2017 -- S 0630

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LC002133

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS-ENGINEERS

     Introduced By: Senators Seveney, Felag, Coyne, DiPalma, and Ciccone

     Date Introduced: March 29, 2017

     Referred To: Senate Commerce

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 5-8-2, 5-8-3, 5-8-14 and 5-8-17 of the General Laws in Chapter 5-

8 entitled "Engineers" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     5-8-2. Definitions.

     As used or within the intent of this chapter:

     (a) "Accredited program" means specific engineering curricula within established

institutions of higher learning that have both met the criteria of, and have been designated by, the

Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and

Technology, Inc. (ABET-EAC). In the absence of ABET-EAC software engineering criteria,

software engineering criteria provided by the National Society of Professional Engineers'

Professional Engineers in Industry (PEI) Task force for the NPSE Licensure & Qualifications for

Practice.

     (b) "Board" means the state board of registration for professional engineers subsequently

provided by this chapter.

     (c) "Engineer" means a person who, by reason of his or her special knowledge and use of

the mathematical, physical, computing and engineering sciences and the principles and methods

of engineering analysis and design, acquired by engineering education and engineering

experience, is qualified to practice engineering, as subsequently defined, and as attested by his or

her registration as an engineer.

     (d) "Engineer-in-training" means a person who complies with the requirements for

education, experience, and character, and has passed an examination in the fundamental

engineering subjects, as provided in §§ 5-8-11 and 5-8-13.

     (e) "National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES)" is a

nationally recognized organization which assists state boards and territorial boards to better

discharge their duties and responsibilities in regulating the practice of engineering and land

surveying.

     (f) (1) "Practice of engineering" means any service or creative work, the adequate

performance of which requires engineering education, training, and experience in the application

of special knowledge of the mathematical, physical, computing and engineering sciences to

services or creative work such as consultation, investigation, evaluation surveys, planning and

design of engineering systems, software systems, and the supervision of construction for the

purpose of assuring compliance with specifications; and embracing those services or work in

connection with any public or private utilities, structures, buildings, machines, computer systems,

information technologies, equipment, processes, work, or projects in which the public welfare or

the safeguarding of life, health, or property is concerned.

     (2) Any person shall be construed to practice or offer to practice engineering, within the

meaning and intent of this chapter, who:

     (i) Practices any branch of the profession of engineering;

     (ii) By verbal claim, sign, advertisement, letterhead, card, or in any other way represents

himself or herself to be an engineer, or through the use of some other title implies that he or she is

an engineer or that he or she is registered under this chapter; or

     (iii) Holds himself or herself out as able to perform, or who does perform any engineering

service or work or any other service designated by the practitioner or recognized as engineering.

     (g) "Professional engineer" means a person who has been registered and licensed by the

state board of registration for professional engineers.

     (h) "Responsible charge" means direct control and personal supervision of engineering

work.

     (i) "Rules and regulations" means that document of the same title, as amended from time

to time, subject to the director's approval, that has been adopted by the board and filed with the

secretary of state in accordance with §§ 42-35-3(a), 42-35-4(b), and 5-8-8.

     (j) "Department" means the department of business regulation.

     (k) "Director" means the director of the department of business regulation or his or her

designee.

     5-8-3. Board -- Creation -- Duties -- Composition -- Appointments -- Terms.

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     (a) The duty of the board of engineers is to administer those provisions of this chapter

that relate to the regulation of professional engineering and the registration of professional

engineers.

     (b) Subject to the approval of the director, the board of engineers shall establish any rules

and regulations for the conduct of its own proceedings; for examination of applicants; for

registration of professional engineers and engineers-in-training; for continuing education

requirements; for investigating complaints to the board; and for governing the practice of

engineering all that it deems appropriate.

     (c) (1) Members of the board are subject to the provisions of chapter 14 of title 36. The

board consists of five (5) persons, who are appointed by the governor, and must have the

qualifications required by § 5-8-4. Each member of the board shall receive a certificate of his or

her appointment from the governor and shall file with the secretary of state his or her written oath

or affirmation for the faithful discharge of his or her official duty. Appointments to the board

shall be in the manner and for a period of time that the term of each member expires at a different

time. On the expiration of the term of any member, the governor shall, in the manner previously

provided, appoint for a term of five (5) years a registered professional engineer having the

qualifications required in § 5-8-4. A member may be reappointed to succeed himself or herself,

but shall not serve more than two (2), full, consecutive terms. Each member may hold office until

the expiration of the term for which appointed or until a successor has been appointed and has

qualified.

     (2) The board shall designate and establish a system of registration by discipline not later

than December 31, 1994, and shall subsequently administer that registration system.

     (3) The registration system shall provide, at a minimum, for the registration of:

     (i) Civil engineers;

     (ii) Chemical engineers;

     (iii) Electrical engineers;

     (iv) Mechanical engineers;

     (v) Structural engineers;

     (vi) Environmental engineers; and

     (vii) Fire protection engineers.

     (viii) Software/Computer engineers;

     (4) The board may establish additional classifications by rule and regulation subject to

the approval of the director.

     (5) Classification of disciplines shall conform to the standards established by the NCEES.

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Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the registration of a qualified applicant to only

one discipline.

     (d) [Deleted by P.L. 2015, ch. 82, § 4 and P.L. 2015, ch. 105, § 4].

     5-8-14. Certificates of registration -- Enrollment cards -- Seals.

     (a) With the assistance of the department, the board shall issue and renew a certificate of

registration, upon payment of the registration fee as provided for in this chapter, to any applicant,

who, in the opinion of the board, has met the requirements of this chapter. Enrollment cards shall

be issued to those who qualify as engineers-in-training. Certificates of registration shall carry the

designation "professional engineer", show the full name of the registrant without any titles, have a

serial number and shall be signed by the chairperson of the board.

     (b) The issuance of a certificate of registration by the board is prima facie evidence that

the person named in the certificate is entitled to all rights and privileges of a professional engineer

while the certificate remains unrevoked or unexpired.

     (c) Each registrant under this chapter may, upon registration obtain a seal of the design

authorized by the board bearing the registrant's name, serial number, and the legend "Registered

professional engineer". Final engineering drawings, specifications, plats, and reports, and

software specifications, designs and reports prepared by a registrant shall be, when issued, signed,

dated, and stamped with his or her seal or facsimile of a seal. It is unlawful for an engineer to

affix, or permit his or her seal or facsimile of a seal to be affixed, to any work of which the

engineer has not been responsibly charged to any engineering drawings, specifications, plats, or

reports, including software specifications, designs and reports, after expiration of a certificate or

for the purpose of aiding or abetting any other person to evade or attempt to evade any provision

of this chapter.

     (d) Any party aggrieved by the board's decision regarding license issuance or renewal

may, within ten (10) days of the decision, appeal the matter to the director by submitting a written

request for a formal hearing to be conducted in accordance with the provisions of § 5-8-18.

     5-8-17. Public works.

     This state and its political subdivisions, such as county, city, town, township, borough, or

legally constituted boards, districts, commissions, or authorities, shall not engage in the

construction of public works including software systems development, involving the practice of

engineering unless the engineering drawings and specifications and estimates have been prepared

by, and the construction is executed under the direct supervision of, a registered professional

engineer, software engineer, or supervision of the Rhode Island department of transportation

when applicable to a municipal transportation project. Any contract executed in violation of this

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section is null and void.

     SECTION 2. Chapter 5-8 of the General Laws entitled "Engineers" is hereby amended by

adding thereto the following section:

     5-8-1.1. Legislative intent and purpose.

     (a) The general assembly finds it necessary to invest in large scale, high expense, public

works projects involving complex software system development; and

     (b) Expected performance of software system development projects is becoming

increasingly difficult to achieve, resulting in significant cost and schedule overruns, costly legal

expenses, and most importantly, the disruption and delay of critical state operations related to

social services, administration of policy and law, and the general effectiveness and efficiency of

service delivery to our citizenry; and

     (c) There exists a body of state law, herein contained in chapter 8 of title 5, established to

safeguard life, health, and property, and to promote public welfare through the proper

certification of professional engineering as pertains to execution of public works projects,

specifically to ensure the state's interests and public's general welfare are protected by certifying a

minimum standard of education, experience and knowledge assessment; and

     (d) The discipline of "software engineering," despite its rapidly growing importance,

complexity, and expense in delivering effective state public services, is not specifically included

in chapter 8 of title 5, at a time when ecommerce, the internet of things and general social

complexity have fundamentally altered the way that government services are delivered. The

impact of failure can have potentially serious and far-reaching implications for the state and its

citizens in terms of cost and denial of critical services; and

     (e) It is the intent of the general assembly to amend certain provisions of chapter 8 of title

5 so as to the safeguard our citizens' lives, health, and property, and to promote general public

welfare through the proper certification of professional engineering as pertains to the execution of

software public works projects.

     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS-ENGINEERS

***

     This act would create a professional designation and registration criteria for professional

software engineers with the subsequent purpose of requiring professional certification as a

condition of participating in software development related public works projects.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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