July/August 2019

PE Report
Arizona Eases Mobility for Out-of-State Licensees

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed legislation in April that allows all occupational licensing boards in the state to recognize the out-of-state licenses of applicants who have been licensed for at least one year. The law is touted as the first of its kind in the nation. The law’s proponents believe that it will help ease mobility, particularly for military personnel and their spouses, while critics believe that it’s too broad.

The recognition of the out-of-state licenses isn’t automatic, however. Applicants must be in good standing in all states where they are licensed; pay applicable fees; and meet all residency, testing, and background-check requirements.

The law is a part of Ducey’s focus on deregulation and eliminating what he calls “unnecessary barriers to entering the job market.” Based on reviews and reports, some occupational licenses have faced elimination.

In the first session of the legislature after he became governor, Ducey proposed deregulating geologists and landscape architects along with other groups like yoga instructors and citrus fruit pickers. PEs, architects, and land surveyors saw this as a threat to the design professions and contacted legislators and stakeholders to explain why it was important to maintain these two learned professions. During a hearing about the proposal to end licensing of landscape architects and geologists, licensees shared how a removal of registration would cause them to leave Arizona and take their businesses with them.

Ducey also signed an executive order requiring licensing boards and commissions to review requirements and issue feasibility reports explaining training requirements, continuing education, fees, and administrative processes.

NSPE believes that the licensing of professional engineers is critical to protecting the public health, safety, and welfare and works closely with state societies across the country to combat efforts to undermine the PE license’s value. The practice of engineering is not a right, but a privilege granted only to those with the proper qualifications, NSPE argues, and licensing boards and governing jurisdictions are necessary to regulate the profession.