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 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Cannella | |----------+------------------------------------------------------| |Version: |March 29, 2016 | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ---------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant|Mark Mendoza | |: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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) SB 1165 (Cannella) Page 2 of ? 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 SB 1165 (Cannella) Page 3 of ? 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 SB 1165 (Cannella) Page 4 of ? 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. SB 1165 (Cannella) Page 5 of ? 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 SB 1165 (Cannella) Page 6 of ? 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 SB 1165 (Cannella) Page 7 of ? 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 SB 1165 (Cannella) Page 8 of ? 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. -- END --