Enrolled Bill Summary

            House Bill 1248 amends the laws regulating the practice of architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design relating to registration, continuing education, fees, and administrative penalties. The act requires rather than authorizes the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners to mandate proof of continuing education for architects, interior designers, and landscape architects. It provides for the registration and use of appropriate seals by landscape architects and authorizes the board to accept payment for fees by electronic means. The act eliminates certain fees and fee levels, replacing them with board-approved fees that are necessary and reasonable to cover administrative expenses. The act provides for changes to procedures relating to the application of administrative penalties, the board's power to investigate violations, the elimination of the architectural examiners fund, the rules regulating the submission of competitive bids, exemptions from continuing education, and rules regarding the inactive status of a registered professional. The act also provides that $10 of each certificate of registration renewal fee be deposited to the credit of a scholarship fund for architectural examination applicants.