BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1063
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 30, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Richard S. Gordon, Chair
AB 1063 (Eggman) - As Amended: April 24, 2013
SUBJECT : Surveyors and engineers.
SUMMARY : Expands title protection for licensed engineers and
surveyors to include city and county engineers and surveyors,
authorizes a licensed surveyor or civil engineer to include
additional information filed with a record of survey, as
specified, and requires a local public agency's land survey
marker or 'monument' to identify the land surveyor or civil
engineer that set it. Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits an individual from using the title, "city engineer,"
"county engineer," unless that person is licensed as a
professional engineer.
2)Prohibits an individual from using the title "city surveyor,"
or "county surveyor," unless that person is licensed as a
professional surveyor.
3)Authorizes a licensed surveyor or civil engineer to include
additional information to be filed with a record of survey,
subject to the following requirements, which shall:
a) Be in a separate document, formatted according to the
County Recorder's standards; and,
b) Include a statement that indicates the documents'
relationship to the record of survey and describes
conditions as of the date of recording.
4)Permits the additional information to include the following:
a) Any data necessary to interpret various items and
locations on the record of survey map or to identify the
survey or surveyor, as specified; and,
b) Unfiled maps, calculations, field notes, photographs,
memoranda, diagrams, reports, letters, e-mails, oaths, and
diaries, among other things.
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5)Requires any monument set by a local public agency to be
marked with the identifying certificate number of the licensed
land surveyor or registered civil engineer, in addition to
existing requirements identifying the agency's political
subdivision.
6)Requires any monument set by a state entity to be marked with
only the name of the state entity.
7)Makes technical and clarifying changes.
8)States that no reimbursement is required by this bill pursuant
to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution
because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency
or a school district will be incurred because this bill
creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or
infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction
within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code
(GC), or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning
of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Professional Engineers Act (P.E. Act) and
provides for the licensing and regulation of professional,
civil, electrical, and mechanical engineers by the Board for
Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists
(BFELSG) under the Department of Consumer Affairs. (Business
and Professions Code (BPC) Section 6700 et al.)
2)Establishes the Professional Land Surveyors' Act (P.L.S. Act)
and provides for the licensing and regulation of land
surveyors by the BFELSG (BPC 8700 et al.)
3)Requires a survey monument set by a licensed land surveyor or
registered civil engineer to mark or reference appoint on a
property or land line to be permanently and visibly marked or
tagged with the certificate number of the land surveyor or
civil engineer setting it, with each number to be preceded by
the letters "L.S." or "R.C.E.", respectively, as the case may
be or, if the monument is set by a public agency, it shall be
marked with the name of the agency and the political
subdivision it services. States that nothing shall prevent
the inclusion of other information on the tag which will
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assist in the tracing or location of the survey records which
relate to the tagged monument. (BPC 8772)
4)Makes it unlawful for anyone other than a professional
engineer licensed under the P.E. Act to stamp or seal any
plans, specifications, plats, reports, or other documents with
the seal or stamp of a professional engineer, or in any
manner, use the title "professional engineer," "licensed
engineer," "registered engineering," "consulting engineer," or
any branch titles, as specified. (BPC 6732)
5)Makes it unlawful for any person to represent himself or
herself as, or use the title of, or any abbreviation or
combination of the words in the title of, professional land
surveyor, licensed land surveyor, land surveyor, land survey
engineer, survey engineer, geodetic engineer, geomatics
engineer, or geometronic engineer unless he or she holds a
valid, unsuspended, and unrevoked license [under the P.L.S.
Act]. (BPC 8751)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill . This bill would enact three distinct
changes of interest to engineers and land surveyors: it would
provide title protection for city and county engineers and
surveyors, authorize land surveyors and civil engineers to
file additional kinds of information with a record of survey,
and require a land marker or 'monument' set by public agencies
to identify the engineer or surveyor that set it. This bill
is sponsored by the Americans Council of Engineering Companies
of California (ACEC California).
2)Author's statement . According to the author's office, "This
bill restricts the use of titles that contain Land Surveyor
and Professional Engineer to those who have the professional
qualifications and licensing specified under the P.L.S. Act
and P.E. Act. There are currently some appointed political
positions that may have the word engineer or surveyor, but do
not require the professional qualifications or licensure
[associated with that title] (e.g., County and City
Engineer/Surveyor). This title protection is intended to be
preventative, as problems regarding land surveying [associated
with non-professionals] have the potential to be a threat to
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public safety.
"[This bill also] seeks to clarify record keeping procedures
to avoid duplicative efforts and streamline communication
between present and future land surveyors/civil engineers [by]
providing statutory authority for land surveyors to submit
supplemental background information related to a record of
survey for future reference [and] specifying that monument
marking provisions would require a public agency to include
both the public agency name and the land surveyor
identification number on their monuments so that future land
surveyors can easily contact the original surveyor."
3)Reasoning for the provisions of this bill . According to the
author, this bill is necessary for the following reasons:
a) Title protection for city and county engineers and
surveyors . Current law restricts the use of professional
titles to those who are examined, registered, and licensed
by the state to practice as engineers and surveyors in
California. However, there are some cases of political
appointments to the positions of county and city
surveyor/engineer of non-professionals. This bill would
provide for additional title protections on top of what is
provided for in existing law for licensed surveyors and
engineers to ensure that local individuals do not hold
themselves out as a surveyor or engineer when they are not
licensed as such.
b) Filing additional information with a record of survey .
This bill provides statutory authorization to professional
engineers and land surveyors to file supplemental
background information related to a record of survey. Many
complicated surveys involved extensive investigation of
property descriptions, title investigation, and other
background. This information may be a valuable resource to
future surveyors and would help avoid costly, duplicative
efforts.
Nothing in existing law precludes a land surveyor or
engineer from submitting additional information with a
record of survey to the county recorder, but this bill
makes that possibility clear. Existing law grants the
county recorder the discretion to accept or exclude
additional information, and this bill would not alter that
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authority.
c) Require public survey monuments to identify land
surveyors and civil engineers . A "monument" as used in
this bill refers to a permanently placed survey marker,
such as a stone shaft sunk into the ground. Survey
monuments are physical markers that are placed in a corner
or line on the ground to mark easements or property
boundaries, and can include nails, pipes, posts, rebar, or
a scribed stone. Currently, private survey monuments
include the certificate number of the land surveyor or
civil engineer, and this bill would require the same
identification for public survey monuments.
Current law requires public monuments to identify only the
public agency that sets the marker and the political
subdivision it services. According to the author's office,
this bill allows land surveyors or civil engineers to
quickly identify a land surveyor or civil engineer who has
previously worked on a public monument to find further
information or observations about a land marker. The
author believes that this would save time and money in
searching for the professionals who have previously set
public monuments.
4)Suggested committee amendments . According to the author's
office, the author has indicated willingness to attempt to
address opposition concerns by deleting emails and diaries
from the list of additional information that may be filed with
the record of survey, given that those materials may contain
personal information or might not rise to the level of an
official public document. There are two other technical,
non-substantive amendments that may be appropriate to take as
well.
The Committee may wish to amend the bill as follows:
On page 3, line 28, strike "letters, emails, oaths, and
diaries" and insert "letters and oaths"
On page 4, line 1, strike "entity" and insert "agency"
On page 4, line 3, strike "entity" and insert "agency and
the political subdivision it serves"
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5)Arguments in support . According to the sponsor, the ACEC
California, this bill proposes to do three things: 1)
Restrict the use of the titles of County Surveyor, County
Engineer, City Surveyor, and City Engineer to individuals who
are licensed to practice in these respective professions by
the state; 2) Create a permissive authorization for surveyors
to record supplemental information related to a record of
survey; and 3) Require monuments placed by public agencies to
display both the public agency name and the land surveyor
identification number of the surveyor responsible for placing
the monument. ACEC California believes these changes will
protected the licensed professions of surveying and
engineering, and improve the flow of information within the
surveying community.
6)Arguments in opposition . According to the County Recorders'
Association of California (CRAC), "It is the duty of the
County Recorder to determine if documents comply with
statutory requirements prior to accepting them for
recordation. When statutory language is ambiguous, it makes
it difficult to [comply] with the law. The current language
of AB 1063 does not specifically define the title of the
proposed document to be accepted for recordation. In the
absence of specific recording requirements, documents are
reviewed to determine if they satisfy the criteria of GC
Section 27280, which allows generally that any 'instrument'
affecting the title or possession of real property may be
recorded. GC 2729(a) defines the term 'instrument' [to mean]
a written paper signed by a person or persons transferring the
title to, or giving a lien on real proper, or giving a right
to debt or duty.
"The California State Legislature has worked diligently to
strengthen the recording system over the years by prescribing
in detail what types of instruments may or may not be
recorded. Current California statute does not allow for the
recording of photographs, reports, letters, e-mails,
memoranda, oaths and diaries. CRAC believes this is because
these types of documents do not fall within the general class
of 'instruments' permitted to be recorded under GC 27280.
That is, there is nothing on their face [that] grants title,
creates a lien, or gives a right to a debt or duty to another.
Allowing these types of documents, photographs, reports,
letters, e-mails, memoranda, oaths and diaries to be recorded
would unnecessarily clutter and cloud title to real property.
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"The current statute does allow for maps to be recorded. Maps
are important tools because real property descriptions can be
made more accurate by reference. We do not oppose recording
instruments that reference clear and verifiable information as
long as they clearly meet the definition of instrument."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Americans Council of Engineering Companies of California
(sponsor)
California Land Surveyors Association
Opposition
California Land Title Association
County Recorders' Association of California
Analysis Prepared by : Joanna Gin / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301