89C-21. Disciplinary action - Reexamination, revocation, suspension, reprimand, or civil penalty.

(a) The Board may reprimand the licensee, suspend, refuse to renew, refuse to reinstate, or revoke the certificate of licensure, require additional education or, as appropriate, require reexamination, for any engineer or land surveyor, who is found guilty of any of the following:

(1) Fraud or deceit in obtaining or renewing a certificate of licensure or certificate of authorization.

(2) Gross negligence, incompetence, or misconduct in the practice of the profession.

(3) Conviction of, or entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, any crime that is a felony, whether or not related to the practice of engineering or surveying; conviction of, or entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, any crime, whether a felony, misdemeanor, or otherwise, where an essential element of the crime is dishonesty or when the crime is directly related to the practice of engineering or surveying; or conviction of, or entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, of any crime involving moral turpitude.

(4) Violation of any provisions of this Chapter, the Rules of Professional Conduct, or any rules as adopted by the Board.

(5) Being declared insane or incompetent by a court of competent jurisdiction and having not later been lawfully declared sane or competent.

(6) Professional incompetence. In the event the Board finds that a certificate holder is incompetent the Board may, in its discretion, require oral or written examinations, or other indication of the certificate holder's fitness to practice engineering or land surveying and suspend the license during any such period.

(b) The Board may (i) revoke a certificate of authorization, or (ii) to suspend a certificate of authorization for a period of time not exceeding two years, of any corporation or business firm where one or more of its officers or directors have committed any act or have been guilty of any conduct which would authorize a revocation or suspension of their certificates of licensure under the provision of this section.

(c) The Board may levy a civil penalty not in excess of five thousand dollars ($5,000) for any engineer or not in excess of two thousand dollars ($2,000) for any land surveyor who violates any of the provisions of subdivisions (1) through (4) of subsection (a) of this section. The clear proceeds of all civil penalties collected by the Board, including civil penalties collected pursuant to G.S. 89C-22(c), shall be remitted to the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund in accordance with G.S. 115C-457.2.

(d) Before imposing and assessing a civil penalty and fixing the amount, the Board shall, as a part of its deliberation, take into consideration the following factors:

(1) The nature, gravity, and persistence of the particular violations;

(2) The appropriateness of the imposition of a civil penalty when considered alone or in combination with other punishment;

(3) Whether the violation(s) were done willfully and maliciously; and

(4) Any other factors which would tend to either mitigate or aggravate the violation(s) found to exist.