STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1536
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 9, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CYMBROWITZ, SCARBOROUGH, CASTRO -- Multi-Spon-
sored by -- M. of A. LENTOL -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to licensing consequences
for architects or engineers who seriously abuse their self-certifica-
tion privileges
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 6509 of the education law is amended by adding a
2 new subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
3 (2-a) Serious abuse of the professional certification program of the
4 city of New York. Where the education law makes a distinction between
5 mere violations of the standards of New York city's professional certif-
6 ication program for registered design professionals and a serious abuse
7 of such program, the term "serious abuse" shall mean that the registered
8 design professional has:
9 (a) knowingly or recklessly certified documents that contained false
10 information or documents that were not in compliance with applicable
11 law; or
12 (b) certified two applications within any twelve month period that
13 contained errors that resulted in the revocation of an associated permit
14 or that otherwise demonstrated a lack of knowledge of or disregard for
15 applicable laws; or
16 (c) certified an application or construction documents while on
17 probation as imposed by the board of regents pursuant to section sixty-
18 five hundred eleven of this subpart.
19 § 2. Section 6510 of the education law is amended by adding a new
20 subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
21 2-a. Serious abuse of the professional certification program of the
22 city of New York.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06196-01-3
A. 1536 2
1 a. Notice to the state department of education. The New York city
2 department of buildings is required to provide written notice to the
3 department of any professional engineer or registered architect who was
4 the subject of any disciplinary proceeding where there has been an
5 adverse determination or sanction by the department including any
6 settlement agreement that is reached between the parties that resulted
7 in a sanction of self-certification privileges being imposed by the
8 department. Such notice shall be sent within ten business days after a
9 determination is made in any such disciplinary proceeding or after a
10 settlement of such proceeding has been reached, and shall include the
11 name, and business firm name and address of such licensed professional,
12 as well as any supporting documentation for the sanction imposed.
13 b. Automatic suspension for serious abuses. Where the department has
14 received written notice from the department of buildings of the city of
15 New York, pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision, that a profes-
16 sional engineer or registered architect has been sanctioned or agreed to
17 surrender his or her self-certification privileges following a discipli-
18 nary proceeding, and where a state professional conduct officer deter-
19 mines that the licensed professional's actions constitute a serious
20 abuse of the professional certification program of the city of New York,
21 as defined in section sixty-five hundred nine of this subpart, the board
22 of regents shall immediately suspend the design professional's licence
23 pending a hearing request. The licensed professional shall be entitled
24 to a prompt hearing to review the determination of the professional
25 conduct officer.
26 c. Prior adjudications. The board of regents shall also review all
27 notifications received from the department of buildings of the city of
28 New York, pursuant to section 28-104.2.1.6 of the administrative code of
29 the city of New York, for the five calendar years immediately preceding
30 the effective date of this section. Any professional engineer or regis-
31 tered architect included in such notification who has not been the
32 subject of a state professional misconduct proceeding pursuant to this
33 section shall be required to submit to a hearing pursuant to paragraph d
34 of this subdivision if a state professional conduct officer determines
35 that the registered design professional's actions constituted a serious
36 abuse of the professional certification program of the city of New York
37 as defined in section sixty-five hundred nine of this subpart.
38 d. Hearings generally. In such cases as described in paragraph c of
39 this subdivision, or where a licensed professional who has had his or
40 her license suspended pursuant to paragraph b of this subdivision
41 requests a hearing, or where the existing record is insufficient for a
42 professional conduct officer to make a determination as to whether a
43 serious abuse of the professional certification program has occurred,
44 the department shall conduct an investigation pursuant to paragraph b of
45 subdivision one of this section.
46 If, after an investigation, the department believes that a serious
47 abuse of the professional certification program of New York city has
48 occurred, such accusation shall be included in the charges prepared for
49 a disciplinary proceeding pursuant to paragraph c of subdivision one of
50 this section. The department and the board of regents shall then follow
51 the standard procedure for a disciplinary proceeding as stated in this
52 section.
53 The board of regents shall immediately suspend the professional
54 license of any architect or engineer found to have seriously abused the
55 professional certification program of the city of New York.
56 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
