Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 12, March 22, 2024
To protect and safeguard the health, safety, welfare,
property of the public, and California's environmental quality, every person
who is licensed by the Board as a professional geologist or professional
geophysicist, including licensees employed in any manner by a governmental
entity or in private practice, shall comply with the professional standards in
this section. A violation of any of the following professional standards shall
constitute unprofessional conduct and shall be sufficient grounds for
disciplinary action.
(a) Compliance
with Applicable Law:
A licensee shall provide all geological and geophysical
services in a manner consistent with applicable laws, codes, ordinances, rules,
and regulations. A licensee may obtain and rely upon the knowledge and advice
of other professionals (e.g., architects, attorneys, professional engineers,
other professional geologists and geophysicists, land surveyors, and other
qualified persons) concerning the intent and meaning of such laws, codes, and
regulations.
(b) Competence:
(1) Licensed geologists or licensed
geophysicists (together with those whom the licensee may engage as consultants)
shall perform, or offer to perform, only those professional services for which
they are qualified by education, training, experience, and licensure as
required by law, in the specific technical and scientific areas
involved.
(2) When practicing
geology or geophysics, a licensee shall act with competence and reasonable
care, and shall apply the technical knowledge and skill which is ordinarily
practiced by licensees in good standing, practicing in this state under similar
circumstances and conditions.
(c) Representations:
(1) A licensee shall not misrepresent, or
permit the misrepresentation, of his or her professional qualifications,
affiliations, or purposes, or those of the institutions, organizations, or
other businesses with which they are associated.
(2) A licensee may advertise or solicit those
professional services for which he or she is authorized by licensure, provided
such services are within his or her field of competence.
(3) A licensee shall not misrepresent his or
her qualifications to a prospective or existing client or employer.
(4) A licensee shall not misrepresent to a
prospective or existing client the licensee's scope of responsibility in
connection with those professional services for which the licensee is receiving
or will receive compensation, whether directly or indirectly. Specifically, a
licensee who represents that a project was completed under his or her
responsible charge (i.e., stamped and/or signed) must also have maintained
responsible charge of the work.
(5)
A licensee shall only express professional opinions which have a basis in fact,
are within the scope of the licensee's own experience or knowledge, and are
generally accepted geologic or geophysical principles.
(6) A licensee shall attribute proper credit
to others for their professional work or professional contribution.
(7) A licensee shall not knowingly permit the
publication or use of his or her data, reports, maps, plans, or other
professional documents for any unlawful purpose.
(8) A licensee shall not falsely or
maliciously attempt to injure, impugn, or injure the professional reputation or
business of others.
(9) A licensee
shall not misrepresent data or its relative significance in any geologic or
geophysical work product or oral conveyance of his or her professional
opinion.
(10) A licensee shall not
misrepresent or conceal the scope of his or her professional responsibility in
connection with those professional services for which the licensee is claiming
any responsibility or credit, or for which the licensee is receiving any
compensation.
(11) When providing
information to the Board pursuant to another's application for licensure to
practice professional geology or geophysics, a licensee shall accurately
represent his or her knowledge of the applicant's qualifications and qualifying
experience.
(d) Conflict
of Interest:
(1) A licensee shall not
concurrently engage in any other business, occupation, or have a financial
interest in any entity that may impair his or her independent judgment and/or
objectivity, or which may create a conflict of interest in rendering his or her
professional services.
(2) A
licensee shall not accept compensation for his or her professional services
from more than one party on any project, endeavor, or proceeding unless the
circumstances are fully disclosed and agreed to in writing by all concerned
parties.
(3) If a licensee has any
business association or financial interest which is substantial enough to
influence his or her judgment in connection with the performance of
professional services, the licensee shall fully disclose in writing to his or
her client(s) or employer(s) the nature of the business association or
financial interest. If the client(s) or employer(s) object(s) to such
association or financial interest, the licensee shall either terminate such
association or interest or offer to give up the project or
employment.
(4) A licensee shall
not solicit or accept payments, rebates, refunds, commissions, or compensation,
whether in the form of money or otherwise from other professionals,
contractors, suppliers of materials, systems, or equipment in return for
specifying their products or professional services to a client or employer of
the licensee.
(5) A licensee, while
engaged by a governmental agency as an officer, employee, appointee, agent, or
consultant of that agency shall not engage in a professional geological or
geophysical business or activity that may be subject to that licensee's direct
or indirect control, inspection, review, audit, or enforcement on behalf of
that agency, unless the circumstances are disclosed to and approved by that
agency in writing prior to such engagement.
(e) Confidential Information:
As used in this section, "confidential information" includes
all information specifically identified as confidential by the licensee's
client, employer, representative, or other related entity. Confidential
information obtained by a licensee in his or her professional capacity shall
not be disclosed by the licensee without prior permission, except under the
following specific conditions:
(1)
Disclosures made in response to a subpoena or summons enforceable by an order
of a court;
(2) Disclosures made in
response to an official inquiry from a governmental regulatory
agency;
(3) Disclosures made by a
licensee to another licensee to the extent necessary for purposes of
professional consultation;
(4)
Disclosures made when required by law, code, or regulation;
(5) Disclosures made upon discovery of a
hazard within the licensee's field of professional expertise, which, in the
licensee's professional opinion, is a threat to the health, safety, and welfare
of the public;
(6) Disclosures made
when providing evidence to the Board concerning another licensee or unlicensed
individual, who may have violated any part of the Geologist and Geophysicist
Act or this Section;
(7)
Disclosures made regarding alleged illegal conduct; or
(8) Disclosures made in an adjudicatory
proceeding or pursuant to an order of the court.
(f) Document Submittal:
(1) A licensee shall not misrepresent the
completeness of any professional geologic or geophysical document submitted to
any governmental or regulatory agency.
(2) A licensee shall not misrepresent the
completeness of any professional geologic or geophysical document prepared for
his or her client, employer, or other involved party.
1. New section
filed 9-27-99; operative 10-27-99 (Register 99, No. 40).
2.
Editorial correction of subsection (b)(2) designator and subsection (c)(4)
(Register 99, No. 45).
3. Amendment of section heading, section and
NOTE filed 3-26-2008; operative 4-25-2008 (Register 2008, No.
13).
4. Editorial correction establishing correct subsection
hierarchy and correcting typographical errors in subsections (c)(8) and (d)(3)
(Register 2008, No. 18).
5. Editorial correction of subsection
(d)(3) (Register 2008, No. 21).
6. Change without regulatory effect
amending first paragraph and subsection (d)(1) filed 7-9-2010 pursuant to
section 100, title 1, California Code of
Regulations (Register 2010, No. 28).
7. Change without regulatory
effect amending first paragraph filed 2-23-2011 pursuant to section
100, title 1, California Code of
Regulations (Register 2011, No. 8).
8. Amendment of section heading
and section filed 1-17-2014; operative 4-1-2014 (Register 2014, No.
3).
Note: Authority cited: Sections
7818
and
7860(c)(3),
Business and Professions Code. Reference: Section
7860(c)(3),
Business and Professions Code.
