Enrolled Bill Summary

            Senate Bill 697 amends the Texas Engineering Practice Act to authorize the Texas Board of Professional Engineers by rule to require no more than eight hours of education per year for engineers regulated by the board and sets forth the activities for which continuing education credit may be awarded. The bill authorizes the board to review a proposal for the procurement of services issued by a governmental entity and to issue a finding regarding whether the services are within the scope of the practice of professional engineering. The bill requires the board to adopt a registration fee for a sole proprietorship and a system under which the registration expires, authorizes the board to require certain exempt and unlicensed engineers to register and pay a fee, and requires the board to develop written guidelines that distinguish between engineering research conducted by certain faculty of higher education and other activities conducted by those faculty that constitute engineering consulting or the offering of engineering services to the public.