HD61 - The Regulation of Engineers, Architects, and Land Surveyors and the Exemption from Licensure of Employees of the Commonwealth and Its Localities
Executive Summary: The Subcommittee established pursuant to House Joint Resolution No. 408 (1989) examined the issues, both pro and con, involved with the elimination of the engineering, architecture, and land surveying licensure exemption for state and local government employees. The General Assembly established over a half century ago that the licensure of engineers, architects, and land surveyors was necessary for the preservation of the health, safety, and welfare of the public and required such persons to become licensed. The Subcommittee recognizes that while licensure does not guarantee that mistakes will not be made, it does ensure that an individual has achieved a minimum level of competence for engaging in a particular profession. The Subcommittee's recommendations and proposed legislation will not require every individual employed by a state or local government agency with a title classification of "engineer," "architect," or "land surveyor" to become licensed. Only those employees in responsible charge positions engaged in the practice of engineering, architecture, or land surveying will be required to obtain a license. In addition, the Subcommittee has protected nearly all government workers from the licensure requirement by extending their licensing exemption through a "grandfather" provision. This provision allows any government employee engaged in the practice of engineering, architecture, or land surveying as a regular, full-time, salaried employee of the Commonwealth or any political subdivision of the Commonwealth on June 30, 1990, who remains employed by the same state agency or political subdivision, to be exempt from the licensure requirement until June 30, 2010. If the licensure requirement for government employees were implemented immediately, there could be some costs implications for state and local governments. However, any near-term cost has been eliminated by the twenty-year "grandfather" period. The Subcommittee determined that many of the government employees, especially on the state level, have been classified with engineering titles although their jobs do not conform to the definition of the practice of engineering in § 54.1-400. Due to the licensure exemption, insufficient attention has been paid to the job classifications of many state employees. As a result, non-college-educated persons have been paid salaries by some state agencies equal to salaries paid to their professional engineers. The study has revealed that reclassification is necessary and that some state agencies affected by this study have reclassified their employees by titling only those persons actually performing professional engineering services as engineers. This measure may in fact provide a savings to the Commonwealth by drawing attention to the need for reclassification and salary restructuring. The legislation being proposed by the Subcommittee has been made as permissive as possible to assist state and local government agencies in conforming to the licensure requirement. Persons practicing as professional engineers, whether in the public or private sector, exercise similar types of technical judgments. A uniform set of standards for the practice of professional engineering is required, regardless of whether the engineer works in the public or private sector. Since it has been determined that an engineering license is required to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public, a majority of the Subcommittee determined that the government employee licensure exemption cannot be justified in today's world where a more urban environment, accelerated public works improvements, and large public investments make public health and safety more dependent on professional expertise. |
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