Here?EUR??,,????'???s a name you all should know. Senator Daniel Boatwright from Contra Costa County, California.

Who is he? He?EUR??,,????'???s the man about to introduce into the California State Legislature a bill calling for the abolishment of the Landscape Architecture license. The State of Florida is experiencing a similar situation.

Here are two of the strongest states in the landscape architectural profession. Florida must convince the legislature that their licenses are a benefit to the health, safety, and welfare of the state. According to the state charter there, once every five years each licensing agency is automatically taken off the books unless there is a substantial effort from that individual profession to keep their licenses. In doing so the Florida LA?EUR??,,????'???s must prove to the state (as they did sucessfully five years ago) that maintaining their licenses will benefit the (all important) ?EUR??,,????'??health, safety and welfare?EUR??,,????'?? of Florida. According to a source from the Florida ASLA this will be a major topic of discussion at the Annual Meeting in Orlando, April 2-4.

California, on the other hand, is faced with a bill that calls for the abolishment of the license. Why Senator Boatwright is introducing the bill is still a mystery. The Landscape Architect and Specifier News has arranged for an interview with Boatwright to find out why. We will print that interview in the next issue.

In the meantime, every Landscape Architect must act to preserve their licenses. In California there are four members of the California Council of Landscape Architects who are able and willing to discuss how you can have an impact on this devastating trend. They are:

Jeff Chamlee...213-681-3408
Kent Watson...415-775-9153
Keith Simon...619-232-0440
Kerry Dawson...916-442-1041

By writing or calling these people you can have an impact on the final outcome. California has more licensed Landscape Architects than any other state. If we lose our licenses in this state the dominos might begin to fall the other way.

There are four more people who should hear your views on the subject. They are: Governor George Deukmejian, State Capitol, First Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814; State and Consumer Services Agency, 915 Capitol Mall, Second Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814; Board of Landscape Architects, 1021 ?EUR??,,????'??O?EUR??,,????'?? Street, Sacramento, CA 95814; and finally your local senator or assemblymen.

Thanks to efforts from people like 93-year-old Raymond Page, who was the first to get the ball rolling and pushed through a bill to license Landscape Architects, we are now on the professional map. It is now up to all of us to keep it that way.