least three years' experience in the active practice of architectureother than in teaching. The public member shall be, at the time ofappointment, a citizen of the United States; a resident of this state for aperiod of one year and a registered voter; a person who is not and neverwas a member of any profession licensed or regulated pursuant to thischapter or the spouse of such person; and a person who does not have andnever has had a material, financial interest in either the providing of theprofessional services regulated by this chapter, or an activity ororganization directly related to any profession licensed or regulatedpursuant to this chapter. All members, including public members, shall bechosen from lists submitted by the director of the division of professionalregistration. The duties of the public member shall not include thedetermination of the technical requirements to be met for licensure orwhether any person meets such technical requirements or of the technicalcompetence or technical judgment of a licensee or a candidate forlicensure.

6. The governor shall appoint the chairperson and the other membersof the board when a vacancy occurs either by the expiration of a term orotherwise, and each board member shall serve until such member's successoris appointed and has qualified. The position of chairperson shallalternate among an architect, a professional engineer and a professionalland surveyor. All appointments, except to fill an unexpired term, shallbe for terms of four years; but no person shall serve on the board for morethan two consecutive four-year terms, and each four-year term shall bedeemed to have begun on the date of the expiration of the term of the boardmember who is being replaced or reappointed, as the case may be. Anyappointment to the board which is made when the senate is not in sessionshall be submitted to the senate for its advice and consent at its nextsession following the date of the appointment.

7. In the event that a vacancy is to occur on the board because ofthe expiration of a term, then ninety days prior to the expiration, or assoon as feasible after a vacancy otherwise occurs, the president of theAmerican Institute of Architects/Missouri if the vacancy to be filledrequires the appointment of an architect, the president of the MissouriAssociation of Landscape Architects if the vacancy to be filled requiresthe appointment of a landscape architect, the president of the MissouriSociety of Professional Engineers if the vacancy to be filled requires theappointment of an engineer, and the president of the Missouri Society ofProfessional Surveyors if the vacancy to be filled requires the appointmentof a land surveyor, shall submit to the director of the division ofprofessional registration a list of five architects or five professionalengineers, five landscape architects or five professional land surveyors,as the case may require, qualified and willing to fill the vacancy inquestion, with the recommendation that the governor appoint one of the fivepersons so listed; and with the list of names so submitted, the presidentof the appropriate organization shall include in a letter of transmittal adescription of the method by which the names were chosen. This subsectionshall not apply to public member vacancies.

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

9. Upon appointment by the governor and confirmation by the senate ofthe landscape architecture division, the landscape architectural council ishereby abolished and all of its powers, duties and responsibilities aretransferred to and imposed upon the Missouri board for architects,professional engineers, professional land surveyors and landscapearchitects established pursuant to this section. Every act performed by orunder the authority of the Missouri board for architects, professionalengineers, professional land surveyors and landscape architects shall bedeemed to have the same force and effect as if performed by the landscapearchitectural council pursuant to sections 327.600 to 327.635. All rulesand regulations of the landscape architectural council shall continue ineffect and shall be deemed to be duly adopted rules and regulations of theMissouri board of architects, professional engineers, professionallandscape architects and land surveyors until such rules and regulationsare revised, amended or repealed by the board as provided by law, suchaction to be taken by the board on or before January 1, 2002.

10. Upon appointment by the governor and confirmation by the senateof the landscape architecture division, all moneys deposited in thelandscape architectural council fund created in section 327.625 shall betransferred to the state board for architects, professional engineers,professional land surveyors and landscape architects fund created insection 327.081. The landscape architectural council fund shall beabolished upon the transfer of all moneys in it to the state board ofarchitects, professional engineers, land surveyors and landscapearchitects.

(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)

CROSS REFERENCE:

Public member, additional duties, RSMo 620.132