BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                       AB 320


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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          AB  
          320 (Wood)


          As Amended  April 23, 2015


          Majority vote


           ------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Committee       |Votes |Ayes                   |Noes               |
          |                |      |                       |                   |
          |                |      |                       |                   |
          |----------------+------+-----------------------+-------------------|
          |Business &      |14-0  |Bonilla, Jones, Baker, |                   |
          |Professions     |      |Bloom, Campos, Chang,  |                   |
          |                |      |Dodd, Eggman, Gatto,   |                   |
          |                |      |Holden, Mullin, Ting,  |                   |
          |                |      |Wilk, Wood             |                   |
          |                |      |                       |                   |
          |----------------+------+-----------------------+-------------------|
          |Appropriations  |17-0  |Gomez, Bigelow, Bloom, |                   |
          |                |      |Bonta, Calderon,       |                   |
          |                |      |Chang, Daly, Eggman,   |                   |
          |                |      |Gallagher, Eduardo     |                   |
          |                |      |Garcia, Holden, Jones, |                   |
          |                |      |Quirk, Rendon, Wagner, |                   |
          |                |      |Weber, Wood            |                   |
          |                |      |                       |                   |
          |                |      |                       |                   |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------- 


          SUMMARY:  Prohibits a person from using the title "environmental  
          engineer" unless the person is licensed by the Board for  








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          Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists (BPELSG).   
          Specifically, this bill, 

          1)Inserts "environmental engineer" into the list of branch titles  
            protected under the Professional Engineers Act.

          2)Authorizes a professional engineer licensed as a civil,  
            electrical, or mechanical engineer, to use the title  
            "environmental engineer" without obtaining additional  
            qualifications.

          3)Makes certain legislative findings and declarations. 

          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, one-time costs in the range of $60,000 to $150,000 to  
          BPELSG (special funds) to perform an occupational analysis.   
          Actual costs will depend on whether the study is performed through  
          the Department of Consumer Affairs' Office of Examination Services  
          or through a private vendor.

          COMMENTS:

          1)Purpose.  This bill is sponsored by the Professional Engineers  
            in California Government.  According to the author, "With the  
            proliferation of the teaching and practice of environmental  
            engineering, it is necessary to recognize and regulate  
            environmental engineers with their own title act since the  
            profession is currently not listed under the Business and  
            Professions Code (BPC).  Currently, an environmental engineer is  
            licensed as a civil, electrical, or mechanical engineer and uses  
            the principles of engineering, soil science, biology, and  
            chemistry to develop solutions to address environmental  
            problems.  AB 320 would create an environmental engineer title  
            act that would license and regulate environmental engineers.   
            The profession is involved in efforts to improve recycling,  
            waste disposal, public health, and water and air pollution  
            control that would ensure the safety of the public."










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          2)Background.  The BPELSG was originally created in the late 1920s  
            and charged with licensing civil and structural engineers.  In  
            1947, engineers in the branches of chemical, electrical,  
            mechanical, and petroleum engineering were given title  
            protection.  In 1967, electrical and mechanical engineering  
            changed from title act registrations to practice act  
            registrations, and the Legislature added two new title  
            disciplines: metallurgical and industrial engineering.  In 1968,  
            a bill was passed by the Legislature which authorized the  
            creation of new title acts to the BPELSG.  



            During the early seventies, the BPELSG received petitions from  
            persons representing the branches of aerospace, agriculture, air  
            pollution, communication, control system, corrosion,  
            environmental, fire protection, manufacturing, nuclear, quality,  
            safety, and traffic engineering.  Hearings were held, and all  
            petitions were approved except for the petitions of air  
            pollution, aerospace, communication, and environmental  
            engineers.  



            In 1985, BPC Section 6732 was amended to codify the existing  
            engineering disciplines into the Professional Engineers Act,  
            thereby recognizing them by statute rather than by regulation.   
            In 2004, SB 364 (Figueroa), Chapter 789, Statute of 2003,  
            discontinued licensing for manufacturing engineering.   
            Currently, there are nine remaining title acts:  agricultural,  
            chemical, control systems, fire protection, industrial,  
            metallurgical, nuclear, petroleum and traffic engineering.



            Practice Acts.  Currently, the BPESLG regulates and licenses the  
            practice of civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering and  
            the subspecialties of geotechnical and structural engineering.   








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            The BPELSG regulates the actual practice of the field, and the  
            use of these titles without a license is a misdemeanor.  The  
            BPELSG has the authority to pursue action against persons  
            practicing in these fields regardless of license status. 

            Title Acts.  As noted above, there are presently nine remaining  
            title acts.  To have title act protection, the BPELSG has the  
            authority to monitor and pursue those persons using the title of  
            one of the respected specialties without a license.  However,  
            the practice of these specialties in not regulated, and nothing  
            prevents a person from practicing in one of these fields.   
            Because of this, the enforcement authority of the BPELSG is  
            limited to a person using the title without a license.  

            Effect of This Bill.  This bill would prohibit a person, who is  
            not licensed as an environmental engineer, from using the title,  
            "environmental engineer" or from representing himself or herself  
            as an environmental engineer.  As such, any use of the title  
            "environmental engineer" in any law (statute, regulation,  
            ordinance, etc.) would be interpreted as referring to a person  
            who is licensed.  Therefore, if a state agency were to enact a  
            law that required reports to be submitted by an environmental  
            engineer, then it would mean that only a person licensed as an  
            environmental engineer by the BPELSG could submit such reports.   
            It would be more questionable whether a local agency could enact  
            such a law because BPC Section 460 prohibits a local agency from  
            preventing someone from performing work that they are legally  
            authorized to do.  Since anyone would be able to practice or  
            perform environmental engineering (because only the title would  
            be restricted), there would be a question as to whether or not a  
            local agency could require someone with a license to do the  
            work.  However, because persons would be prohibited from  
            representing themselves as an environmental engineer, unlicensed  
            persons may be prohibited from performing that work or applying  
            to do that work.

            Currently, the only reference to an "environmental engineer" is  
            found in the Health and Safety Code Section 40420.  In this  
            section, the statute lists an environmental engineer as a  








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            potential candidate for position on the Air Pollution Control  
            Board for the South Coast District.  While there is potential  
            that future legislation could require a licensed environmental  
            engineer, this bill does not appear to have negative impact on  
            engineers presently working in environmental engineering.   
            Subsequent legislation would presumably be crafted with the  
            knowledge that this specialty exists and that legislation would  
            specifically indicate that a licensed environmental engineer is  
            required. 

            Education.  There are presently several recognized environmental  
            engineering programs in California including Humboldt State  
            University, California Polytechnic State University, and  
            Stanford University.  California Polytechnic State University  
            has graduated between 40 and 50 students with degrees in  
            environmental engineering for each of the last four years.   
            Humboldt State University has graduated between 30 and 50  
            students with degrees in environmental engineering.  While a  
            degree in engineering is not required for licensure, education  
            is considering in meeting the necessary experience requirements.  
             Under the present system, graduates from these programs  
            typically follow the licensure path for civil or chemical  
            engineering.  

            Other States.  Forty-eight states presently license  
            environmental engineers in some capacity.  However, only six  
            states - Alaska, Hawaii, Nebraska, Nevada, Massachusetts, and  
            Rhode Island - have discipline-specific licensing similar to  
            California.  Most states license qualified persons as  
            professional engineers and limit their practice to their fields  
            of competency like environmental engineering.  Most utilize the  
            National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying to  
            administer the environmental engineering licensing examination  
            for the state.  California and Hawaii do not offer licensure in  
            this field. 

            Other Pathways for Certification.  There also exists a peer  
            organization that certifies persons that are licensed on a state  
            level as environmental engineers.  The American Academy of  








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            Environmental Engineers and Scientists certifies qualified  
            licensed Professional Engineers recommended by peers in their  
            field of specialty as Board Certified Environmental Engineers  
            through certification procedures including oral and written  
            examinations and review of the applicant's work in environmental  
            engineering.  According to a BPELSG member, this type of  
            certification is favorably recognized in the field.

          Policy Issues for Consideration:

          Limited Enforcement.  Considering this bill only offers title  
          protection, the author might consider working with the BPELSG to  
          ascertain if the public is being put at risk.  If public safety is  
          at issue, as is stated in the author's intent language, then  
          consideration might be given to placing this field into a Practice  
          Act so that the BPELSG has the enforcement authority to regulate  
          the practice of environmental engineering.  Adding environmental  
          engineering to the branch titles only prevents the use of the  
          title.  If the BPELSG was to find a person in violation of using  
          the title, there is no authority for the BPELSG to stop the person  
          from working as an environmental engineer. 


          Analysis Prepared by:                                               
          Eunie Linden / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301  FN: 0000348