In the 2003 legislative session, Maryland became the 28th state to require mandatory continuing education for the renewal of architect's licenses.

At 11:54 a.m. on May 22, 2003, Governor Robert Ehrlich signed the legislation (SB614/HB779).

The Senate bill, SB614, sponsored by Sen. Norman R. Stone, Jr. (D-Dist. 6), was passed on the third reading on April 2 unanimously, 46-0. The House version of the bill, HB779, sponsored by Del. Maryann Love (D-Dist. 32), was passed on March 19 by a vote of 133-5.

To download an Adobe Acrobat PDF file of the official third reading of House Bill 779 (the one that was made law), CLICK HERE!

We have assembled here some answers to questions that Maryland architects are likely to have about the law and it's impementation.

A The law goes into effect on October 1, 2003.

A The bill requires that architects licensed in Maryland show proof of participation in TWELVE (12) hours of continuing education per year, of which EIGHT (8) must be related to the " protection of the Health, Safety and Welfare (HSW) of the general public." Because Maryland architects are on a two-year renewal cycle, the requirement will be 24 Total/16 HSW.

A The language of the bill was drafted with the help of the AIA and NCARB, and an AIA member's continuing education transcript (easily printable from the internet) will be acceptable proof of completion of the required CE. Any course or activity approved by the AIA or NCARB shall be accepted as meeting the requrements.

A Yes. The following exceptions are in the law:

• A licensee who is granted an INITIAL license may renew a license for the next full term without complying with the CE requirements;
• A licensee is exempted if serving on temporary active military duty for a period of time exceeding 120 consecutive days in a year;
• A licensee experiencing physical disability, illness, or other extenuating circumstances as reviewed and approved by the Board.

A The bill specifically spells out requirements for continuing education courses. A course or activity must:

• Have a clear purpose and objective which will maintain, improve, or expand skills and knowledge obtained prior to licensure or certification or develop new and relevant skils and knowledge;
• Be presented in a well-organized and sequential manner;
• Provide evidence of preplanning which must include the opportunity for input by the group served;
• Be conducted by persons who are well qualified based on educaation or experience; and,
• Provide for documentation of an individuals's participation including information required for record keeping and recording.

A An individual seeking to obtain pre-approval of a continuing education course or activity shall submit the following at least 30 days in advance of the program so that the board may analyze and respond to the individual:

1. The name, address and phone number of the course or activity sponsor;
2. The name of the course or activity;
3. A detailed description of the course or activity;
4. The length of the instructional period;
5. The total number of contact hours for which credit is sought (50 minutes=1 contact hour);
6. The name and academic or professional credentials of the course or activity instructor;
7. The time, place and date of the course or activity; and
8. The sponsor's method for providing evidence of attendance.

A The Board shall provide a space on the regular license renewal form for the licensee to sign as certification that the licensee has complied with the continuing education requirements.

AAll licensees will be subject to random audits to verify completion of the requirements. In response to the audit, a licensee may submit a transcript from the continuing education system of the AIA or another form prescribed or accepted by the Board. Evidence of compliance must be maintained by the licensee for 2 years after each license renewal.

A The licensee shall have 6 months from notice of such disallowance either to provide acceptable evidence of having acquired contact hours or to acquire the required number of contact hours prior to revocation of a license.

A The law states: "The requirements of this section may be met if an individual is licensed or certified in another state, province, or district which has a continuing education requirement for renewal of a license that is similar to the program in subsection (b) of this section, and the program is accepted by the board and the individual certifies that all continuing education and licensing requirements for the state, province, or district from which the individual is licensed or certified have been met, subject to audit by the board."

A In July of 2003, The Maryland State Board of Architects issued the following in a letter to all Maryland Architects:

In order to give all licensees sufficient time to comply with these new requirements, the Board, with the support of the Maryland Society AIA, the sponsor of the legislation, agreed on the following phase-in period:

1. All licensees whose licenses expire between October 1, 2004 and September 30, 2005, would have to complete one-half of the continuing education requirements, i.e. twelve contact hours. This time frame would allow this group of licensees to have one full claendar year from the effective date of the new law to earn at least 12 required credits.
   
2. All licensees whose licenses expire after October 1, 2005, would have to complete all twenty-four continuing education contact hours. This time frame would allow this group of licensees to have two full calendar years to receive all required twenty-four credits.