May/June 2017

PE Report
Maine PEs Oppose Elimination of Education Requirements

Members of the Maine Society of Professional Engineers believe the state legislature should drop its effort to eliminate continuing education requirements. Currently, Maine PEs must complete 30 professional development hours every two years.

If the legislation (L.D. 1165) is enacted, Maine would put its professional engineers at a significant disadvantage with almost all other states requiring continuing education; endanger the public health, safety, and welfare; and possibly create comity issues with other states. Enactment of the bill would also run counter to the trend of states establishing continuing education requirements for PEs. More than 40 state licensing boards require that professional engineers maintain and improve their skills through continuing education courses.

In a letter to the Maine Joint Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development, NSPE President Kodi Verhalen, P.E., Esq., F.NSPE, and Maine Society President Colin Hewett, P.E., emphasized the importance of continuing education requirements for professional engineers. “The universe of engineering knowledge continues to expand with time. Just as evolving technical precepts are integrated into classroom instruction, so too the practicing engineer must grow in knowledge to remain effective and competent,” the letter states. “Mandatory continuing education requirements, overseen and enforced by the licensure board, ensure that PEs continue to learn, grow, and benefit the profession and their own development, as well as protect the public health, safety, and welfare.”

NSPE believes that continuing professional development in a prescribed, but flexible, form should be a condition precedent for licensure and for periodic renewal of the license to practice engineering. Additionally, it’s NSPE’s position that jurisdictions should accept that a PE licensed in multiple jurisdictions, and who has fulfilled the most stringent continuing professional development requirement of the jurisdictions in which he or she is licensed, has satisfied the continuing professional development obligation in all jurisdictions.

Access NSPE’s summary of continuing education requirements for PEs at www.nspe.org/resources/licensure/state-ce-requirements.