To improve the Oklahoma Architectural Act; Provide Oklahoma citizens and businesses with a uniform standard for the protection of public health, safety and welfare as it relates to the built environment; Raise that standard to a level that matches the laws in adjacent states. This is one of several White Papers to generally explain the need and proposals to be presented to the Oklahoma Legislature's 2003 session.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is the national organization involved with the practice of architecture. The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) is the national organization of all state licensing boards. Oklahoma's Board of Governors of Licensed Architects and Landscape Architects is a member of NCARB. Because the proposed changes to the Oklahoma Architectural Act involve the area of exemptions to this law, the following is a brief statement of the position of each of these two organizations.

Statement. The American Institute of Architects believes that it is in the public interest for architects to design all structures intended for human habitation or use.

Explanation. The fundamental purpose of an architectural licensing law is to ensure that buildings occupied and used by the public have been designed by architects to protect public health, safety, and welfare. These laws also prevent misrepresentation by limiting the use of the title "architect." Every exemption, whether defined in terms of exempt structures or exempt activities, reduces the effectiveness of a licensing law. A licensing law with extensive exemptions essentially protects only the title "architect" and does not provide the public with adequate protection.

The state has a responsibility to its citizens to ensure that structures used or occupied by the public have been designed by qualified professionals. Exemptions for simple farm/single-family structures may allow users to plan buildings when they are adequately covered by building codes.

VI - CLASSES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF STRUCTURES WITH RESPECT TO WHICH PERSONS PERFORMING BUILDING DESIGN MAY BE EXEMPT FROM REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

Most architectural registration statutes specify various kinds of structures which may, under special conditions, be designed by unregistered persons. In an effort to provide a basis for more uniformity among jurisdictions in establishing reasonable exemptions, NCARB, through its Committee on Procedures and Documents (P&D), initiated, in 1979, a study of current statutory exemptions. While the results of this effort indicated almost as many variations as there are jurisdictions, it became apparent that there were five basic characteristics of buildings which, when used in varying combinations, formed the basis of establishing exemptions.

These characteristics are:

P&D decided to study how such exemptions affect the health, safety, and welfare of the public and then to fashion a legislative guideline in the light of its findings. As a means of expanding the information base and of examining the impact and the roles of public building officials and licensed design professionals as they relate to the safety of the consumer, NCARB, in early 1981, organized a roundtable discussion, including representatives of:

Development

Building officials attending the meeting stated that the public may assume that the state or municipal building inspectors or code administrators are an effective means of assuring public health, safety, and welfare, but in practice this is rarely the case. A code administrator pointed out that while some of the building officials are indeed trained and registered as engineers and/or architects, they are a very small minority and that the majority has no professional academic background in engineering or architecture, although some do receive modest training in plan review for code compliance. The expectation that these dedicated and often overworked public servants can evaluate the technical adequacy of a complex building design is, in most instances, unrealistic.

While substantiating statistics are not available from public records, all participants at the round table agreed that their experiences would strongly support the concept that the public health, safety, and welfare can only be assured by requiring that licensed professionals design any significant improvements to real property. It was further established that few, if any, governmental building departments, inspectors, or code administrators have sufficient qualified staff to carry out their responsibilities; and that they must depend heavily upon licensed design professionals to deliver to the public safe structures designed within the limits of current codes. To demonstrate further potential for loss to the public, it was pointed out that errors and omissions insurance is not available from any source to unregistered persons.

In the summer of 1999, NCARB distributed a questionnaire to 9,450 building officials affiliated with the three major code organizations. One of the purposes of the questionnaire was to obtain from these officials their opinions (not necessarily the requirements of their existing laws) on what exemptions should be included within their statutes which would not impose overly restrictive standards, but which would reasonably protect the public health, safety, and welfare.

Of those responding, 95 percent agreed that a registered architect or engineer is essential on any "substantial" building project. Eighty-seven percent (87%) agreed that

even well-staffed building departments must rely on registered design professionals to ensure that building designs meet performance standards of modern codes. Eighty-seven percent (87%) said that registered architects and engineers should be required to perform construction administration services. In response to a question asking what exemptions should be permitted in a model statute, 88 percent favored limiting the exemption only to one-and two-family dwellings and farm buildings. And a substantial minority favored deleting one- or two-family dwellings from the exemption.

While current statutes, with their broadly varying exemptions, attempt to limit risk to the public by limiting the building in some way (area, height, span, cost, function, etc.), it does not necessarily follow that these limitations will accomplish that goal.

It is assumed in the following guidelines that state registration laws begin with the requirement that plans and specifications for all buildings having a principal purpose of human occupancy or habitation shall be prepared and sealed by an architect registered in the state. The guideline then suggests principles upon which appropriate exemptions from the law may be developed. (Note, however, that some jurisdictions permit no exemptions.)

A Persons not registered under this registration law may design detached single- and two-family dwellings and any accessory buildings incidental thereto, unless an architect is otherwise required by law or by the building authority having jurisdiction over the project.

COMMENTARY

Single-and two-family dwellings have historically been designed by their owners and more recently by contractors and developers. In many instances, state statutes have continued to permit this exemption as a concession to the right of an individual to make risk decisions impacting primarily on his/her own family. As a practical matter, legislators have been unwilling to attempt to curtail the practice of an owner designing or purchasing a structure to house his/her own family.

While some statutes have attempted to limit the exemption to "designer occupied" structures, others have permitted a broader participation in the design of dwellings by omitting the limiting impact of designer occupancy. This less restrictive phrasing opens the field to contractors and developers on the premise that size and use do limit risk. On the other hand, limiting the exemption to "designer occupied" dwellings affords no protection to subsequent purchasers of the dwelling.

B Persons not registered under this registration law may design farm buildings, including barns, silos, sheds, or housing for farm equipment and machinery, livestock, poultry or storage, if such structures are designed to be occupied by no more than 10 persons.

COMMENTARY

States having particular occupations, whose participants have traditionally designed structures for their own use, may wish to continue to permit such buildings to be designed by non-licensed persons. This guideline recognizes the political reality that long-standing custom relating to occupations involving significant numbers of participants is unlikely to be changed by members of the state legislature. Farmers probably comprise the largest single group coming under this exemption. It would be appropriate, however, to consider limiting this and other traditionally "family" occupations when the magnitude of their individual operations requires involvement of significant numbers of non-family employees. Some non-agricultural states may support other occupations which, on the basis of history and custom, may require that buildings housing these occupations be exempt.

In any case, any effective statute attempting to limit risk to the public from failures in buildings must recognize that the only certain method is to limit the number of occupants permitted in that structure. Structural limitations in the building design (area, height, span, etc.) and building cost have no limiting effect on the numbers of people who may occupy the building and cannot be relied upon as effective means of protecting the public. Structural failures in tall single-story buildings erected on or near property lines or rights-of-way may compromise the safety of persons nearby. Limiting exempt structures to a single story, fixing maximum heights, and requiring substantial setbacks from property lines and rights-of-way will tend to localize the impact of any failure. It follows from the last restriction that, without engaging a registered design professional, no building may be built close to the property line.

The number of persons allowed to be put at risk is a judgment to be made by each jurisdiction.

C Persons not registered under this law may design particular features of a building when such features do not affect structural or other safety features of the building and when the work contemplated by the design does not require the issuance of a permit under applicable building codes.

COMMENTARY

This exemption would apply to any structure, including dwellings, factories, offices, and other commercial buildings, and recognizes that in many circumstances, competent, skilled trades-people can do the work. The references to structural and life-safety aspects are particularly important in instances where codes have not been adopted.

The central reason for making the proposed changes to the Oklahoma Architectural Act is to bring this portion of Oklahoma law into the 21st century on par with other national and state standards in the interest of providing equal protection of the public health, safety and welfare.