BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Jerry Hill, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1165 Hearing Date: April 11,
2016
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|Author: |Cannella |
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|Version: |March 29, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Mark Mendoza |
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Subject: Engineers, geologists, geophysicists, and land
surveyors
SUMMARY: Extends the delinquent license reinstatement timeframe of a
professional engineer and land surveyor's license from three to
five years after the expiration of the license; prohibits the
renewal, restoration, reinstatement, or reissuance of a
professional engineer and land surveyor's license after the five
year delinquent licensee reinstatement timeframe; requires
professional geologists and geophysicists to both sign and seal
their final work product documents; requires professional
geologists and geophysicists to obtain a seal; and provides that
renewal fee for engineering and land surveyor licenses be no
greater than $400.
Existing law:
1)Establishes the Professional Engineers Act, administered by
the Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and
Geologists (BPELSG or Board), within the Department of
Consumer Affairs (DCA), which licenses and regulates
professional engineers. (Business and Professions Code (BPC)
§ 6700 et seq.)
2)Requires that all final civil engineering calculations and
reports bear the signature and seal or stamp of the licensee,
and the date of signing and sealing or stamping. (BPC § 6735)
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3)Requires that each licensed professional engineer obtain a
seal or stamp of a design authorized by the BPELSG bearing
the licensee's name, number of his or her certificate or
authority, the legend "professional engineer" and the
designation of the particular branch or authority in which he
or she is licensed. (BPC § 6764)
4) Provides that registrations and certificates issued under the
Professional Engineers Act may be renewed at any time within
three years after expiration on filing of application for
renewal on a form prescribed by the BPELSG and payment of all
accrued and unpaid renewal fees. (BPC § 6796)
5) Prohibits the renewal, restoration, reinstatement, or
reissuance of certificates of registration, under the
Professional Engineers Act, after three years unless the
applicant meets specified requirements. (BPC § 6796.3)
6) Provides that renewal fee for all engineering licenses and
the renewal fee for each authority level designation held be
no greater than the professional engineer application fee.
(BPC § 6799(3))
7)Establishes the Geologist and Geophysicists Act, administered
by the BPELSG, within the DCA, which licenses and regulates
professional geologists and geophysicists. (BPC § 7800 et
seq.)
8) Requires registered certified and professional geologists and
geophysicists to either sign or seal their plans,
specifications, reports, or documents. (BPC § 7835.1)
9) Requires an applicant for a certification in a specialty in
geology to meet certain requirements, including 7 years of
specified professional geological work.
(BPC § 7842)
10)Provides that each geologist and specialty geologist may
obtain a seal of the design authorized by the BPELSG bearing
the licensee's name, number of his or her certificate, and
the legend "professional geologist" or appropriate specialty
in geology. (BPC § 7852)
11)Provides that each geophysicist and specialty geophysicist
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may obtain a seal of the design authorized by the BPELSG
bearing the licensee's name, number of his or her
certificate, and the legend "professional geophysicist" or
appropriate specialty in geophysicist. (BPC § 7852.1)
12)Provides that certificates of registration as a geologist or
as a geophysicist, or certified specialty certificates, may
be renewed at any time within five years after expiration
upon filing an application for renewal on a form prescribed
by the BPELSG and payment of all accrued and unpaid renewal
fees. (BPC § 7881)
13)Prohibits the renewal, restoration, reinstatement, or
reissuance of certificates of registration, under the
Geologist and Geophysicists Act, after five years unless the
applicant meets specified requirements. (BPC § 7884)
14)Provides that the renewal fee for a geologist or geophysicist
be no greater than $400. (BPC § 7887(d))
15)Establishes the Land Surveyors' Act, administered by the
BPELSG, within the DCA, which licenses and regulates the
practice of land surveying. (BPC § 8700 et seq.)
16)Requires a licensed land surveyor to obtain a stamp or seal
of the design authorized by the BPELSG bearing the licensee's
name, number of certificate, and the legend "Licensed Land
Surveyor" or "Professional Land Surveyor".
(BPC § 8750)
17)Requires that all final maps, plats, reports, descriptions,
or other land surveying documents issued by a licensed land
surveyor or civil engineer authorized to practice land
surveying bear the signature and seal or stamp of the
licensee and the date of signing and sealing or stamping.
(BPC § 8761(d))
18) Provides that licenses issued under the Land Surveyors'
Act may be renewed at any time within three years after
expiration upon filing of application for renewal on a form
prescribed by the BPELSG and payment of all accrued and
unpaid renewal fees. (BPC § 8802)
19)Prohibits the renewal, restoration, reinstatement, or
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reissuance of licenses, under the Land Surveyors' Act, after
three years unless the applicant meets certain requirements.
(BPC § 8803)
20)Provides that the renewal fee for a land surveyor license be
no greater than the application fee. (BPC § 8805(c))
This bill:
1) Extends the delinquent license reinstatement timeframe of a
professional engineer's license from three years to five
years after the expiration of the license.
2) Prohibits the renewal, restoration, reinstatement, or
reissuance of a professional engineer's license after the
five year delinquent licensee reinstatement timeframe.
3) Provides that renewal fee for all engineering licenses, and
the renewal fee for each authority level designation held, be
no greater than $400.
4) Requires professional geologists and geophysicists to obtain
a seal.
5) Requires professional geologists and geophysicists to both
sign and seal their plans, specifications, reports, or
documents.
6) Extends the delinquent license reinstatement timeframe of a
professional land surveyor's license from three years to five
years after the expiration of the license.
7) Prohibits the renewal, restoration, reinstatement, or
reissuance of a professional land surveyor's license after
the five year delinquent licensee reinstatement timeframe.
8) Provides that renewal fee for a land surveyor's licenses be
no greater than $400.
9) Clarifies that applicants applying for licenses under the
Professional Engineer's Act, Geologist and Geophysicists Act,
or Land Surveyors' Act are required to meet all
qualifications, including education, experience, and
examination, prior to licensure.
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10)Makes other technical and conforming changes.
FISCAL
EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed "fiscal" by Legislative
Counsel.
COMMENTS:
1. Purpose. The BPELSG is the sponsor of the bill. According
to the Author, "this bill would provide for consistent
operations among the Board's licensing programs by conforming
the correlating laws. This bill would also provide the
consumers of California with improved assurance that the
documents of professional geologists and geophysicists
reflect their final professional opinion."
2. Background. The BPELSG is charged with safeguarding the
life, health, property, and public welfare by regulating the
practices of professional engineering, land surveying,
geology, and geophysics. The BPELSG provides this public
service by qualifying and licensing individuals, establishing
regulations, enforcing laws and regulations, and providing
information so that consumers can make informed decisions.
The complexity of engineering, land surveying, geology, and
geophysics projects necessitates a very high degree of
technical knowledge and skill that is typically only acquired
after many years of experience. The vast majority of
licensed engineers hold a college degree in engineering.
Land surveyors make decisions and form opinions based upon
interpretation of legal documents, field evidence, and the
use of technically advanced instrumentation. Licensed
geologists and geophysicists often obtain post-secondary
degrees in earth sciences and devote many years of experience
studying and interpreting historical data related to soils,
earth dynamics, groundwater, and the effect those have on
public improvements.
3. Delinquent Reinstatement Rights. The Professional Engineers
Act and the Professional Land Surveyors' Act permit
certificates of registration and certificates of authority as
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a professional engineer or a professional land surveyor to be
renewed at any time within three years after expiration.
After the three year period, the certificate holder may
reinstate the expired license by demonstrating to the BPELSG
that they are still competent to practice without being
required to take and pass the licensing exam. Given the
array of reasons an applicant can provide to highlight his or
her qualifications for reinstatement, the Board does not
typically feel comfortable denying a license for fear of
violating BPC § 6796.3(c). The Board has become concerned
that allowing professional engineers and land surveyors to
reinstate delinquent licenses without retaking the licensing
exam does not provide sufficient public protection. This
practice is already in place for Geologists and
Geophysicists. The Board believes that the requirements for
obtaining licensure after a lengthy period of delinquency
should be standardized across all of the professions it
regulates.
4. Application and Renewal Fee. The Professional Engineers Act
and the Professional Land Surveyors' Act contain language
that ties the license renewal fee to the application fee in
effect at the time of renewal. The Geologist and
Geophysicist Act contains language that indicates that the
application fee and the renewal fee cannot be set at more
than $400.00, but they are not tied together. The BPELSG,
through two of its three licensing acts, is the only Board or
Bureau under DCA in which the renewal fee must be based on
the application fee. It should be noted that the actual fee
amounts are established in regulation through the rulemaking
process, which requires the Board to provide specific
justification for the actual dollar amount to be charged
based on the operational needs of the Board. Requiring that
the renewal fee for professional engineers and professional
land surveyors be based on the application fee could lead to
a situation where the application fee would need to be
lowered based on the actual costs to process the
applications, which would then require the renewal fee to
also be lowered, even if doing so was not supported by the
operational needs of the BPELSG.
It should be noted that the application fee only covers
expenses attributed to the workload of processing an
application and developing state specific exams. Renewal
fees are the only form of revenue for the Board to sustain
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its overall operations.
5. Sign and Seal: Geologists and Geophysicists. Unlike
Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, Geologists and
Geophysicists are not required to sign or seal (or stamp)
their plans, specifications, reports, or other documents.
Additionally, they are not required to obtain a stamp or seal
of the design authorized by the BPELSG bearing the licensee's
name, number of certificate, and the legend "Professional
Geologist", "Professional Geophysicist", or appropriate
specialty in geology or geophysics in which he or she is
certified. The Board reports high rates of disciplinary
actions against persons falsely holding themselves out as a
geologist or geophysicist. Typically, an unlicensed
individual will only sign a document since they are not
required to additionally stamp the final report. Engineers
and developers deeply rely on these reports to identify
whether or not the geological conditions can support a
highway, house, or building. The Board further receives
complaints from consumers stating that reports or documents,
signed mostly by unlicensed geologists or geophysicists, did
not identify glaringly obvious issues with the geological
conditions of the land.
The Board believes that by requiring geologists and
geophysicists to both sign and seal their documents and
obtain a seal, the public can be assured that the documents
reflect the analysis of a licensed, professional geologist or
geophysicist. Additionally, this bill would provide for
consistent operations among the Board's licensing programs by
conforming the law relating to geologists and geophysicists
to the aforementioned requirements of professional engineers
and land surveyors.
6. Exam vs. Licensure. In many instances of the Professional
Engineers Act, Geologist and Geophysicist Act, and Land
Surveyors' Act, the law reads that an applicant is applying
for the exam rather than applying for a license. Because of
this language, BPELSG annually receives reference forms that
weakly recommend a candidate, highlighting that the Board
will be able to get a better depiction of the applicant's
qualifications through the exam.
Current law does not clearly communicate that an applicant is
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applying for a license rather than just the exam. This bill
would outline that education and work experience are equally
as important as the examination when applying for a license.
7. Arguments in Support. The Board for Professional Engineers,
Land Surveyors, and Geologists writes that "SB 1165 would
provide the consumers of California with improved assurance
that the documents of professional geologist and geophysicist
reflect their final professional opinion. SB 1165 would also
provide consistent operations among the Board's licensing
programs by conforming the correlating laws."
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
The Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and
Geologists (Sponsor)
AEG Sacramento Chapter
AEG San Francisco Chapter
Opposition:
None on file as of April 5, 2016.
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