TFIEA~ORNEYGENERAT~ 

OF TEXAS 

Au-. TEXAS w3n1 

August 11. 1975 

The Honorable Leonard M. Riggs 

Chairman 

Texas State Board of Landscape Architects 

320 Sam Houston State Office Building 

Austin, Texas 78701 

Dear Mr. Riggs: 

Opinion No. H- 664 

Re: Date at which a landscape 

architect may no longer practice 

without renewing his license. 

You have requested OUT opinion regarding the date at which a landscape 

architect may no longer practice without renewing his license. 

The practice of landscape architecture is regulated by article 249c, 

V. T. C. S. Section 7 thereof provides as follows: 

All certificates of registration shall expire on the 

31st day of August of each year, following their 

issuance or renewal and shall become invalid on that 

date unless renewed. It shall be the duty of the secretary of the board to notify every person registered 

under this Act of that date of 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 at any time during 

the month of July or August of each year by payment of 

the fee as prescribed and set by the board. The fee for 

landscape architect’s certificate shall be not less than 

$10 nor more than $50. The fee for a landscape irrigator’s 

certificate shall be not more than $100. Failure on the part 

of any registrant to renew his certificate annually, and by 

not later than August 31st, as required above shall not deprive such person of the right of renewal, but the fee to be 

paid for the renewal of a certificate after August 31st shall 

be increased 10 percent for each month or fraction of a 

month that renewal payment is delayed; and provided further, 

that if such failure to renew shall continue for more than one 

year after the date of expiration of the registration certificate, 

the applicant must reapply for registration and must qualify 

under Section 5 of this Act. All renewal certificates shall 

carry the same registration number as the original certificate. 

You ask whether a landscape architect may continue to practice his profession 

after expiration of his license on August 31. 

p. 2908 
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. 

The Honorable Leonard M. Riggs - Page 2 (H-664) 

Section 5 of article 249~ provides that: 

. . . no person shall represent himself 

or practice in any manner as a landscape 

architect, as defined herein, unless such 

person shall be licensed as provided here- 

& (emphasis added). - 

Section 9 establishes penalties for representing oneself as a landscape architect 

“without being registered or exempted in accordance with the provisions of” the 

Act. 

In our view, the statute clearly prohibits a person from practicing 

landscape architecture after the expiration of his license. Where the language of 

a statute is plain and unambiguous, it should be given effect as written. Gately v. 

Humphrey, 254 S. W. 2d 98, 100 (Tex.Sup 1952). It seems well established that: 

a license terminates by lapse of time on 

the date which is fixed by statute or ordinance or by the licensing authorities 

acting within their statutory powers, and 

the licensee may exercise the rights and 

priviliges granted by the license only for 

the term specified. 53 C. J.S., Licenses 

$43, at 646. 

Furthermore, a prior expired license ” confers no rights upon the licensee, ” 

except “where by statute it entitles him to a renewal upon compliance with specified 

conditions. ” State ex rel. Interstate Air-Part 

Metropolitanmm’n, 25 N. W. 2d 718 

State ex rel. Gopher Sales Co. v. City of Austin, 75 N. W. 2d 748 (Minn. 1956). 

InM.M.M., Inc. v. Mitchell, 265 S. W.2d 584 (Tex.Sup. 1954). the 

Supreme Court considered: 

whether an engineer, who has been issued 

an original certificate . . . is yet illegally 

practicing when he contracts to and does 

render engineering services during a year 

for which he has failed to pay his annual 

certificate renewal fee as required . . . . 

Even though an engineer is permitted to renew his license at any time after its expiration date, he is nevertheless in violation of the law if he practices before effecting such renewal to the extent that any contract performed by him during that period 

is unenforceable. 265 S. W. 2d at 586. The Supreme Court stated that the purpose 

p. 2909 
I -h . 

The Honorable Leonard M. Riggs - Page 3 (H-664) 

or requiring renewal is: 

both to supply an obviously important 

part of the revenues on which the whole 

operation of the law depends and to keep 

an up to date record of practicing engineers. Unless there is some substantial 

penalty to compel compliance, the burden of supporting the Board falls entirely 

on those who comply while the others get 

the benefits of the law but evade its obligations . . . . a construction of an act for 

the protection of life and health at an occasional loss to those, who somehow fail to carry 

its almost insignificant burdens for maintaining their high profession, also has its 

equitable appeal. 265 S. W. 2d at 587. 

And see Mabry v. Priester, 338 S. W. 2d 704, 706 (Tex. Sup. 1960). But cf. 

Hill v. State, 393 S. W. 2d 901 (Tex. Crim. App. 1965). 

We perceive no distinction between the situations described in M. M. hf., 

Inc. v. Mitchell and the failure of a landscape architect to renew his license as required by article 249~. It is therefore our opinion that a landscape architect who 

holds an expired license may not practice his profession without first renewing such 

license. 

SUMMARY 

A landscape architect may not practice his 

profession after August 31 of each year unless he renews his license. 

Very truly yours, 

A ,/ 

u Attorney General of Texas 

Opinion Committee -