Florida Senate - 2014 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 404
Ì902008{Î902008
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: WD .
01/17/2014 .
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following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5
6 Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 492.104, Florida
7 Statutes, is amended to read
8 492.104 Rulemaking authority.—The Board of Professional
9 Geologists has authority to adopt rules pursuant to ss.
10 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this chapter. Every licensee
11 shall be governed and controlled by this chapter and the rules
12 adopted by the board. The board is authorized to set, by rule,
13 fees for application, examination, certificate of authorization,
14 late renewal, initial licensure, and license renewal. These fees
15 should not exceed the cost of implementing the application,
16 examination, initial licensure, and license renewal or other
17 administrative process and shall be established as follows:
18 (2) The examination fee shall not exceed $250 and the fee
19 may be apportioned to each part of a multi-part examination. The
20 examination fee shall be refundable in whole or part if the
21 applicant is found to be ineligible to take any portion of the
22 licensure examination.
23 Section 2. Paragraphs (d) and (e) of subsection (1) of
24 section 492.105, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
25 492.105 Licensure by examination; requirements; fees.—
26 (1) Any person desiring to be licensed as a professional
27 geologist shall apply to the department to take the licensure
28 examination. The written licensure examination shall be designed
29 to test an applicant’s qualifications to practice professional
30 geology, and shall include such subjects as will tend to
31 ascertain the applicant’s knowledge of the fundamentals, theory,
32 and the practice of professional geology and may include such
33 subjects as are taught in curricula of accredited colleges and
34 universities. The written licensure examination may be a multi
35 part examination. The department shall examine each applicant
36 who the board certifies:
37 (d) Has fulfilled Fulfills the following educational
38 requirements at a college or university, the geological
39 curricula of which meet the criteria established by an
40 accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of
41 Education:
42 1. Graduation from such college or university with a major
43 in geology or other related science acceptable to the board; and
44 2. Satisfactory completion of at least 30 semester hours or
45 45 quarter hours of geological coursework courses, 24 of which
46 must be at the third or fourth year or graduate level.
47 (e) Has at least 5 7 years of verified professional
48 geological work experience, which includes shall include a
49 minimum of 3 years of professional geological work under the
50 supervision of a licensed or qualified geologist or professional
51 engineer registered under chapter 471 as qualified in the field
52 or discipline of professional engineering work performed
53 involved; or has have a minimum of 5 accumulative years of
54 verified geological work years’ experience in responsible charge
55 of geological work as determined by the board. The following
56 criteria of education and experience qualify, as specified,
57 toward accumulation of the required 7 years of professional
58 geological work:
59 1. Each year of undergraduate study in the geological
60 sciences shall count as 1/2 year of the experience requirement,
61 up to a maximum of 2 years, and each year of graduate study
62 shall count as 1 year of the experience requirement.
63 2. Credit for undergraduate study, graduate study, and
64 graduate courses, individually or in any combination thereof,
65 shall in no case exceed a total of 2 years toward meeting the
66 requirements for at least 7 years of professional geological
67 work.
68 3. Full-time teaching or research in the geological
69 sciences at the college level shall be credited year for year
70 toward meeting the requirement in this category.
71 4. The ability of the applicant shall have been
72 demonstrated by his or her having performed the work in a
73 responsible position as determined by the board.
74 Section 3. Section 492.1051, Florida Statutes, is created
75 to read:
76 492.1051 Registered geologist in training; requirements.—
77 (1) A person desiring to register as a geologist in
78 training shall apply to the department to take the fundamentals
79 of geology portion of the examination required for licensure as
80 a professional geologist in this state. The department shall
81 examine each applicant who the board certifies:
82 (a) Has completed the application form and remitted a
83 nonrefundable application fee and an examination fee that is
84 refundable if the applicant is found to be ineligible to take
85 the examination.
86 (b) Has not committed an act or offense in any jurisdiction
87 which constitutes grounds for disciplining a professional
88 geologist licensed under this chapter; and
89 (c) Has successfully completed at least 30 semester hours
90 or 45 quarter hours of geological coursework at a college or
91 university, the geological curricula of which meet the criteria
92 established by an accrediting agency recognized by the United
93 States Department of Education and, if still enrolled, has
94 provided a letter of good academic standing from the college or
95 university.
96 (2) The department shall register as a geologist in
97 training each applicant who the board certifies has passed the
98 fundamentals of geology portion of the licensure examination.
99 (3) A registered geologist in training desiring to be
100 licensed as a professional geologist shall apply to the
101 department to take the licensure examination as prescribed in s.
102 492.105(1), but is not required to retake the fundamentals of
103 geology portion of the licensure examination.
104 Section 4. This act shall take effect October 1, 2014.
105
106 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
107 And the title is amended as follows:
108 Delete everything before the enacting clause
109 and insert:
110 A bill to be entitled
111 An act relating to professional geology; amending s.
112 492.104, F.S.; providing for apportionment of
113 examination fees; amending s. 492.105, F.S.; revising
114 examination requirements for professional geologists;
115 creating s. 492.1051, F.S.; providing requirements for
116 registration as a geologist-in-training; requiring
117 geologist-in-training applicants to successfully
118 complete the fundamentals of geology portion of the
119 licensure examination; requiring an application fee
120 and a refundable examination fee; requiring the
121 Department of Business and Professional Regulation to
122 submit each completed application to the Board of
123 Professional Geologists for certification; setting
124 forth the criteria the board may use to certify
125 applicants; requiring the department to register each
126 person as a geologist-in-training whom the board
127 certifies has successfully completed the fundamentals
128 portion of the geology examination; exempting
129 registered geologist-in-training seeking licensure as
130 a professional geologist from retaking the
131 fundamentals of geology portion of the examination;
132 providing an effective date.