Senate Committee Clears Architect’s Licensing Bill (SB 183)
The Senate Insurance Commerce and Labor Committee has approved SB 183, which would eliminate a corporate grandfather exemption from the requirements of the Architects Licensing Law.
The bill would close a loophole in state regulation of architects, and had been requested by the Ohio Architects Board. When the state first implemented specific requirements on who could own an architecture firm, it grandfathered some existing firms to allow them to avoid fees and paperwork. However that opened a loophole that came to light recently when the Architecture Board investigated and tried to take action against someone who was practicing architecture without a license. They found out that the person had purchased a pre-existing architecture firm that had been grandfathered and thus did not have to comply with licensure requirements.