CLARB, with its Board of Directors and staff of 14, works every day to support our Council Record holders to ensure sustainability of the regulation of the profession you love which allows you to continue to protect the public’s health, safety, and welfare in your work. Over the last five years alone, efforts to deregulate and/or weaken the licensing standards within landscape architecture have grown exponentially across North America. In addition to the invaluable services CLARB offers you through the Council Record and the Landscape Architect Registration Examination (L.A.R.E.), we want to share more information on how CLARB works to defend licensure for landscape architects.
CLARB utilizes several strategies and partnerships to make sure the voice of landscape architecture is injected into the ongoing debate surrounding occupational licensing and works to ensure the profession remains licensed.
To expand our abilities in serving you, CLARB is a founding member of the Alliance for Responsible Professional Licensing (ARPL) which is a coalition made up of the U.S.-based professional societies and regulatory associations for landscape architecture, accounting, architecture, engineering, and surveying. We encourage you to learn more about this alliance by visiting the ARPL website and following on Facebook and Twitter.
In 2020, CLARB expanded our internal work by adding a dedicated Government Affairs and Advocacy Manager to the team. By having an in-house specialist, CLARB is able to monitor legislation and regulatory changes that will impact landscape architecture which allows CLARB to respond to proposed bills and regulatory changes quickly. Examples of recent occupational licensing reform include:
- CLARB, along with NCARB (National Council of Architectural Registration Boards) and NCEES (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying), sent a letter to the leadership of the Ohio House Committee on State and Local Government in response to a universal licensing bill in the House. The comment letter addressed potential problems with the bill and showcased the models our professions have in place that aid mobility.
- CLARB worked with ASLA National on a comment letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation in response to proposed changes to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD). The comment letter focused on a specific change to the MUTCD implying that provisions under the MUTCD only apply to engineers or those under the supervision of an engineer. CLARB and ASLA National advocated for the right of landscape architects to continue to practice safely in this area.
Within the U.S., it has become increasingly common for governor’s offices and state legislatures to review existing occupational licensing laws to determine the appropriate level of regulation of an occupation or profession. When these reviews appear on our radar, CLARB works with our members (regulatory/licensure boards), ASLA counterparts, and allied professions to respond to these inquiries and to defend licensure.
- Last year, the state of Virginia reviewed the regulation of landscape architecture to see if licensure was still appropriate. CLARB worked with ASLA National and ASLA Virginia to respond to this inquiry and ultimately won, keeping landscape architecture a licensed profession in Virginia. We encourage you to click here to read the report.
CLARB is committed to doing our part to serve you through defending licensure and the standards for licensure of landscape architecture. Our intent is to keep you updated on regulatory and licensure issues affecting landscape architecture as well as services and support CLARB provides. If you have any questions about CLARB’s work to support licensure, ARPL, or any of the licensing reform bills and inquiries listed, please contact us. We look forward to continuing this important work.