MARK WHITE 

Attorney General 

The Attorney General of Texas 

September 22, 1981 

Honorable Woodrow W. Mix, P.E. 

Executive Director 

Texas State Board of Registration 

for Professional Engineers 

P.O. Drawer 18329 

Austin, Texas 78760 

Opinion NO. MW-368 

Re: License renewal 

provisions of Texas 

Engineering Practice Act 

Dear Mr. Mize: 

You have requested our opinion regarding recently enacted 

licensing renewal provisions of article 3271a, V.T.C.S., the Texas 

Engineering Practice Act. 

Prior to its recent amendment, §16 of article 3271a provided 

that: 

It shall be the duty of the Board to notify 

every person registered under this Act of the date 

of the expiration of his certificate and the 

amount of the fee that shall be required for its 

renewal for one year; such notice shall be mailed 

at least one month in advance of the date of the 

expiration of said certificate. Renewal may be 

effected by payment of a renewal fee set by the 

Board not to exceed Forty-five Dollars ($45.00). 

The Board is hereby given authority and duty to 

determine the amount of such renewal fee required 

to effectively carry out the administration and 

enforcement of all the provisions of this Act. 

Failure on the part of any registered engineer to 

renew his certificate annually shall not deprive 

such person of the right of renewal, but the fee 

to be paid for the renewal of a certificate when 

the renewal is past due shall be increased ten 

percent (10%) for each month or fraction of a 

month that renewal payment is delayed; provided, 

however, that the maximum fee for delayed renewal 

shall not exceed twice the normal renewal fee. 

Senate Bill No. 402. Acts 1981, 67th Leg., ch. -, *t -, 

amended section 16 to read, in its entirety:, 
Woodrow W. Mize - Page 2 (MW-368) 

"Section 16. EXPIRATIONS AND RENEWALS. (5) It 

shall be the duty of the Board to notify every 

person registered under this Act of the date of 

the expiration of his certificate and the amount 

of the~fee that shall be required for its renewal 

for one year; such notice shall be mailed at least 

one month in advance of the date of the expiration 

of said certificate. 

(b) A person may renew an unexpired license 

by paying to the Board before the expiration date 

of the license the required renewal fee. 

(c) I'f a person's license has been expired 

for not longer than 90 days, the person may renew 

the license by paying to,the Board the required 

renewal 'fee and a fee that is one-half of the 

application fee for the license. 

(d) If a person's license has been expired 

for longer than 90 days but less than two years, 

the person oay renew the license by paying to the 

Board all unpaid renewal fees and a fee that is 

equal to the application fee for the license. 

(e) If a person's license has been expired 

for two years or longer, the person may not renew 

the license. The person may obtain a new license 

by submitting to an examination to be determined 

by the Board and complying with the requirements 

and procedures for obtaining an original license. 

The amended version of section 16 became effective on September 1. 

1981. You ask: Y 

1. Do the penalty provisions of Section ~16. 

subsections (c) and (d) apply to all licenses 

renewed after September 1, 1981, regardless 

of the date the license expired? 

2. Can a license that has been expired for two 

years on September 1. 1981, be renewed? 

In effect, you ask whether Senate Bill No. 402 provides a grace for 

persons whose licenses have expired prior to September 1, 1981, the 

effective date bf the amendment. 

A literal reading of Senate Bill No. 402 indicates that its 

provisions are applicable to every licensee who occupies a particular 

status on September 1, 1981. Under such a construction, an individual 

whose license had expired on July 1, 1979, would not, under subsection 

p. 1232 
. . Vrwdrow W. Mize - Page 3 (MW-368) 

(e), he permitted to obtain a renewal, but would be required to 

fulfill the requirements for obtaining an original license. 

In our opinion, the amendment to section 16 is clear and 

unambiguous. A plain and unambiguous statute should be construed 

accordingly to its literal meaning. Brazes River Authority v. City of 

Graham, 354 S.W.2d 99, 109 (Tex. 1961). Furthermore, it is well 

established that exceptions to statutes may not ordinarily be i~mplied. 

Spears v. City of San Antonio, 223 S.W. 166, 169 (Tex. 1920); Stubbs 

v. Lowrey's Heirs, 253 S.W.2d 312, 313 (Tex. Civ. App. - Eastland 

1952, writ ref'd n.r.e.); Nail v. McCue, 55 S.W.2d 211, 213 (Tex. Civ. 

APP. - El Paso 1932, no writ). Where the legislature has intended to 

except certain classes of persons from the requirements of licensing 

statutes, or to provide a period of grace, it has done so in explicit 

terms. See, e.g., Acts 1975, 64th Leg., ch. 709, 53, at 2253 (persons 

engaged in business of structural pest control for a period of two 

years granted two-year grace period before having to comply with 

examination requirements); V.T.C.S. art. 6243-101 §lO (persons holding 

existing plumbing licenses from a city are exempt from examination 

requirements for state li~censing as plumber if they apply within 120 

days from effective date of statute); V.T.C.S. art. 4413(29aa) §6(a) 

(persons who were peace officers prior to effective date of statute 

need not meet certain requirements in order to continue employment as 

peace officers). We conclude that the penalty provisions of section 

16 apply to all licenses renewed after September 1. 1981, regardless 

of the date the license expired. In addition, a license.that expired 

more than two years prior to September 1, 1981, may not be renewed. 

SUMMARY 

The penalty provisions of the amendments to 

section 16 of article 3271a, 

all engineering licenses 

V.Trznfw.,d apply to 

after 

September 1, 1981, regardless of the date the 

license expired. A license that has been expired 

for more than two years prior to September 1, 

1981, may not be renewed under the terms of the 

amendment. 

3=-&g 

MARK WHITE 

Attorney General of Texas 

JOHN W. FAINTER, JR. 

First Assistant Attorney General 

RICHARD E. GRAY III 

Executive Assistant Attorney General 

P. 1233 
Prepared by Rick Gilpin 

Assistant Attorney General 

~APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Susan L. Garrison. Chairman 

Jon Bible 

Robert W. Gauss 

Rick Gilpin 

Jim Moellinger 

p. 1234