(1) Notwithstanding ORS § 671.570, the State Landscape Contractors Board may issue a probationary landscape construction professional license to a person who does not meet the training and experience qualifications set forth in ORS § 671.570. To obtain a probationary landscape construction professional license, the person must:

(a) Pay a nonrefundable application fee;

(b) Pay an examination fee;

(c) Pay to the board the landscape construction professional license fee required by ORS § 671.650; and

(d) Pass all sections of the examination described in ORS § 671.570 within 12 months after first taking the examination.

(2) Two or more years after receiving a probationary landscape construction professional license, a probationary landscape construction professional may obtain removal from probationary status and issuance of a landscape construction professional license if the probationary landscape construction professional presents the board with proof that the probationary landscape construction professional has done any of the following:

(a) Completed at least 24 months of employment with a licensed landscape contracting business under the direct supervision of a landscape construction professional.

(b) Provided supervision described in ORS § 671.540 (1)(q) or 671.565 (1)(b) for at least 24 months as the owner or employee of a licensed landscape contracting business that, during that period:

(A) Filed and maintained with the board a bond, letter of credit or deposit in the amount of $15,000; and

(B) Performed landscaping work only on landscaping projects where the amount charged by the landscape contracting business for work on the project during any 12-month period did not exceed $15,000.

(c) Actively operated for at least 24 months as a construction contractor licensed under ORS Chapter 701.

(3) Except as provided in this section and ORS § 671.560 and as the board may provide by rule, a probationary landscape construction professional licensed under this section is for all purposes a landscape construction professional licensed under ORS § 671.560. [2007 c.111 § 2; 2007 c.399 § 5; 2007 c.541 § 19d; 2009 c.483 § 4]