Architect Licensing Bill Advances

The architects licensing bill, SB 5529, had a hearing today, Thursday, Feb. 24 before the House General Government Appropriations Committee and was voted out unanimously. Previous groups in opposition have compromised with the AIA/WA, are backing the bill and even testified in support today. Legislators also indicated that they are anxious to see this bill pass.

Now that the bill has made the appropriations committee cut-off it goes to the House Rules Committee, and then to the House floor for a vote. The deadline for it to be voted on is next Friday, March 5.

This is important legislation for state architects. It has been 25 years since changes have been made to WA architectural licensing laws but in the meantime new technologies and modern practice methods have significantly changed the practice. This legislation will clean up confusing provisions, update qualifications standards, and simplify corporate registration.

You can see testimony below by the AIA/WA Executive Director, Stan Bowman, and AIA/WA president elect, Peter Rasmussen.