SB 1165

Bill Subjects

Abstract

The Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists, which is within the Department of Consumer Affairs, administers the Professional Engineers Act, the Geologist and Geophysicist Act, and the Professional Land Surveyors' Act. Those acts provide for licensure and regulation of those respective professions by the board. The Professional Engineers Act requires an applicant for registration as a professional engineer to meet specified requirements, including that an applicant for the 2nd division examination has successfully passed the first division examination. That act requires an applicant for a certificate as an engineer-in-training to meet specified requirements and requires the applicant to satisfactorily complete 3 years or more of postsecondary education or engineering experience, or a combination of both, before the applicant is eligible to sit for the first division examination. That act authorizes the board to waive the first division examination for an applicant whose education and experience substantially exceeds the requirements for registration or certification. That act generally permits certificates of registration as a professional engineer and certificates of authority, which authorize the use of specific titles, to be renewed at any time within 3 years after expiration. That act prohibits the renewal, restoration, reinstatement, or reissuance of these certificates unless the applicant meets certain requirements. That act requires the board to set fees, as specified, and requires the renewal fee for a license to be no more than the application fee currently in effect and prohibits the application fee from being greater than $400. This bill would delete the requirement that an applicant for licensure as a professional engineer pass the first division examination in order to sit for the 2nd division examination and would delete the requirement that an applicant for a certificate as an engineer-in-training successfully complete 3 years or more of postsecondary education or engineering experience, or a combination of both, before the applicant is eligible to sit for the first division examination. The bill would instead authorize the board to provide for a waiver of the first division examination for an applicant for a certificate as an engineer-in-training if the applicant's education and experience substantially exceeds the requirements for a certificate. The bill would extend the 3-year renewal period to 5 years after expiration of the certificate of licensure or certificate of authority. The bill would generally prohibit the renewal, restoration, reinstatement, or reissuance of those certificates after 5 years and would authorize the holder of the certificate, after that time, to apply and obtain a new certificate if he or she has not committed acts or crimes that are grounds for denial and he or she passes an examination, if required. The bill would require the renewal fee for a license to be no more than $400. The bill would also make other technical and conforming changes. Existing law, the Geologist and Geophysicist Act, requires an applicant for licensure as a geologist to meet certain requirements, including graduation from a college or university with a major in geological sciences or any other discipline, that, in the opinion of the board, is relevant to geology, and requires an applicant for a certification in a specialty in geology to meet certain requirements, including 7 years of specified professional geological work. That act also requires an applicant for certification as a geologist-in-training to meet certain requirements, including graduation from a college or university with a major in geological sciences or any other discipline, that, in the opinion of the board, is relevant to geology. That act prescribes requirements for plans, specifications, reports, or other documents prepared by a professional geologist or geophysicist, or by a subordinate, including a requirement that they be signed or stamped with the practitioner's seal. Existing law authorizes geologists, specialty geologists, geophysicists, and specialty geophysicists to obtain a seal that meets specified requirements. This bill would additionally allow an applicant for licensure as a geologist, or for certification as a geologist-in-training, instead of the applicable graduation requirements described above, to have completed a combination of at least 30 semester hours, or the equivalent, in courses that, in the opinion of the board, are relevant to geology and would require that at least 24 semester hours, or the equivalent, be in upper division or graduate courses. The bill would additionally require an applicant for a certification in a specialty in geology to successfully pass a written examination in that specialty. The bill would require the plans, specifications, reports, and other documents prepared by geologists or geophysicists, or their subordinates, to be both signed and stamped. The bill would instead require geologists, specialty geologists, geophysicists, and specialty geophysicists to obtain a seal. The Professional Land Surveyors' Act requires an applicant for licensure under the act to meet specified requirements, including successfully passing the 2nd division of the examination, and requires an applicant for a certificate as a land surveyor-in-training to meet specified requirements, including passing the first division of the examination. That act requires an application for each division of the examination to be made to the board, as specified. That act generally permits licensees to be renewed at any time within 3 years after expiration. The act prohibits the renewal, restoration, reinstatement, or reissuance of a license unless the applicant meets certain requirements. That act requires the board to set fees, as specified, and requires the renewal fee for a license to be no more than the application fee currently in effect and prohibits the application fee from being greater than $400. This bill would additionally require an applicant for certification as a land surveyor-in-training and an applicant for licensure as a land surveyor to not have committed specified acts or crimes constituting grounds for denial of licensure. The bill would require an applicant for a certification as a land surveyor-in-training to have satisfactorily completed 2 years or more of postsecondary education in land surveying or experience in land surveying, or a combination of both, and would authorize the board to prescribe the reasonable educational or experience requirements an applicant needs to meet by regulation. The bill would additionally require an applicant for licensure as a land surveyor to be certified as a land surveyor-in-training in this state, be certified as a land surveyor-in-training or surveyor intern in another state or United States territory, or be exempt, as specified. The bill would instead require an application for certification or licensure under the act to be made to the board on a form prescribed by the board. The bill would extend the period within which a renewal of a license may be made to 5 years after expiration. The bill would generally prohibit the renewal, restoration, reinstatement, or reissuance of a license after 5 years and would authorize the holder of a license, after that time, to apply and obtain a new license if he or she has not committed acts or crimes that are grounds for denial and he or she passes an examination, if required. The bill would require the renewal fee for a license to be no more than $400. This bill would also make other technical and conforming changes.