BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 645|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 645
Author: Niello (R)
Amended: 6/11/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEVEL. COMMITTEE : 10-0, 6/22/09
AYES: Negrete McLeod, Wyland, Aanestad, Corbett, Correa,
Florez, Oropeza, Romero, Walters, Yee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/11/09 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Professional engineers and land surveyors:
licensing
SOURCE : American Council of Engineering Companies of
California
DIGEST : This bill deletes the requirement that the
license expiration date appear on engineering plans or on
land surveying documents, revises references to
"registered" engineers to refer instead to "licensed"
engineers, and makes technical and conforming changes.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
CONTINUED
AB 645
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1. Licenses and regulates professional engineers and land
surveyors by the Board for Professional Engineers and
Land Surveyors (Board) within the Department of Consumer
Affairs.
2. Requires civil engineering, mechanical engineering, or
electrical engineering plans and other specified
documents, prepared by a registered engineer, that are
to be released for construction to bear the signature
and seal or stamp of the registrant, the date of signing
and sealing or stamping, and the expiration date of the
certificate, authority or registration (license
expiration date).
3. Requires that specified multiple page land surveying
documents contain the signature, seal or stamp, date of
signing and sealing or stamping, and license expiration
date on specified pages.
This bill:
1. Deletes the requirement that the license expiration date
appear on engineering plans or on land surveying
documents.
2. Revises references to "registered" engineers to refer
instead to "licensed" engineers.
3. Makes technical and conforming changes.
Background
Up until 2001, engineering and land surveyor licenses were
renewed every four years. In 1998, the Board faced an
impending fund deficit in the 2001/2002 fiscal year. To
address the projected deficit, the Board proposed a plan
which included a combination of curtailed spending,
restructuring its schedule of fees, increasing certain
fees, and moving the license renewal cycle for a
quadrennial renewal (every four years) to a biennial
renewal (every two years). In its review of the Board in
2000, the Joint Legislative Sunset Review Committee agreed
with the Board's recommendations.
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Related Legislation
SB 136 (Figueroa), Chapter 495, Statutes of 2001 , shortened
the license renewal period from four years to two years and
increased the Board's licensing and renewal fees. That
bill was the result of recommendations made by the Joint
Legislative Sunset Review Committee and the Department of
Consumer Affairs.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/30/09)
American Council of Engineering Companies of California
(source)
Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
1.ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : This bill is sponsored by
American Council of Engineering Companies of California
(Sponsor) to eliminate the requirement that all civil
engineering plans, calculations, specifications, and
reports be sealed or stamped with a stamp that includes
the civil engineer's license expiration date. According
to the Sponsor, the two-year license renewal period,
coupled with longer timelines in both private and public
sector project delivery, results in frequent situations
where license renewal occurs midstream in the project
lifecycle. When this happens, plans have to be
reprinted, signed, and sealed solely due to the license
expiration date. "By removing the expiration date from
the information stamped on each document we can remove
the costly and time consuming consequence that mid-stream
re-licensure causes" according to the Sponsor.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
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Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Duvall, Yamada
JJA:do 6/28/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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