May/June 2017

PE Report
In Nevada, State-National Teamwork Douses Legislative Threat

What may seem obvious to any professional engineer is not always obvious to legislators. A case in point recently arose in Nevada.

In early April, Nevada Assembly members introduced a bill (A.B. 353) to loosen regulations and promote competition for occupations such as barbers or cosmetologists. The bill was introduced, however, without a clear understanding of how the public could be put at risk if licensing laws for PEs and other highly trained professionals are undermined.

After learning on April 11 about a hearing to review the bill scheduled for the next day, NSPE and the Nevada Society of Professional Engineers took quick action.

Working together, NSPE and the Nevada Society put together a joint response in three hours. Because of the opposition, the bill was dropped from the agenda of the Nevada Assembly Committee on Commerce and Labor.

In a letter to the committee, NSPE President Kodi Verhalen, P.E., Esq., F.NSPE, and Nevada Society President Craig Sisco, P.E., emphasized the importance of occupational licensure for professional engineers. “The professional engineer’s foremost responsibility is to practice in a manner that protects the public health, safety, and welfare. Nevada’s professional engineers design and administer the construction of bridges, tunnels, buildings, waste-water treatment facilities, plants, factories, processing centers, and many other public and private development projects. The professional engineer license demonstrates an engineer’s commitment to the highest standards of engineering practice and ethical conduct and shows that the individual has the proper education, experience, and qualifications to provide these engineering services to the public.”

Since the Nevada legislature meets only biennially, says Sisco, the legislative environment can be hectic and allow little time to deal with proposed legislation.

“It was in this environment that, at the eleventh hour, we were faced with a fundamental threat to PE licensure and knew we needed to team together to oppose the bill. NSPE and NSPE-NV were in immediate and continuous contact, coming up with a response in only a few hours to bring this proposed bill to a halt,” he adds. “The nimble national-state partnership helped make this possible. We will continue to be vigilant and do everything we can to protect and promote the PE license.”

NSPE supports appropriate and effective licensure of engineers in all jurisdictions to protect the public health, safety, and welfare. NSPE also believes that licensure as a professional engineer is the appropriate statutory process by which an individual meets the legal requirements to practice engineering in any jurisdiction.