H. B. 2867
(By Delegates Boggs, Martin, Varner, Douglas,
Cann and Facemyer)
[Introduced February 22, 1999; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact article nineteen, chapter thirty of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, relating to qualifications for
licensing and registration of foresters; legislative
findings and declaration of policy; short title;
definitions; board of registration continued, rules,
appointment and terms of members, qualifications of members,
removal of members, vacancies, payment for services; license
required, exceptions, certification of documents; general
requirements and categories for licensing; license fees,
expiration and renewal of license; license denial,
suspension, revocation and reinstatement; due process
procedure; code of ethics; continuing education;
reciprocity; penalties and legal representation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article nineteen, chapter thirty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 19. FORESTERS.
§30-19-1. Legislative findings and declaration of public policy.
The Legislature finds that West Virginia has extensive
forest resources and the continued development of these forests
is vital to the economic well-being of the state and its people.
It is therefore declared to be the public policy of this state
that the practice of forestry affects the general welfare and
public interest of the state and its citizens; that persons
without the necessary educational qualifications and practical
experience should not hold themselves out to the public as
professional foresters and that the problem of unqualified
representations may be best prevented and the interest of the
public best served by regulating and controlling such
representations as provided in this article.
§30-19-2. Short title.
This article shall be known and cited as the "Professional
Forester Registration Act."
§30-19-3. Definitions.
(a) "Board" means the state board of registration for
foresters, as provided for by this article.
(b) "Forester" means a person who, by reason of his or her
knowledge of the natural sciences, mathematics, silviculture, forest protection, forest management, forest economics, and
forest use, acquired by professional forestry education and
subsequent practical experience, is qualified to engage in the
practice of professional forestry as hereinafter defined.
(c) "Practice of professional forestry" means professional
forestry service, including, but not limited to, consultation,
investigation, evaluation, planning, or responsible supervision
of any forestry activities when the professional service requires
the application of forestry principles and techniques.
(d) "Registered forester" means a person who has been
licensed pursuant to this article.
§30-19-4. Board of registration continued, rules; appointment
and terms of members; qualifications of members; removal of members; vacancies; payment for
services.
(a) The state board of registration for foresters is hereby
continued with five members and charged with the responsibility
of administering the provisions of this article. The board shall
propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the
provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
as are necessary to implement this article, and may promulgate
emergency rules pursuant to the provision of section fifteen,
article three, section twenty-nine-a of this code.
(b) On the expiration of the term of any member of the board, the governor, with the consent of the senate, shall
appoint, for a term of three years, a registered forester from
five nominees recommended by the West Virginia section, Allegheny
chapter, Society of American Foresters, each of whom shall
possess the qualifications set forth in subsection (d) of this
section.
(c) Each member shall hold office until the expiration of
the term for which such member is appointed and until a successor
shall have been duly appointed and qualified.
(d) Each member shall be a citizen of the United States and
a resident of this state and shall have been a registered
forester under the terms of this article for a minimum of five
years.
(e) The governor may remove any member of the board for
neglect of duty, gross immorality or malfeasance in office.
Vacancies in the membership of the board shall be filled for the
unexpired term in the same manner as for an appointment for a
full term.
(f) Members of the board shall not receive compensation for
meetings attended, but shall be reimbursed in accordance with the
standard West Virginia state travel regulations for all actual
and necessary expenses incurred in carrying out board duties.
§30-19-5. License required, exceptions, certification of
documents.
In order to protect and benefit the public, promote public
welfare and to insure standards of competency, any individual
practicing or offering to practice professional forestry or
holding himself or herself out to the public as a professional
forester in this state shall have first obtained a license issued
by the state board of registration for foresters in accordance
with the provisions of this article. Individuals practicing on
their own land, employed as a forester by a federal agency to
work on federal land, or working under the license of another
forester shall be excepted. Each licensed forester shall obtain
a seal of a design approved by the board and before a licensed
forester issues to any person any plan, map, specification, or
report, the licensed forester who prepared or approved the
document shall endorse on the document the licensed forester's
name, registration number and seal. Registration shall be
determined upon the basis of individual personal qualifications
and no firm, company, partnership, corporation or public agency
shall be licensed as a registered professional forester.
§30-19-6. General requirements and categories for licensing.
(a) The following shall be considered as minimum evidence
satisfactory to the board that the applicant is qualified for
licensing as a registered professional forester:
(1) Possess a bachelor of science degree in forestry from a
professional forestry degree program accredited by the Society of American Foresters plus three years experience within the last
ten years of a nature satisfactory to the board or possess a
degree from a two-year technical forestry program recognized by
the Society of American Foresters plus a bachelor of science
degree in a related field and four years of experience within the
last ten years of a nature satisfactory to the board;
(2) Possess a degree from a two-year technical forestry
program recognized by the Society of American Foresters plus
five-years experience within the last ten years of a nature
satisfactory to the board;
(3) Possess a bachelor of science degree in a related field
plus five years of experience within the last ten years of a
nature satisfactory to the board; or
(4) Possess eight years of experience within the last ten
years of a nature satisfactory to the board plus satisfactory
completion of a written examination designed to show knowledge
approximating that obtained through graduation from a curriculum
in forestry leading to a bachelor of science degree or a two-year
technical degree recognized by the Society of American Foresters.
(b) Time spent in pursuit of an advanced academic degree in
forest resource management or a closely relating discipline may
be credited toward professional experience, but only one year of
experience will be credited for completion of a master's degree
and only two years additional experience will be credited for completion of a doctor of philosophy degree. The board may
require an applicant to pass an oral or written examination, or
otherwise meet the approval of the board. Written examinations
shall be at such time and place as the board may determine. The
methods and procedure shall be prescribed by the board. An
applicant failing an examination may apply for reexamination at
the expiration of six months and shall be entitled to one
reexamination without payment of an additional application fee.
Subsequent reexaminations may be granted upon payment of a fee to
be fixed by the board. An individual who meets the educational
requirements, but does not meet the experience requirements
necessary under this section may practice forestry without a
license if the individual practices forestry under the
responsible charge of a licensed forester.
§30-19-7. License fees, expiration and renewal of license.
An applicant for a license shall submit an application on a
form designed and provided by the board. After the thirtieth day
of September, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, the fee for
the initial license shall be fifty dollars which shall be
submitted with each application. Licenses shall expire on the
last day of the fiscal year following their issuance or renewal
and shall become invalid on that date unless renewed. It shall
be the duty of the secretary of the board to notify every person
registered under this article, at his or her last registered address, of the date of the expiration of the license and the
amount of the fee that shall be required for its renewal for one
year. This notice shall be mailed at least sixty days in advance
of the date of the expiration of said license. On the first day
of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, the annual fee
for renewal of a license shall be fifteen dollars per year.
Thereafter the board may increase the annual renewal fee in
increments of five dollars per year, up to a maximum annual
renewal fee of forty dollars. The fees collected by the board
pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be expended
solely for the purpose of this article. All expenses incurred
under this article, including part-time clerical assistance and
board contracted liability insurance, excepting assistance
specifically cited elsewhere in this article, shall be paid from
these fees.
§30-19-8. License denial, suspension, revocation and
reinstatement.
Whenever the board finds that an applicant meets all of the
qualifications of this article for a license to engage in the
practice of forestry, it shall forthwith issue a license to the
applicant. The board shall deny a license to any applicant who
does not meet all of the qualifications.
The board may at any time upon its own motion, and shall
upon the written complaint of any person, conduct an investigation to determine whether there are grounds for placing
a licensed professional forester on probation or for the
suspension or revocation of a license issued under the provisions
of this article.
The board, upon the affirmative vote of at least four of its
members, shall place a licensed professional forester on
probation, or suspend or revoke any license when it finds that
the holder thereof: (1) Has been convicted of a felony or a
crime involving moral turpitude; (2) is under a declaration of
mental incompetence; (3) has obtained a license issued under the
provisions of this article by fraud, deceit or willful
misrepresentation; (4) has failed or refused to comply with the
provisions of this article or any rule promulgated by the board
hereunder or any order or final decision of the board; (5) has
impersonated another licensed professional forester; or (6) has
violated the code of ethics adopted by the board.
Any licensee who allows his or her license to lapse by
failing to renew for a period not exceeding three years, may be
reinstated by the board upon receipt of a satisfactory
explanation for such failure to renew the license and payment of
the annual renewal fee for the lapsed years plus a reinstatement
fee of fifty dollars.
§30-19-9. Due process procedure.
Upon filing with the board a written complaint charging a person with being guilty of any of the acts described in section
eight of this article, the board shall provide a copy of the
complaint or list of allegations to the person about whom the
complaint has been filed. That person will have twenty days
thereafter to file a written response to the complaint. The
board shall thereafter, if the allegations warrant, make an
investigation. If the board finds reasonable grounds for the
complaint, a time and place for a hearing shall be set, notice of
which shall be served on the licensee or applicant at least
fifteen days in advance of the hearing date. The notice shall be
by personal service or by certified or registered mail sent to
the last known address of the person.
The board may petition the circuit court for the county
within which the hearing is being held to issue subpoenas for the
attendance of witnesses and the production of necessary evidence
in any hearing before it. Upon request of the respondent or of
his or her counsel, the board shall petition the court to issue
subpoenas in behalf of the respondent. The circuit court upon
petition may issue subpoenas as it deems necessary.
Hearing procedures shall be promulgated in accordance with,
and a person who feels aggrieved by a decision of the board may
take an appeal pursuant to the administrative procedures in this
state as provided in chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
§30-19-10. Code of ethics.
The board shall adopt a code of ethics for practicing
forestry similar to, but not necessarily identical to those
adopted by the Society of American Foresters and the Association
of Consulting Foresters of America.
§30-19-11. Continuing education.
In order to keep abreast of changing techniques and
circumstances associated with the practice of forestry,
professional foresters licensed under this article shall each
year complete a minimum of ten hours of continuing forestry
education through programs approved by the Society of American
Foresters and/or the board.
§30-19-12. Reciprocity.
Any individual licensed to practice forestry in another
state may practice forestry in this state without a license
obtained under the provisions of this article if the individual
is legally licensed as a registered professional forester in his
or her own state and the state in which the individual is
licensed waives the license requirements for licensees of this
state to a similar extent as this state waives the license
requirements for individuals licensed in that state. The
provisions of this section only apply after the individual
submits evidence to the board of being licensed in the other
state, is not a resident of this state, does not maintain a place
of business in this state, or has become a resident of this state within the preceding six months.
§30-19-13. Penalties, legal representation.
Any person who violates any of the provisions of this
article, any of the rules promulgated hereunder or any order or
any final decision of the board shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than five
hundred dollars, or imprisoned for not more than six months, or
both fined and imprisoned. Magistrates have concurrent
jurisdiction with circuit courts to enforce the provisions of
this article. In addition, the board is authorized and empowered
to apply to any court having equity powers, or to the judge
thereof in vacation, for an injunction to restrain any violation
of the provisions of this article.
The board shall be represented in all such proceedings by
the attorney general or his or her assistants and in such
proceedings in the magistrate and circuit courts by the
prosecuting attorneys of the several counties as well, all
without additional compensation.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change the
qualifications for licensing and registration of foresters.
This article has been completely rewritten; therefore,
strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.