1-1 By: Haggerty (Senate Sponsor - Madla) H.B. No. 1544
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 10, 1999;
1-3 May 10, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on State
1-4 Affairs; May 14, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote:
1-5 Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 14, 1999, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to registration of engineering firms and to the
1-9 publication by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers of a
1-10 roster of engineers and engineering firms.
1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12 SECTION 1. Section 1.2, The Texas Engineering Practice Act
1-13 (Article 3271a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read
1-14 as follows:
1-15 Sec. 1.2. PROHIBITED ACTS AND CONDUCT. (a) From and after
1-16 the effective date of this Act, unless duly licensed in accordance
1-17 with the provisions of this Act, no person in this state shall:
1-18 (1) Practice, continue to practice, offer or attempt
1-19 to practice engineering or any branch or part thereof.
1-20 (2) Directly or indirectly, employ, use, cause to be
1-21 used or make use of any of the following terms or any combinations,
1-22 variations or abbreviations thereof as a professional, business or
1-23 commercial identification, title, name, representation, claim,
1-24 asset or means of advantage or benefit: "engineer," "professional
1-25 engineer," "licensed engineer," "registered engineer," "registered
1-26 professional engineer," "licensed professional engineer,"
1-27 "engineered."
1-28 (3) Directly or indirectly, employ, use, cause to be
1-29 used or make use of any letter, abbreviation, word, symbol, slogan,
1-30 sign or any combinations or variations thereof, which in any manner
1-31 whatsoever tends or is likely to create any impression with the
1-32 public or any member thereof that any person is qualified or
1-33 authorized to practice engineering unless such person is duly
1-34 licensed under and practicing in accordance with the provisions of
1-35 this Act.
1-36 (4) Receive any fee or compensation or the promise of
1-37 any fee or compensation for performing, offering or attempting to
1-38 perform any service, work, act or thing which is any part of the
1-39 practice of engineering as defined by this Act.
1-40 (b) Within the intent and meaning and for all purposes of
1-41 this Act, any person, sole proprietorship, firm, partnership,
1-42 association or corporation which shall do, offer or attempt to do
1-43 any one or more of the acts or things set forth in Subsection (a)
1-44 [numbered paragraphs (1), (2), (3) or (4)] of this section [Section
1-45 1.2] shall be conclusively presumed and regarded as engaged in the
1-46 practice of engineering.
1-47 SECTION 2. Section 8(a), The Texas Engineering Practice Act
1-48 (Article 3271a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read
1-49 as follows:
1-50 (a) In addition to any other powers and duties, the Board
1-51 shall have the authority and power to make and enforce all rules
1-52 and regulations and bylaws consistent with this Act as necessary
1-53 for the performance of its duties, the governance of its own
1-54 proceedings, and the regulation of the practice of engineering in
1-55 this state and may establish standards of conduct and ethics for
1-56 engineers in keeping with the purposes and intent of this Act and
1-57 to insure strict compliance with and enforcement of this Act. The
1-58 violation by any engineer of any provision of this Act or any rule
1-59 or regulation of the Board shall be a sufficient cause to suspend
1-60 or revoke the license of or to issue a formal or informal reprimand
1-61 to such engineer. In addition to any other action, proceeding or
1-62 remedy authorized by law, the Board shall have the right to
1-63 institute an action in its own name in a district court of Travis
1-64 County against any individual person, sole proprietorship, firm,
2-1 partnership, or other entity to enjoin any violation of any
2-2 provision of this Act or any rule or regulation of the Board and in
2-3 order for the Board to sustain such action it shall not be
2-4 necessary to allege or prove, either that an adequate remedy at law
2-5 does not exist, or that substantial or irreparable damage would
2-6 result from the continued violation thereof. Either party to such
2-7 action may appeal to the appellate court having jurisdiction of
2-8 said cause. The Board shall not be required to give any appeal
2-9 bond in any cause arising under this Act. The Attorney General
2-10 shall represent the Board in all actions and proceedings to enforce
2-11 the provisions of this Act.
2-12 SECTION 3. Section 11, The Texas Engineering Practice Act
2-13 (Article 3271a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read
2-14 as follows:
2-15 Sec. 11. ENGINEER ROSTER [OF LICENSED ENGINEERS]. (a) The
2-16 Board shall prepare and publish a [A] roster [showing the names and
2-17 places] of persons or business entities [of all] licensed,
2-18 registered, certified, or enrolled [professional engineers shall be
2-19 prepared and published] by the Board. The roster shall include
2-20 names, business addresses, and other identifying information
2-21 required by Board rule.
2-22 (b) The Board shall make the roster available to the public
2-23 without cost in an online computer database format.
2-24 (c) The Board shall provide a physical copy of the roster on
2-25 request and may charge [each biennium at a time determined by the
2-26 Board. Copies of this roster shall be furnished without charge to
2-27 any engineer licensed by the Board on the written request of the
2-28 engineer, placed on file with the Secretary of State, and furnished
2-29 to any person upon written request who tenders] a reproduction and
2-30 shipping fee for providing a physical copy of the roster [set by
2-31 the Board].
2-32 SECTION 4. Section 13(b), The Texas Engineering Practice Act
2-33 (Article 3271a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read
2-34 as follows:
2-35 (b) The Board shall establish reasonable and necessary fees
2-36 for the administration of this Act in amounts not to exceed:
2-37 1. License fee ................................... $50
2-38 2. Annual renewal fee ............................. 75
2-39 3. Reciprocal license fee ......................... 50
2-40 4. Duplicate license .............................. 5
2-41 5. Engineer-in-training certificate ............... 15
2-42 6. Roster of engineers ............................ 10
2-43 7. Examination fee ......................... 200 [120]
2-44 8. Registration fee for engineering firm ......... 100
2-45 SECTION 5. Section 13B(c), The Texas Engineering Practice
2-46 Act (Article 3271a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to
2-47 read as follows:
2-48 (c) Subsection (a) does not apply to a licensed professional
2-49 engineer who:
2-50 (1) meets the qualifications for an exemption from
2-51 licensure under Section 20(a)(5) or(6) [20(e) or (f)] of this Act
2-52 but who does not claim that exemption; or
2-53 (2) is disabled for purposes of Section 13(e) of this
2-54 Act.
2-55 SECTION 6. Sections 16.1 and 17, The Texas Engineering
2-56 Practice Act (Article 3271a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), are
2-57 amended to read as follows:
2-58 Sec. 16.1. EXPIRATION DATES OF LICENSES AND REGISTRATIONS.
2-59 The board by rule may adopt a system under which licenses and
2-60 registrations expire on various dates during the year, and the
2-61 dates for reinstatement shall be adjusted accordingly.
2-62 Sec. 17. SOLE PROPRIETORSHIPS, FIRMS, PARTNERSHIPS,
2-63 CORPORATIONS, AND JOINT STOCK ASSOCIATIONS. (a) A sole
2-64 proprietorship, firm, [or a] co-partnership, [or a] corporation, or
2-65 [a] joint stock association may engage or offer to engage in the
2-66 practice of professional engineering in this State, provided:
2-67 (1) the entity is registered with the Board; and
2-68 (2) such practice is carried on by only professional
2-69 engineers licensed in this State.
3-1 (b) To be registered under this section, an entity must file
3-2 an application with the Board on a form provided by the Board. In
3-3 addition to any other information required by Board rule, the
3-4 application must list the name and address of each:
3-5 (1) officer or director of the entity; and
3-6 (2) person licensed to practice engineering who
3-7 engages in the practice of engineering on behalf of the entity.
3-8 (c) The registration of an entity issued under this section
3-9 is valid for one year and may be renewed by filing an updated
3-10 application under Subsection (b) of this section.
3-11 SECTION 7. Section 18(a), The Texas Engineering Practice Act
3-12 (Article 3271a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read
3-13 as follows:
3-14 (a) No sole proprietorship, firm, partnership, association,
3-15 corporation or other business entity shall hold itself out to the
3-16 public or any member thereof as being engaged in the practice of
3-17 engineering under any assumed, trade, business, partnership or
3-18 corporate name or employ, use, cause to be used or make use of in
3-19 any manner whatsoever any such words or terms as "engineer,"
3-20 "engineering," "engineering services," "engineering company,"
3-21 "engineering, inc.," "professional engineers," "licensed engineer,"
3-22 "registered engineer," "licensed professional engineer,"
3-23 "registered professional engineer," "engineered," or any
3-24 combinations, abbreviations or variations thereof, or in
3-25 combination with any other words, letters, initials, signs or
3-26 symbols on, in or as a part of, directly or indirectly, any sign,
3-27 directory, listing, contract, document, pamphlet, stationery,
3-28 letterhead, advertisement, signature, trade name, assumed name,
3-29 corporate or other business name unless such sole proprietorship,
3-30 firm, partnership, association, corporation or other business
3-31 entity is registered under Section 17 of this Act and is actually
3-32 and actively engaged in the practice of engineering or offering
3-33 engineering services to the public, and any and all services, work,
3-34 acts or things performed or done by it which constitute any part of
3-35 the practice of engineering are either personally performed or done
3-36 by a licensed engineer or under the direct supervision of a
3-37 licensed engineer who is a regular full-time employee of the sole
3-38 proprietorship, firm, partnership, association, corporation, or
3-39 other business entity.
3-40 SECTION 8. Section 20, The Texas Engineering Practice Act
3-41 (Article 3271a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read
3-42 as follows:
3-43 Sec. 20. Exemptions. (a) The following persons shall be
3-44 exempt from the licensure provisions of this Act, provided that
3-45 such persons are not directly or indirectly represented or held out
3-46 to the public to be legally qualified to engage in the practice of
3-47 engineering:
3-48 (1) an [(a) An] employee or a subordinate of a person
3-49 holding a license under this Act; provided, his practice does not
3-50 include responsible charge of design or supervision;[.]
3-51 (2) officers [(b) Officers] and employees of the
3-52 Government of the United States while engaged within this state in
3-53 the practice of the profession of engineering for said
3-54 Government;[.]
3-55 (3) a [(c) A] person doing the actual work of
3-56 installing, operating, repairing, or servicing locomotive or
3-57 stationary engines, steam boilers, Diesel engines, internal
3-58 combustion engines, refrigeration compressors and systems, hoisting
3-59 engines, electrical engines, air conditioning equipment and
3-60 systems, or mechanical and electrical, electronic or communications
3-61 equipment and apparatus; this Act may not be construed to prevent
3-62 any citizen from identifying himself in the name and trade of any
3-63 engineers' labor organization with which he may be affiliated,
3-64 however, this exemption may not be construed to permit any person
3-65 other than a licensed professional engineer to affix his signature
3-66 to engineering plans, or specifications and may not be construed to
3-67 permit a person to use the term "engineer" or "engineering" in any
3-68 manner prohibited by this Act;[.]
3-69 (4) a [(d) A] person, sole proprietorship, firm,
4-1 partnership, joint stock association or private corporation,
4-2 erecting, constructing, enlarging, altering or repairing, or
4-3 drawing plans and specifications for: [(1)] any private dwelling,
4-4 or apartments not exceeding eight units per building for one story
4-5 buildings, or apartments not exceeding four units per building and
4-6 having a maximum height of two stories, or garages or other
4-7 structures pertinent to such buildings; or [(2)] private buildings
4-8 which are to be used exclusively for farm, ranch or agricultural
4-9 purposes, or used exclusively for storage of raw agricultural
4-10 commodities; or [(3)] other buildings, except public buildings
4-11 included under Section 19 of this Act, having no more than one
4-12 story and containing no clear span between supporting structures
4-13 greater than 24 feet on the narrow side and having a total floor
4-14 area not in excess of five thousand square feet; provided that on
4-15 unsupported spans greater than 24 feet on such buildings only the
4-16 trusses, beams, or other roof supporting members need to be
4-17 engineered or pre-engineered; provided that no representation is
4-18 made or implied that engineering services have been or will be
4-19 offered to the public;[.]
4-20 (5) any [(e) Any] regular full time employee of a
4-21 private corporation or other private business entity who is engaged
4-22 solely and exclusively in performing services for such corporation
4-23 and/or its affiliates; provided, such employee's services are on,
4-24 or in connection with, property owned or leased by such private
4-25 corporation and/or its affiliates or other private business entity,
4-26 or in which such private corporation and/or its affiliates or other
4-27 business entity has an interest, estate or possessory right, or
4-28 whose services affect exclusively the property, products, or
4-29 interests of such private corporation and/or its affiliates or
4-30 other private business entity; and, provided further, that such
4-31 employee does not have the final authority for the approval of, and
4-32 the ultimate responsibility for, engineering designs, plans or
4-33 specifications pertaining to such property or products which are to
4-34 be incorporated into fixed works, systems, or facilities on the
4-35 property of others or which are to be made available to the general
4-36 public. This exemption includes the use of job titles and
4-37 personnel classifications by such persons not in connection with
4-38 any offer of engineering services to the public, providing that no
4-39 name, title, or words are used which tend to convey the impression
4-40 that an unlicensed person is offering engineering services to the
4-41 public;[.]
4-42 (6) any [(f) Any] regular full time employee of a
4-43 privately owned public utility or cooperative utility and/or
4-44 affiliates who is engaged solely and exclusively in performing
4-45 services for such utility and/or its affiliates; provided, that
4-46 such employee does not have the final authority for the approval
4-47 of, and the ultimate responsibility for engineering designs, plans
4-48 or specifications to be incorporated into fixed works, systems, or
4-49 facilities on the property of others or which are to be made
4-50 available to the general public. This exemption includes the use
4-51 of job titles and personnel classifications by such persons not in
4-52 connection with any offer of engineering services to the public,
4-53 providing that no name, title, or words are used which tend to
4-54 convey the impression that an unlicensed person is offering
4-55 engineering services to the public; or[.]
4-56 (7) qualified [(g) Qualified] scientists engaged in
4-57 scientific research and investigation of the physical or natural
4-58 sciences, including the usual work and activities of
4-59 meteorologists, seismologists, geologists, chemists, geochemists,
4-60 physicists and geophysicists.
4-61 (b) [(h)] Nothing in this Act shall be construed or applied
4-62 so as to prohibit or in any way restrict any person from giving
4-63 testimony or preparing exhibits or documents for the sole purpose
4-64 of being placed in evidence before any administrative or judicial
4-65 tribunal of competent jurisdiction.
4-66 (c) [(i)] Nothing in this Act shall apply to any
4-67 agricultural work being performed in carrying out soil and water
4-68 conservation practices.
4-69 (d) [(j)] This Act shall not be construed as applying to
5-1 operating telephone companies and/or affiliates or their employees
5-2 in respect to any plans, designs, specifications, or services which
5-3 relate strictly to the science and art of telephony. This
5-4 exemption includes the use of job titles and personnel
5-5 classifications by such persons not in connection with any offer of
5-6 engineering services to the public, providing that no name, title,
5-7 or words are used which tend to convey the impression that an
5-8 unlicensed person is offering engineering services to the public.
5-9 (e) [(k)] This Act or a rule adopted under this Act does not
5-10 prevent, limit, or restrict a person licensed as an architect,
5-11 landscape architect, or interior designer under the laws of this
5-12 state from performing an act, service, or work that is within the
5-13 definition of the person's practice as an architect under Chapter
5-14 478, Acts of the 45th Legislature, Regular Session, 1937 (Article
5-15 249a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as a landscape architect
5-16 under Chapter 457, Acts of the 61st Legislature, Regular Session,
5-17 1969 (Article 249c, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), or as an
5-18 interior designer under Article 249e, Revised Statutes.
5-19 (f) [(l)] This Act does not apply to a regular full-time
5-20 employee of a private corporation or other private business entity
5-21 who is engaged in erecting, constructing, enlarging, altering,
5-22 repairing, rehabilitating, or maintaining an improvement to real
5-23 property in accordance with plans and specifications that bear the
5-24 seal of a licensed engineer. This exemption includes the use of
5-25 job titles and personnel classifications by the employee that are
5-26 not in connection with any offer of engineering services to the
5-27 public.
5-28 SECTION 9. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c) of this
5-29 section, this Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
5-30 (b) The Texas Board of Professional Engineers shall adopt
5-31 rules providing for the registration of engineering entities not
5-32 later than November 1, 1999.
5-33 (c) Sections 17 and 18, The Texas Engineering Practice Act
5-34 (Article 3271a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as amended by this
5-35 Act, take effect January 1, 2000.
5-36 SECTION 10. The importance of this legislation and the
5-37 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-38 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-39 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-40 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
5-41 * * * * *