By: Price (Senate Sponsor - Nichols) H.B. No. 1717
         (In the Senate - Received from the House April 24, 2013;
  April 25, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on
  Business and Commerce; May 7, 2013, reported favorably by the
  following vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 7, 2013, sent to printer.)
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the continuation and functions of the Texas Board of
  Architectural Examiners; changing certain fees.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 1051.003, Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 1051.003.  APPLICATION OF SUNSET ACT.  The Texas Board
  of Architectural Examiners is subject to Chapter 325, Government
  Code (Texas Sunset Act).  Unless continued in existence as provided
  by that chapter, the board is abolished and this subtitle expires
  September 1, 2025 [2013].
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter F, Chapter 1051, Occupations Code, is
  amended by adding Section 1051.3041 to read as follows:
         Sec. 1051.3041.  CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION
  REQUIREMENT FOR REGISTRATION. (a)  The board shall require that an
  applicant for a certificate of registration submit a complete and
  legible set of fingerprints, on a form prescribed by the board, to
  the board or to the Department of Public Safety for the purpose of
  obtaining criminal history record information from the Department
  of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
         (b)  The board may not issue a certificate of registration to
  a person who does not comply with the requirement of Subsection (a).
         (c)  The board shall conduct a criminal history check of each
  applicant for a certificate of registration using information:
               (1)  provided by the individual under this section; and
               (2)  made available to the board by the Department of
  Public Safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and any other
  criminal justice agency under Chapter 411, Government Code.
         (d)  The board may:
               (1)  enter into an agreement with the Department of
  Public Safety to administer a criminal history check required under
  this section; and
               (2)  authorize the Department of Public Safety to
  collect from each applicant the costs incurred by the Department of
  Public Safety in conducting the criminal history check.
         SECTION 3.  Section 1051.351, Occupations Code, is amended
  by adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
         (c-1)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a person who holds a
  certificate of registration issued under Chapter 1053 without
  examination may not renew the certificate on or after September 1,
  2016, unless, before September 1, 2016, the person has passed the
  registration examination adopted by the board under Section
  1053.154 and in effect on September 1, 2013. This subsection
  expires January 1, 2018. 
         SECTION 4.  Sections 1051.353(b), (c), and (e), Occupations
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  A person whose certificate of registration has been
  expired for 90 days or less may renew the certificate by paying to
  the board a renewal fee that is equal to 1-1/2 times the [normally]
  required renewal fee set by the board under Section 1051.651(b).
         (c)  A person whose certificate of registration has been
  expired for more than 90 days but less than two years may renew the
  certificate by paying to the board a renewal fee equal to two times
  the [normally] required renewal fee set by the board under Section
  1051.651(b).
         (e)  A person who was registered in this state, moved to
  another state, and is currently licensed or registered and has been
  in practice in the other state for the two years preceding the date
  of the application may obtain a new certificate of registration
  without reexamination. The person must pay to the board a fee that
  is equal to two times the [normally] required renewal fee set by the
  board under Section 1051.651(b) for the certificate of
  registration.
         SECTION 5.  Subchapter G, Chapter 1051, Occupations Code, is
  amended by adding Section 1051.3531 to read as follows:
         Sec. 1051.3531.  CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION
  REQUIREMENT FOR RENEWAL. (a)  An applicant renewing a certificate
  of registration shall submit a complete and legible set of
  fingerprints for purposes of performing a criminal history check of
  the applicant as provided by Section 1051.3041.
         (b)  The board may not renew the certificate of registration
  of a person who does not comply with the requirement of Subsection
  (a).
         (c)  A holder of a certificate of registration is not
  required to submit fingerprints under this section for the renewal
  of the certificate of registration if the holder has previously
  submitted fingerprints under:
               (1)  Section 1051.3041 for the initial issuance of the
  certificate of registration; or
               (2)  this section as part of a prior renewal of a
  certificate of registration. 
         SECTION 6.  Section 1051.452(a), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The amount of an administrative penalty may not exceed
  $5,000 for each violation. Each day a violation continues or occurs
  is a separate violation for purposes of imposing a penalty.
         SECTION 7.  Section 1051.652(a), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The fee for the issuance of a certificate of
  registration under this chapter [to an applicant possessing a
  license or certificate to practice architecture in another state]
  and the fee for the renewal of a certificate of registration under
  this chapter are increased by $200.
         SECTION 8.  Section 1053.158, Occupations Code, is repealed.
         SECTION 9.  (a)  Not later than December 1, 2013, the Texas
  Board of Architectural Examiners shall adopt rules necessary to
  implement the changes in law made by this Act to Chapter 1051,
  Occupations Code.
         (b)  Sections 1051.3041 and 1051.3531, Occupations Code, as
  added by this Act, and Sections 1051.353 and 1051.652, Occupations
  Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to an application for a
  certificate of registration or renewal of a certificate of
  registration filed with the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners
  on or after January 1, 2014. An application filed before that date
  is governed by the law in effect at the time the application was
  filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         (c)  Section 1051.452(a), Occupations Code, as amended by
  this Act, applies only to a violation of Subtitle B, Title 6,
  Occupations Code, committed on or after the effective date of this
  Act. A violation committed before that date is governed by the law
  in effect at the time the violation was committed, and the former
  law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 10.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
 
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