MALSCE Government Affairs Update – November 2022

MALSCE Government Affairs Update – November 2022

by Abbie Goodman, MALSCE Chief of External Affairs

Only 730 PLSs licensed in Massachusetts:

I've been tracking license data since 2003 and this is the lowest number I've ever seen for license Professional Land Surveyors in Massachusetts. You'll seen more information below, but MALSCE needs your help. Are you able to help increase awareness of land surveying careers? 

Contact David Prince at MALSCE's Public Outreach Committee to see how you and your firm can help.

​Massachusetts Legislature: 2021-2022 Session 

The Massachusetts Legislature’s formal session for the 2021-2022 legislature ended early in the morning of August 1, 2022. They are still meeting in informal session until Jan. 3, 2023, start of the next legislative session. On November 4, they passed an overdue Economic Development bill:

Governor Baker Signs Economic Development into Law with Some Vetoes (from State House News and other sources)

November 10, 2022: The Senate sent a nearly $3.8 billion spending bill (H 5374) to Gov. Charlie Baker's desk on November 4 that both closes the books on fiscal 2022 and features a compromise on the stalled economic development package that hit a wall on July 31. Governor Baker signed the bill, issuing several vetoes.   More: https://www.acecma.org/about/news/governor-signs-3-7b-economic-development-closeout-bills-with-some-vetoes-4550

Note: Since the legislature is meeting only in informal session, it would be difficult to override the vetoes.

Division of Occupational Licensure: Board of Registration of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors

Next Board of Registration meeting: November 17, 2022, on Teams. The Board of Registration plans to continue virtual meetings for now, as the Governor and Legislature have extended the law allowing virtual public meetings like this to continue through March 31, 2023. To connect to the meeting, go to this page and scroll down to the meeting listing  to download the agenda with connection instructions.

Here are September 2022 public meeting minutes, which were approved at the October 27, 2022, meeting, but are not yet posted on Division of Occupational Licensure website.

October 27, 2022, Meeting Summary: these are not minutes, but a summary of what I heard

• September 22 meeting minutes approved
• 11/17 is next Board meeting
• Architects Board has approved Joint Professional Practice document. Engineering & LS Board didn’t receive the document until right before the 10/27 board meeting and requested more time. They are expected to vote on this at their 11/17/22 meeting. (see draft attached)
• Continuing Professional Competency Regulations are still under review in Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development with Deputy General Counsel Rob McGovern. 
• Esther Laine, who oversees all the boards of registration at the division, is still now acting Exec. Director, while search is underway. Board praised Eric Funk and Jenna Hentoff for their great work.
• Thomas Bryant, Jr., who was unlicensed, had been under investigation for using 2 stamps from deceased Professional Engineers to design cannabis facilities in Wareham.  The Division recently learned that he passed away in January 2022, so they ended the investigation.
• NCEES Enforcement Exchange: nothing is listed this month for any Massachusetts licensed engineers or land surveyors, but the division is aware of 2 finding against engineers and land surveyors that should be posted on the exchange.
• There are seven new cases to be discussed at the complaint committee.
• The board received an odd email from the Florida Board of Professional Engineers that discussed a recent change to policy at the annual convention for the National Council for the Examination of Engineers and Surveyors (NCEES) where the existing position on encouraging diversity without discrimination was replaced with a new position regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and mentioned this is a good and necessary thing. I’ve attached this odd email which seems to be inaccurate and was mystifying to the MA Board of Registration.

Board adjourned public session at 9:47 AM.

License data

Below is a chart received from the board with current license data that I requested in October. .I’m sharing this data with you, although I have several questions about it.

Of particular concern: the Massachusetts Land Surveying licensee count is now 730. This is lowest licensee number ever seen since I started tracking in 2003. One year ago, the licensee count was 778.

I started tracking in 2003, when the PLS license count was 1156.

For historical perspective, please see the data posted here: https://files.engineers.org/file/Engineer-Totals-By-Discipline-Up-To-And-Thru-11-19-2021.pdf

NCEES CEO David Cox Clarifies NCEES  Vision, Mission, and DEI Position Statement

As a result of the confusion at the October 27, 2022 Massachusetts Board of Registration of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors meeting due to an email sent from the Florida Board          Registration, I contacted NCEES (National Council of Examiners of Engineering and Surveying) CEO David Cox for more information.

The Florida article seemed to imply that the change to the DEI position statement somehow removed or altered the NCEES mission to protect the health safety and welfare of the public. David Cox assured me that the NCEES vision and mission statements remain unchanged:

"The vision of NCEES is to provide leadership in professional licensure of engineers and surveyors through excellence in uniform laws, licensing standards, and professional ethics in order to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the public and to shape the future of professional licensure."

"The mission of NCEES is to advance licensure for engineers and surveyors in order to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the public."

The following is NCEES's revised position statement on DEI resulting from a vote at their recent annual meeting:

NCEES is committed to 1) advancing licensure in such a way as to be inclusive of all people for the betterment of engineering and surveying licensure and 2) treating its employees and volunteers of the organization in an equitable and inclusive manner with respect, dignity, and fairness that fosters participation without regard to individual differences. NCEES encourages its member boards to do the same.