Mrs. Kathryn Mitchell 

Executive Secretary 

Texas State Board of Landscape 

Architects 

Box 12292, Capitol Station 

Austin, Texas 78711 

Opinion No. M- 926 

Re: Applicability of House Bill 

76, Acts 62nd Leg., R. S., 

1971, Professional Services 

Procurement Act to Landscape 

Architects licensed under Article 

249c, V. C. S. 

Dear Mrs. Mitchell: 

You have requested our answer to the question which we rephrase, 

as follows: 

‘Eoes the definition of ‘professional services’ in House 

Bill 76, Acts 62nd Leg., R. S., 1971* apply to landscape 

architects licensed by the Board of Landscape Architects 

pursuant to Article 249c, V. C. S. ?” 

The definition referred to is a portion of Section 2 of the new legislation 

(hereinafter referred to as the Act) which reads as follows: 

‘Sec. 2. For purposes of this Act the term ‘professional 

services’ shall mean those within the scope of the practice 

of accounting, architecture, optometry, medicine or professional engineering as defined by the laws of the State of 

Texas or those performed by any licensed architect, optometrist, physician, surgeon, certified public accountant 

or professional engineer in connection with his professional 

employment or practice. ” (Emphasis added. ) 

Further, Section 3 reads, in part, as follows: 

“Sec. 3. No state agency, political subdivision, county, 

municipality, district, authority or publicly-owned utility 

* Codified by Vernon as Art, 664-4, V. C. S., shown at p. 72, Vernon’s 

Session Laws, 62nd Leg., R. S., 1971. 

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Hon. Kathryn Mitchell, page 2 (M-926) 

of the State of Texas shall make any contract for, or engage 

the professional services of, any licensed physician, optometrist, surgeon, architect, certified public accountant or 

registered engineer, or any group or association thereof, 

selected on the basis of competitive bids submitted for such 

contract or for such services to be performed, . . . ” 

(Emphasis added, ) 

Your question resolves itself into a determination of whether the Act 

exempts landscape architects from the State’s competitive bidding requirements along with the other named professions. Our answer is that landscape 

architects are not included in the Act. 

Initially, it should be noted that architecture and landscape architecture 

are not synonymous. The architect profession is administered by the Board 

of Architectural Examiners in accordance with Article 249a, V. C. S. The 

Texas State Board of Landscape Architects is a separate administrative 

body regulating landscape architecture, established by Article 249c, V. C. S. 

Entry requirements of the professions as required by the statutes are quite 

different. The definition of landscape architecture in Article 249c, Section 

l(b) provides in part as follows: 

“Such services [of a landscape architect] shall not include 

any services or function within the definition of the practice 

of Engineering, Public Surveying, or Architecture as defined by the laws of this State. ” 

Therefore, the use of the word “architect” in the Act does not include landscape architects within its meaning. 

Examination of the Act reveals a legislative intent to confine the Act’s 

operation to named professions, i. e., accounting architecture, optometry, 

medicine and professional engineering. The Act is silent on the inclusion 

of other professions under a broad or generic listing. That portion of 

Section 3 listing the professions covered by the Act, followed by the statement “or any group or association thereof”, is related to the grouping of 

members of the named professions. 

It is fundamental that there is no room for judicial construction when the 

statute and its meaning are clear and unambiguous. Fox v. Burgess, 157 Tex. 

292, 302 S. W. 2d 405 (1957). As stated in 53 Tex. Jur. 2d 175, Statutes, Sec. 

123: 

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Hon. Katbryn Mitchell, page 3 (M-926) 

“In other words, a court is not authorized to indulge in 

conjecture as to the intention of the legislature, or to look 

to the consequences of a particular construction, unless 

the meaning of the statute is doubtful. ” 

The above holding is appropriate here, since the Act is not subject to 

more than one interpretation. Had the Legislature intended to cover other 

professions in the Act, it could have so provided. Its failure to do so prevents the inclusion of landscape architects in the Act. 

SUMMARY 

The Professional Services Procurement Act, House Bill 76, 

Acts 62nd Leg., R. S., 1971, is not applicable to landscape 

architects licensed by the Board of Lydscape Architects 

pursuant to Article 249c, V. C. S. ,..,,~,. 

,,i 

V&y truly yours, 

era1 of Texas 

Prepared by Thomas F. Sedberry 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

Bill Allen, Co-Chairman 

Ed Esquivel 

Ken Nordquist 

Dick Chote 

Dunklin Sullivan 

MEADE F. GRIFFIN 

Staff Legal Assistant 

NOLA WHITE 

First Assistant 

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