Time Sensitive Request for Comments- Deadline: Wednesday, September 18, 2019 by 4:30 pm
The MN AELSLAGID Board is proposing an amendment that addresses allowing individuals to take the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) examination before completion of the current experience requirement. The amendment also affects land surveyors, as far as it would allow applicants on the non-traditional path to licensure as a land surveyor (i.e. those who obtain a bachelor’s degree in something other than land surveying) to sit for the fundamentals exam after completing ½ of the required land surveying credits (rather than all the credits), similar to those on the traditional path to licensure.
If you are interested in providing comments or requesting a hearing: Comments and/or requests for a hearing must be received in the MN AELSLAGID Board office by 4:30 pm on Wednesday, September 18, 2019. These are comments on rule-making related to engineering and land surveying examinations (R-04579). Registered engineers and land surveyors should have received a post-card from the Board in the mail with this notification.
For more information: https://www.mn.gov/aelslagid/rulemaking.html#R04579
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Of MGEC’s 1100+ members and represented non-members, roughly one-half are licensed professionals either in engineering or land surveying. Professional licensing is one way to ensure a consistent level of qualifications and expertise among practitioners. One imagines that the public feels more comfortable receiving services from doctors who passed exams and licensure requirements; attorneys who passed the bar, and engineers who hold Professional Engineer (PE) licenses.
In several states, licensing and regulation in general are trending topics related to government intrusion and burdensome processes. Movements to review and assess licensing requirements are becoming more numerous, and tend not to make a distinction with respect to types of service providers. As an example, barbers, hair braiders, auctioneers, landscape architects, boxing time-keepers, and geologists were all discussed in HB-27 Deregulation of Professions and Occupations in the Florida legislature this summer.
For information on other threats to licensure, refer to the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) website at: https://www.nspe.org/resources/issues-and-advocacy/action-issues/threats-professional-licensure. Nationally, organizations like NSPE and ASCE have taken notice and are now supporting a new entity, the Alliance for Responsible Professional Licensing. http://www.responsiblelicensing.org/
If you are interested in licensure or other legislative topics, please let MGEC know; we are looking for members interested in keeping an eye out for issues of interest to our membership. There is no obligation to be on the MGEC board.
MGEC is proud of all its members, both professional and non-licensed members, for all the great work that you do in service to the State of Minnesota. During our negotiations with the State, we are making it clear that our members provide quality services with unmatched value for the taxpayers of Minnesota.