SB435 Alabama 2011 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Tom Whatley

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2011

Title

Landscape architects, registered landscape architects, licensing, examination, and education requirements, provision for practical experience removed, payment of annual license fee, date due and date of mailing of delinquency notice altered, Secs. 34-17-20, 34-17-21, 34-17-22, 34-17-24 am'd.

Summary

SB435 would require licensure for landscape architects, create the title registered landscape architect, eliminate the eight-year experience path, require education plus practical experience and a board-approved exam, and move the license-fee delinquency notice date to March 15.

What This Bill Does

If enacted, the bill would require anyone practicing landscape architecture to be licensed and to use the title registered landscape architect only after licensure. It would remove the option to qualify for licensure with eight years of practical experience alone and instead require education from an approved landscape architecture school plus proof of practical experience. It would require the licensure exam to be board-approved rather than a general written exam. It would also change when delinquency notices for unpaid license fees are mailed to March 15, while the annual fee still due January 1, and it would retain the suspension process for nonpayment; continuing education requirements for license renewal would remain, without added testing.

Who It Affects

• Prospective landscape architects (students and professionals) who practice or wish to practice landscape architecture; they would need to obtain licensure, pursue an approved education, demonstrate practical experience, and pass a board-approved exam in order to use the title registered landscape architect.
• Current licensees and applicants seeking licensure; they would be subject to the board's continuing education requirements, the updated exam type, the revised deadline for delinquency notices (March 15), and the overall licensing framework and fee obligations.

Key Provisions

• Creates the title registered landscape architect and requires licensure to practice landscape architecture or use any related title.
• Eliminates the eight years of practical experience as an alternate path to licensure and requires education from an approved landscape architecture school plus proof of practical experience.
• Requires licensure applicants to take a board-approved examination (replacing the prior unspecified written examination).
• Changes the delinquency notice date for unpaid annual license fees to March 15 (with the January 1 due date and suspension rules retained).
• Maintains the continuing education requirement for license renewal, with no testing included in the CE program.
• Effective date: the act becomes effective on the first day of the third month after passage.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 25, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Landscape Architects, Board of Examiners of