§711.12. License required; exemptions

A. Unless exempted by this Chapter, a person shall not engage in the practice of geoscience unless the person holds a license issued under this Chapter.

B. Unless the person is licensed under this Chapter, he shall not engage in any of the following activities:

(1) Use the term "Licensed Professional Geoscientist", "Licensed Geoscientist", "Professional Geoscientist", or the initials "P.G." as part of a professional, business, or commercial identification or title.

(2) Otherwise represent to the public that the person is qualified to practice as a geoscientist or engage in the practice of geoscience.

C. A person shall not take responsible charge of a geoscientific report or a geoscientific portion of a report required by municipal or parish ordinance, state or federal law, state agency rule, or federal regulation that incorporates or is based on a geoscientific study or geoscientific data unless the person is licensed under this Chapter.

D. The following activities do not require a license under this Chapter:

(1) Geoscientific work performed by an employee or a subordinate of a license holder under this Chapter if the work does not include the responsible charge of geoscientific work and is performed under the direct supervision of a licensed geoscientist who is responsible for the work.

(2) Geoscientific work performed by an officer or employee of the United States practicing solely as such an officer or employee.

(3) Geoscientific work performed exclusively in exploring for and developing oil, gas, or other energy resources, base metals, or precious or nonprecious minerals, including sand, gravel, or aggregate, if the work is done in and for the benefit of private industry.

(4) Geoscientific research conducted through an academic institution, local, state, or federal governmental agency, nonprofit research institution, or for-profit organization, including submission of a report on the research to a public agency.

(5) Teaching geoscience or a related physical or natural science.

(6) Work customarily performed by a cartographer, technician, or physical or natural scientist, including a geologist, geophysicist, soil scientist, chemist, archaeologist, geographer, or oceanographer, if the work does not include the practice of geoscience.

(7) Work performed by an archaeologist, geoscientist, or other person conducting a stratigraphic or historical geological investigation for archaeological purposes.

(8) Testifying or preparing and presenting an exhibit or document for the sole purpose of being placed in evidence before an administrative or judicial tribunal or hearing if the testimony, exhibit, or document does not imply that the person is licensed under this Chapter.

(9) The evaluation by a state agency or by a hearing examiner of an exhibit or document offered or placed in evidence before an administrative tribunal.

Acts 2010, No. 974, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2011.