Legislature(2013 - 2014)BARNES 124
03/29/2013 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s)|| Alaska State Board of Public Accountancy|| Alcoholic Beverage Control Board|| Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors|| Board of Barbers and Hairdressers|| Board of Dental Examiners|| Board of Chiropractic Examiners|| Alaska Labor Relations Agency|| Regulatory Commission of Alaska|| Board of Marital and Family Therapy|| Board of Certified Direct-entry Midwives|| Board of Nursing|| Occupational Safety and Health Review Board|| Board of Examiners in Optometry|| Board of Professional Counselors|| State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board|| Board of Pharmacy|| Board of Psychologists and Psychological Associate Examiners|| Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers|| Board of Social Work Examiners|| Real Estate Commission|| Board of Veterinary Examiners|| Workers' Compensation Appeals Commission|| Alaska Workers' Compensation Board | |
| HB167 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | HB 167 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 167-ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS, SURVEYORS
3:37:17 PM
CHAIR OLSON announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 167, "An Act relating to the regulation of
architects, engineers, land surveyors, and landscape
architects."
3:37:22 PM
ANNA LATHAM, Staff, Representative Kurt Olson, on behalf of
Representative Kurt Olson, Chair, House Labor and Commerce
Standing Committee, stated that HB 167 would provide a number of
technical changes to the Board of Registration for Architects,
Engineers, & Land Surveyors (AELS) and provide additional
protection to the public regarding sealing of professional
documents by the design professionals. She provided a section-
by-section analysis of the bill. Section 1 would amend AS
08.48.221 by requiring registrants to sign on the seal when
approving design documents. It deleted the language that would
allow registrants to certify on the face of the document the
extent of the registrant's responsibility for the design work.
Section 2 would add a new subsection to AS 08.48.221 that
requires documents containing the work of multiple fields of
practice to be sealed and signed by a registrant in each of the
fields covered by the document.
MS. LATHAM said that Section 3 would change the exemption for
buildings for residence by not more than four families to not
more than three families. It would add "architect, land
surveying, or landscape architecture" to this section wherever
"engineering" appears. Additionally, it would add language to
the exceptions regarding revegetation or placement of plant
material to require a board determination that the action does
not affect the public health, safety, or welfare. Section 4
would add definitions for "design of minor importance," "shop
drawing" and "field drawing." One of the purposes of a
professional licensing board is to take into account the
concerns of its licensees and serve as a conduit for bringing
those issues to the attention of the legislature. She pointed
out that all of the changes in HB 167 were brought forth by AELS
Board. She highlighted that while most registrants work within
their field of expertise, current statutes suggested that a
registrant is allowed to seal documents that are not in the
realm of the registrant's discipline of licensure if the
registrant certifies of the face of the documents to the extent
of the registrant's responsibility, which has created a loophole
and many problems.
3:39:47 PM
MS. LATHAM explained that the statute was intended to allow
multiple engineering disciplines the ability to stamp the
drawing and indicate the specific portion of the design for
which they were taking responsibility; however, this has been
exploited or misinterpreted to allow design professionals to opt
out of taking responsibility for a large portion of their work.
This has resulted in numerous building code violations the AELS
investigator must review. Currently, the AELS Board has a bill
before the legislature for a full-time investigator, which
passed out of this committee. In 2012, the AELS Board added 490
registrants to its oversight, which has also increased the case
load for the investigator. Thus, now is the time to clean up
the statutes for the board. The only other change in the bill
that raised some questions is in Section 3, page 3 line 14.
This would change the size of residence that requires a design
professional's involvement and will conform to the state Fire
Marshal's regulations, she said. She referred to AS 18.70.080,
which requires the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to develop
regulations establishing minimum standards for fire and life
safety criteria in commercial, industrial, business,
institutional, and other public buildings and buildings used for
residential purposes containing four or more dwelling units. In
accordance with the AELS Board's mission to protect the public's
health, safety, and welfare, this bill seeks to eliminate the
loopholes in current statutes that allow for the misuse of
seals.
3:41:39 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether she could identify any
buildings that have had problems.
MS. LATHAM deferred to Harley Hightower, who previously served
on the AELS board for eight years.
The committee took an at-ease from 3:43 p.m. to 3:48 p.m.
3:49:28 PM
HARLEY HIGHTOWER, Architect, introduced himself.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether Mr. Hightower could
highlight some specific building code violations that relate to
numerous health and safety issues and if he could identify any
specific buildings members might be familiar with [in their
districts.]
MR. HIGHTOWER answered that he was unsure of specific buildings,
although he had served on the enforcement committee during his
AELS board service. He recalled when the board reviewed
documents he found some issues, although he said he could not
name them since the cases under review were confidential.
3:50:58 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON asked whether this part of AS 08 that
relates to misuse of seals should have some deterrent or civil
penalty attached.
MR. HIGHTOWER replied that he is not familiar with the penalties
in AS 08 although the board does have guidelines for certain
penalties for certain offenses. The problem the board has had
relates to the difficulty in enforcing these statutes. In fact,
the board is interested in these changes so cases can be
prosecuted, he said.
3:52:30 PM
MR. HIGHTOWER offered his support for HB 167. He said his
support is offered based on his observations during forty years
of practice in the field of architecture in Alaska and eight
years of service on the AELS board. The current statutes are
unclear in terms of use of seals or application of exemptions
relative to the public health, safety, and welfare of the
public, which is not well served. He referred to AS 08.48.221
and noted the most common misuse of seals is sealing of
multiple discipline drawings by the single registrant. Sealing
documents without the proper due diligence and oversight is not
allowed. The change under AS 08.48.331, exemption (6), relative
to three and four plex residences is one that the board
considered as a housekeeping measure consistent with fire
prevention statutes and for clarity. He explained the exemption
for the specialty contractors has been interpreted by some to
allow the practice of engineering by specialty contractors.
Certainly, fire protection contractors who are specifically
educated, trained and certified to design fire protection
systems are presently exempt. Other trades under specialty
contractors are skilled; however, they are not able to design
systems since they do not have the rigors of experience and
examination to design fire systems. The remaining changes under
AS 08.48.281 and 08.48.341 are "clean up" or technical language
to clarify the subject of sealing of design documents. He
concluded that the bill will assist in the enforcement of
statutes to protect the health, safety and welfare of the
public.
3:56:09 PM
RICHARD REARICK, Architect, stated that he currently serves on
the AELS board, but is representing himself today. He offered
his support for HB 167 and echoed Mr. Hightower's statements.
He offered his belief that this bill will serve to clarify the
registrant's responsibility with respect to sealing of documents
and to clarify the extent of the registrant's discipline with
respect to incidental practice. The bill also adds definitions
to AS 08.48.341. These changes are complementary to other
statute changes, he said.
3:57:25 PM
BRIAN HANSON, Professional Engineer (PE); Civil and Mining
Engineer; Chair, Board of Registration for Architects,
Engineers, and Land Surveyors (AELS), Department of Commerce,
Community & Economic Development (DCCED), stated that he
currently serves as chair of the AELS board. He said he is
supporting HB 167, specifically, the language change for AS
08.48.221, related to signing and sealing documents which is
important, in particular, the seal has added significance. He
referred to AS 08.48.221, with respect to signing within the
registrant's field of practice or design work of minor
importance, which he also supports. He has served on the AELS
Board's enforcement committee and during that time the board
took some legal actions. For example, the board has on occasion
had to consent decrees with licensees, who have made
inappropriate statements on a document. He explained that a
registered design professional cannot stamp with his/her
professional stamp and later decide not take responsibility for
the work. He said this is contrary to a registrant's ethics,
due diligence, and public protection. Additionally, some
housekeeping changes are in the bill, which were previously
discussed related to three and four-plex buildings. Thus AS
08.48.341 further clarifies some of these changes. In
conclusion, HB 167 will assist the board and he appreciated the
committee's time and consideration.
4:00:02 PM
DALE NELSON, Professional Engineer (PE); Civil Engineer; Chair,
Liaison Committee, Alaska Professional Design Council (APDC),
stated he has practiced in the state for forty-five years. He
spoke in support of HB 167 on behalf of the APDC. The APDC is a
professional group which consists of memberships of professional
engineers, land surveyors, including American Institute of
Architects, and the American Council of Engineering Companies.
The APDC supports the bill to ensure the health, safety and
welfare of the public and to provide the AELS board with
additional tools to clarify and meet those needs.
CHAIR OLSON indicated he enjoyed working with the AELS Board
since it promotes professionalism and also since it has an
impact on public protection. He thanked the board and
organization for its work.
4:02:20 PM
CHAIR OLSON, after first determining no one else wished to
testify, closed public testimony on HB 167.
4:02:36 PM
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD moved to report HB 167 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, HB 167 was reported from the
House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB167 ver U.pdf |
HL&C 3/29/2013 3:15:00 PM SL&C 3/27/2014 1:30:00 PM |
HB 167 |
| HB167 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HL&C 3/29/2013 3:15:00 PM SL&C 3/27/2014 1:30:00 PM |
HB 167 |
| HB167 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HL&C 3/29/2013 3:15:00 PM SL&C 3/27/2014 1:30:00 PM |
HB 167 |
| HB167 Fiscal Note-DCCED-CBPL-03-25-13.pdf |
HL&C 3/29/2013 3:15:00 PM SL&C 3/27/2014 1:30:00 PM |
HB 167 |
| HB167 Support Document-Assorted Letters of Support.pdf |
HL&C 3/29/2013 3:15:00 PM SL&C 3/27/2014 1:30:00 PM |
HB 167 |
| Memo to Clerk-members copy- Mar 29.pdf |
HL&C 3/29/2013 3:15:00 PM |
Referral of Appointees to Boards and Commissions |