New Hampshire and Colorado Legislative Success
Both practice act bills now headed to governor—New Hampshire expected to be signed; Colorado prognosis unclear.

Colorado State House

May 3 was a banner day for ASLA’s 50 by 2010 Licensure Campaign—both the Colorado Senate and the New Hampshire Senate approved practice acts for landscape architects.

In Colorado, the bill passed the Senate by a 24–11 vote. A few days earlier, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the bill, adding an amendment to include landscape architects in the newly formed joint licensure board for architects, engineers, and land surveyors. Under this amendment, landscape architects would have one seat on the board. On May 5, the House concurred with this amendment. The legislation will now be sent to Governor Bill Owens (R). Governor Owens has 30 days to sign or veto the bill. If he does not act, the bill goes into law without his signature. The chapter is working diligently to demonstrate to the governor that this legislation has the support not only of landscape architects, but also of allied professions and clients.

In New Hampshire, the battle in the Senate went down to the wire as opponents of the practice act aimed to defeat it, even after it received such strong support in the House. The House approved the bill on the consent calendar, which is reserved for noncontroversial measures. On May 3, the Senate vote resulted in a victory, with 15 votes in favor and 7 in opposition. Even as this bill heads to the governor, opponents are aiming to add amendments to other bills that would nullify this victory. One such attempt has failed, and the others are not expected to succeed. When the bill reaches the desk of Governor John Lynch (D), he has five days to sign or veto the bill. If he does not act, the bill goes into law without his signature.