SECTION 1.144. Dishonest Practice

(a) An Architect may not directly or indirectly perform an act, omit an act or allow an omission, make an assertion, or otherwise engage in a practice with the intent to:

(1) defraud;

(2) deceive; or

(3) create a misleading impression.

(b) An Architect may not advertise in a manner which is false, misleading, or deceptive.

(c) An Architect may not directly or indirectly solicit, offer, give, or receive anything or any service of significant value as an inducement or reward to secure any specific publicly funded architectural work. An Architect may not give architectural plans, design services, pre-bond referendum services, or any other goods or services of significant value to a governmental entity in response to a request for qualifications, a request for proposals, or otherwise during the process to select an Architect to render publicly funded architectural work. The term "significant value" means any act, article, money, or other material consideration which is of such value or proportion that its offer or acceptance would affect the governmental entity's selection of an Architect or would create the appearance of an obligation or bias on the part of the governmental entity to select the Architect to perform the architectural work.

(d) An Architect serving as an expert witness is subject to discipline for committing a dishonest practice upon a finding by a court of law that the Architect:

(1) rendered testimony the Architect has actual knowledge is false; or

(2) agreed to receive payment contingent upon giving testimony that expresses a particular opinion.

(e) For purposes of this section, an Architect's conduct is intentional, or with intent, if the nature of the conduct or a reasonable result of the conduct demonstrates a conscious objective or desire to engage in the conduct or cause the result. An Architect's conduct is knowing or with knowledge, with respect to the nature of the conduct or to circumstances surrounding the conduct when a reasonably prudent Architect in the same or similar circumstances would be aware of the nature of the conduct or that the circumstances exist. An Architect acts knowingly, or with knowledge, with respect to a result of the Architect's conduct when a reasonably prudent Architect would be aware of the conduct and the conduct is reasonably certain to cause the result. An Architect's intent or knowledge may be established by circumstantial evidence.

Source Note: The provisions of this §1.144 adopted to be effective March 1, 2001, 26 TexReg 1712; amended to be effective July 18, 2007, 32 TexReg 4394; amended to be effective March 3, 2013, 38 TexReg 1181; amended to be effective November 23, 2014, 39 TexReg 9006