Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) The Architecture Complaint Committee of
the Architecture Licensing Board, authorized by Sections 10 and 24 of the Act,
shall be composed of at least 2 members of the Architecture Licensing Board, a
Supervisor over Design Investigations and a Chief of Prosecutions over Design
Prosecutions. The Director of Enforcement shall designate the Supervisor and
Chief assigned to the Complaint Committee.
b) The Complaint Committee shall meet at
least once every 2 months to exercise its functions and duties set forth in
subsection (c). The Complaint Committee may meet concurrently with the
Complaint Committees of the Land Surveyors Examining Board, the State Board of
Professional Engineers and the Structural Engineering Board to discuss
interrelated professional matters. The Complaint Committee shall make every
effort to consider expeditiously and take prompt action on each item on its
agenda.
c) The Complaint Committee
shall have the following duties and functions:
1) To review investigative case files after
an initial inquiry into the involved parties and their licensure status have
been obtained. "Case file" means the allegation made against an involved party
that resulted in a preliminary inquiry and other information being obtained in
order to determine whether an investigation should be initiated or prosecution
pursued. A "Formal Complaint" means the notice of allegations and charges or
basis for licensure denial that begins the formal proceedings.
2) To refer the case file to the Supervisor
over the Design Investigators for further action. The Complaint Committee shall
give the Supervisor an indication as to the prosecutorial merit and relative
severity of the allegations to aid in the prioritization of investigative
activity.
3) To recommend that a
case file be closed.
4) To
recommend that an Administrative Warning Letter be issued and the case file
closed.
5) To refer the case file
to Prosecutions for review and action.
6) To report the actions of the Complaint
Committee at each Board meeting and to present enforcement statistics such as
the type of alleged violation.
d) In determining what action to take or
whether to proceed with investigation and prosecution of a case file, the
Complaint Committee shall consider the following factors, but not be limited
to: the effect on the public's health, safety and welfare; the sufficiency of
the evidence presented; prosecutorial merit; and sufficient cooperation from
complaining parties.
e) At any time
after referral to Prosecutions, the Division may enter into negotiations to
resolve issues informally by way of a Consent Order. Factors to be considered
in deciding whether to enter into settlement negotiations shall include, but
not be limited to: the effect on the public's health, safety and welfare caused
by the respondent's alleged conduct; sufficient investigation of the case;
prosecutorial merit; relative severity of the respondent's alleged conduct; and
past practices of the Division.
f)
No file shall be closed nor Formal Complaint dismissed except upon
recommendation of the Complaint Committee and/or approval by the Architecture
Licensing Board. Those case files that previously have been before the Board
and are the subject of a Consent Order or Formal Order of the Director may be
closed without further recommendation or approval of the Architecture Licensing
Board or the Complaint Committee.
g) Complaints Involving Imminent Danger to
the Public
1) When a complaint is made to the
Division that alleges that a building, or other structure that requires the
involvement of an architect in its design, is under construction, construction
is imminent, or construction has been completed, and an architect is not or was
not involved in its design, the investigation of that complaint shall be
expedited to ensure the health and safety of the public. This investigation
will be referred to as an "Emergency Investigation".
2) An Emergency Investigation will be given
priority attention and assigned to an investigator as soon as
possible.
3) Once assigned to an
investigator, the Division, through its investigator, will convene a meeting of
the Complaint Committee by teleconference to determine if the complaint shall
continue to be treated as an Emergency Investigation. Such meetings will be
deemed an emergency and notice of the meeting shall be provided in accordance
with the Open Meetings Act.
4) Upon
determination by the Complaint Committee that the complaint should be treated
as an Emergency Investigation, the complaint will be investigated as soon as
possible.
5) Upon completion of the
Emergency Investigation, the investigator will again convene a meeting of the
Complaint Committee by teleconference. This meeting shall also be considered an
emergency and notice of the meeting shall be provided in accordance with the
Open Meetings Act. The Complaint Committee will then decide whether to
recommend to the Division that the complaint be referred to the Attorney
General to seek a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction against
the start or further construction of the project or, when the project has
already been completed, to enjoin the use of the building or structure. The
Complaint Committee will recommend that the case be referred to the Attorney
General only upon a finding that the facts alleged in the complaint are
credible and constitute an imminent danger to the public.
h) Disqualification of an Architecture
Licensing Board member.
1) A Board member
shall be recused from consideration of a case file or Formal Complaint when the
Board member determines that a conflict of interest or prejudice would prevent
that Board member from being fair and impartial.
2) Participation in the initial stages of the
handling of a case file, including participation on the Complaint Committee and
in informal conferences, shall not bar a Board member from future participation
or decision making relating to that case file.
i) An informal conference is the procedure
established by the Division that may be used for compliance review, fact
finding, discussion of the issues, resolving case files, licensing issues or
conflicts prior to initiating any Formal Complaint or formal hearing. An
informal conference may only be conducted upon agreement of both parties.
Informal conferences shall be conducted by a Division attorney and shall
include a member or members of the Board. Board members shall be scheduled for
informal conferences on a rotating basis.
