LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS:

CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENT

House Bill 4553

Sponsor:  Rep. Greg MacMaster

Committee:  Regulatory Reform

Complete to 5-9-11

A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 4553 AS INTRODUCED 4-13-11

House Bill 4553 would amend Article 22 of the Occupational Code to  require continuing education requirements be met before a landscape architect's license can be renewed.

Public Act 490 of 2008 created new licensing requirements for landscape architects. Previously they had only been required to register with the department.  Currently, individuals are required to demonstrate a continuing professional competence in order for their licenses to be renewed. 

Under this legislation, a licensee would no longer need to demonstrate continuing professional competence.  Instead, the department would require the licensee to demonstrate to its satisfaction that he or she has met any continuing education requirements as provided for by rule of the director.

MCL 339.2203 and 339.2205

FISCAL IMPACT:

The bill would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.  The impact would depend on the continuing education requirements ultimately established by the department, and the extent to which those requirements would be reviewed and verified by the department.   

The rule promulgation process entails some costs to the department (the Bureau of Commercial Services and the Office of Regulatory Reinvention), as it must provide notice of the public hearing required on proposed rules, and publish proposed and final rules in the Michigan Register under the Administrative Procedures Act.  In addition to the typical publication expenses such as formatting and editing the Michigan Register and preparing it for publication, as well as publishing the Michigan Register on the Internet, the department's expenses also include expenses related to legal review of rules by ORR, as well as ORR's review and collection of all required documents for publication from the department, the Executive Office, and the Legislative Service Bureau.  Those expenses would be covered within the department's existing appropriation. 

Beyond that, however, any resulting impact on the DELEG-Bureau of Commercial Services relative to the administration and enforcement of the continuing education requirements is indeterminate, depending on the requirements ultimately proposed, and the bureau's method of ensuring compliance.  For instance, for real estate brokers, the bureau relies on information on continuing education compliance provided by course sponsors.  For other occupations, such as accountants, the bureau conducts random audits of renewal applications to determine compliance with continuing education requirements.  In any event, the cost implications to the department, governmental units, and regulated entities would be discussed as part of the agency's Regulatory Impact Statement. 

                                                                                           Legislative Analyst:   Jeff Stoutenburg

                                                                                                  Fiscal Analyst:   Mark Wolf

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.