Title: An act relating to continuing education for land surveyors.

Brief Description: Requiring continuing education for land surveyors.

Sponsors: By Representatives Williams, Alexander, Springer, DeBolt, Conway, Wood, McCoy, Condotta and Armstrong.

Brief History:

Commerce & Labor: 2/7/05 [DP].

Floor Activity:

Passed House: 3/3/05, 87-10.
Passed Senate: 4/5/05, 48-1.
Passed Legislature.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE & LABOR

Majority Report: Do pass. Signed by 7 members: Representatives Conway, Chair; Wood, Vice Chair; Condotta, Ranking Minority Member; Sump, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Crouse, Hudgins and McCoy.

Staff: Rebekah Ward (786-7106).

Background:

Land surveyors must be registered in order to practice land surveying in Washington State. The Washington State Board of Registration for Engineers and Land Surveyors (Board), through the Department of Licensing, Business and Professions Division, regulates the practice of land surveying in Washington. Candidates for registration must have graduated from an approved program, have eight years of work experience, and have passed the required examinations. There are approximately 1,113 registered land surveyors and 174 land surveyors in training in Washington.

The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) is an organization composed of the professional regulatory boards of all states. This organization has drafted model rules requiring that licensees complete 15 hours of continuing professional development each year. Seminars, workshops, college courses, professional or technical presentations, publishing a paper and various types of video and correspondence courses may all be used to meet this requirement. Most states have adopted these model rules and require continuing professional development hours (PDH) for land surveyors (23 states require at least 15 hours of PDH, and five states require eight to 10 hours of PDH).

Summary of Bill:

By July 1, 2006, the Board must adopt rules "governing continuing professional development for land surveyors that are generally patterned after the model rules" of NCEES. Beginning July 1, 2007, land surveyors renewing their registration certificates must verify to the Board that they have completed 15 professional development hours per year.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For: The profession itself wants regulation. There are 10 times more land surveyors than engineers in the State of Washington, and there are 14 chapters of land surveyors throughout the state. Thirty-nine other states have professional development hour requirements. These requirements protect consumers and are good for the profession as a whole because the technology within the profession itself is constantly changing in areas such as Global Positioning System, laser scanning, and land title and subdivision law. There are continuing education courses that are offered throughout the state to meet these requirements.

Testimony Against: None.

Persons Testifying: Representative Williams, prime sponsor; Gary Gervelis, and Ken Swindaman, Land Surveyors Association of Washington (LSAW); and Cliff Webster, LSAW and Architects & Engineers Legislative Council.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.