§ 17-30-306 - Disciplinary action -- Procedures.
17-30-306. Disciplinary action -- Procedures.
(a) A person may prefer charges of fraud, deceit, gross negligence, incompetence, misconduct, or violation of the rules of professional conduct against any individual licensee or against a firm holding a certificate of authorization.
(b) All charges, unless dismissed by the State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors as unfounded or trivial or unless settled informally shall be heard by the board within six (6) months after the date on which they were preferred.
(c) (1) The time and place for the hearings shall be fixed by the board and a copy of the charges, together with a notice of the time and place of hearing, shall be personally served on or mailed to the last known address of the individual licensee or firm holding a certificate of authorization at least twenty (20) days before the date fixed for the hearing.
(2) At the hearing, the accused individual licensee or firm holding a certificate of authorization may appear in person or by counsel, or both, to cross-examine witnesses in his or her or its defense and to produce evidence and witnesses in his or her or its own defense.
(3) If the accused person or firm fails or refuses to appear, the board may proceed to hear and determine the validity of the charges.
(d) (1) If after such a hearing a majority of the board votes in favor of sustaining the charges, the board may:
(A) Reprimand;
(B) Refuse to issue, restore, or renew;
(C) Place on probation for a period of time; or
(D) Subject to conditions specified by the board, suspend or revoke the individual's certificate of licensure or the firm's certificate of authorization.
(2) In addition to or in lieu of any of the items in subdivision (d)(1) of this section, the board may fine the individual or firm in an amount not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each offense.
(e) An individual licensee who has a certificate of licensure or a firm that has a certificate of authorization or a nonlicensee aggrieved by any action of the board in levying a fine or denying, suspending, refusing to issue, restoring, renewing, or revoking his or her certificate of licensure or its certificate of authorization may appeal to the proper court under normal civil procedures.
(f) (1) A penalty assessed under 17-30-305 shall be assessed in a proceeding as provided in this section.
(2) Unless the amount of the penalty is paid within fifty (50) days after the order becomes final, the order shall constitute a judgment and shall be filed and execution issued thereon in the same manner as any other judgment of a court of record.
(g) The board may, upon petition of an individual licensee or firm holding a certificate of authorization, reissue a certificate of licensure or authorization if a majority of the members of the board vote in favor of such issuance.