Bill Text: NY S02935 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Requires certain engineering plans or specifications for engineering work or services that could pose a material risk to public safety to bear a stamp of approval of a professional engineer and authorizes the public service commission to promulgate rules and regulations relating to such requirement.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION [S02935 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S02935-Amended.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         2935--A
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 30, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sen. KAMINSKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed  to  the  Committee  on  Higher  Education  --
          committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
          recommitted to said committee
        AN ACT to amend the  education  law  and  the  public  service  law,  in
          relation  to certain engineering plans or specifications for engineer-
          ing work or services that could pose a material risk to public safety
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1. Section 7208 of the education law, as added by chapter 987
     2  of the laws of 1971, the section heading as amended by  chapter  475  of
     3  the laws of 2014, subdivision g as amended by chapter 994 of the laws of
     4  1971, subdivision l as amended by section 15 of part A of chapter 173 of
     5  the  laws of 2013, and subdivision p as added by chapter 954 of the laws
     6  of 1972, is amended to read as follows:
     7    § 7208. Exempt persons for the professions  of  engineering  and  land
     8  surveying.  1.  This article shall not be construed to affect or prevent
     9  the following, provided that no title, sign, card  or  device  shall  be
    10  used  in such manner as to tend to convey the impression that the person
    11  rendering such service is a professional engineer  or  a  land  surveyor
    12  licensed in this state or is practicing engineering or land surveying:
    13    a.  Offering  to  practice in this state as a professional engineer or
    14  land surveyor by any person not a resident of, and having no established
    15  place of practice in this state, provided that such  person  is  legally
    16  qualified for such practice in his own state or country;
    17    b.  Practice as a professional engineer or land surveyor in this state
    18  by any person not a resident, or having no established place of practice
    19  in this state, or any person resident in this state but who has  arrived
    20  in  this state within six months, provided, however, such a person shall
    21  have filed an application for license as a professional engineer or land
    22  surveyor, and is legally qualified for such practice  in  the  state  or
    23  country  in which he resides or has his place of practice or in which he
    24  had his previous residence or place of practice, such exemption continu-
    25  ing for only such reasonable time as the board requires to grant or deny
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08398-02-9

        S. 2935--A                          2
     1  the application for license, and a person intending  to  practice  under
     2  this subdivision shall so state on the application;
     3    c.  Practice  of  engineering  or  land surveying, by an employee of a
     4  county or town, in the construction, improvement  or  maintenance  of  a
     5  county  road  or town highway, or by an employee of a county, city, town
     6  or village, in the  construction,  improvement  or  maintenance  of  any
     7  public  work  wherein  the  contemplated  expenditure  for the completed
     8  project does not exceed five thousand dollars;
     9    d. Operation or maintenance of steam, power, or  refrigeration  plants
    10  by legally authorized persons not licensed under this article or persons
    11  engaged  or  employed as an engine man, operator or driver of any engine
    12  or of any mechanical, electrical, chemical or other device or machine;
    13    e. Making of surveys by professional engineers, except that the deter-
    14  mination of real property boundaries may be done only by a licensed land
    15  surveyor;
    16    f. Employment or supervision of interns or other persons qualified  by
    17  education  or  experience by professional engineers or land surveyors as
    18  assistants in the performance of engineering or land  surveying,  or  as
    19  consultants  or  employees in special fields related to but not uniquely
    20  engineering or land surveying,  provided  that  the  engineers  or  land
    21  surveyors employing or supervising such persons shall not be relieved of
    22  any  responsibility  whatsoever  by  delegation  to  such  persons,  and
    23  provided further that such persons  who  have  attained  the  bachelor's
    24  level  of  studies in accordance with the requirements of section seven-
    25  ty-two hundred six of this title may be employed as junior or  assistant
    26  engineers  or  junior or assistant land surveyors, or similar titles, to
    27  act under the general direction  of  a  professional  engineer  or  land
    28  surveyor, or in work not covered by this article;
    29    g.  Employment  of  any  person  as  a junior or assistant engineer or
    30  junior or assistant land surveyor in the civil service of the  state  or
    31  its political subdivisions in a position the title of which was approved
    32  and in use as of July first, nineteen hundred seventy-one, provided such
    33  person acts under the general direction of a licensed professional engi-
    34  neer or land surveyor;
    35    h.  Execution  by  a  contractor  or  by  others of work designed by a
    36  professional engineer, or land surveyor, or the superintendence of  such
    37  work as a superintendent, foreman, or inspector;
    38    i.  The  practice  of  architecture  by  an architect licensed in this
    39  state, or the practice of landscape architecture by a  landscape  archi-
    40  tect  licensed  in  this state, provided that no such architect or land-
    41  scape architect shall use the designation  "engineer"  or  "engineering"
    42  unless licensed as a professional engineer in this state;
    43    j.  The  practice of engineering or land surveying or having the title
    44  "engineer" or "surveyor" solely as an officer or an employee of a corpo-
    45  ration engaged in interstate commerce;
    46    k. The practice of engineering by a manufacturing  corporation  or  by
    47  employees  of  such  corporation, or use of the title "engineer" by such
    48  employees, in connection with or incidental to  goods  produced  by,  or
    49  sold by, or nonengineering services rendered by, such corporation or its
    50  manufacturing affiliates;
    51    l.  The  practice of engineering or land surveying, or using the title
    52  "engineer" or "surveyor" (i) exclusively as an officer or employee of  a
    53  public  service  corporation  by  rendering  to  such  corporation  such
    54  services in connection with its lines and property which are subject  to
    55  supervision  with  respect  to  the  safety  and security thereof by the
    56  public service commission of this state, the interstate commerce commis-

        S. 2935--A                          3
     1  sion or other federal regulatory body and so long as such person is thus
     2  actually and exclusively employed and no longer, or (ii) exclusively  as
     3  an officer or employee of the Long Island power authority or its service
     4  provider, as defined under section three-b of the public service law, by
     5  rendering to such authority or provider such services in connection with
     6  its  lines  and  property  which are located in such authority's service
     7  area and so long  as  such  person  is  thus  actually  and  exclusively
     8  employed and no longer;
     9    m.  The  making  of land surveys by a professional engineer where such
    10  land surveys are essential to  engineering  projects,  provided  he  was
    11  licensed as a professional engineer in this state on or before the first
    12  day  of  January  in  the  year in which this act shall become a law and
    13  files evidence satisfactory to the board on or before the first  day  of
    14  July  in  the year next succeeding the year in which this act shall have
    15  become law, that he is competent and experienced in such land surveys;
    16    n. The design by a land surveyor of roads, drainage, water  supply  or
    17  sanitary sewerage facilities of a minor nature in connection with subdi-
    18  visions  and  the  extension  and  inspection thereof, but not including
    19  sewage disposal or treatment plants, lift  stations,  pumping  stations,
    20  commercial buildings or bridges, provided the surveyor was licensed as a
    21  land surveyor in this state on or before the first day of January in the
    22  year in which this act shall have become a law and files evidence satis-
    23  factory to the board on or before the first day of July in the year next
    24  succeeding the year in which this act shall have become a law, attesting
    25  that  he  is  competent  and experienced in the engineering required for
    26  design of such facilities appurtenant to subdivisions; or
    27    o. Using the title "marine operating engineer", "stationary engineer",
    28  "port of customs surveyor", or "ship surveyor".
    29    p. Contractors or builders from engaging  in  construction  management
    30  and administration of construction contracts.
    31    2.  The  exemptions  provided  for  in this section shall not apply to
    32  engineering work or services that could pose a material risk  to  public
    33  safety,  as determined by the public service commission, performed by or
    34  on behalf of a gas company that distributes and  sells  gas  within  the
    35  state.
    36    § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 7213 to read
    37  as follows:
    38    §  7213.  Engineering  plans;  public safety. Any engineering plans or
    39  specifications for engineering work or services that could pose a  mate-
    40  rial  risk to public safety, as determined by the public service commis-
    41  sion, developed by or on behalf of a gas company shall bear the stamp of
    42  approval of a professional engineer; provided, however,  that  any  such
    43  plan  or specification shall be housed within the applicable gas company
    44  subject to review and audit by  the  public  service  commission.    The
    45  public  service  commission  may  promulgate  any  rules and regulations
    46  necessary for the implementation of this section.
    47    § 3. Section 5 of the public service law is amended by  adding  a  new
    48  subdivision 7 to read as follows:
    49    7.  The  commission may promulgate rules and regulations necessary for
    50  the implementation of section seventy-two hundred thirteen of the educa-
    51  tion law relating to engineering plans or specifications for engineering
    52  work or services that could pose a material risk to public safety devel-
    53  oped by or on behalf of a gas company.
    54    § 4. This act shall take effect eighteen months after  it  shall  have
    55  become a law.
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