SL&C - 3/7/95 SB 43 ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS, LAND SURVEYORS  SENATOR LEMAN, sponsor of SB 43, made the following comments. He introduced the bill at the request of the AELS Board which they consider their omnibus housekeeping measure. The same bill was on the senate floor last year but did not pass because of the utility issue. Section 1 deletes the requirement that one of the seven members of the board be a mining engineer. The intention is not to take anything away from the mining profession in the state of Alaska, but to be more reflective of the categories of engineers. It has become increasingly difficult for the governor to find a mining engineer to serve on the board. The deletion does not prevent the appointment of a mining engineer; it no longer requires it. Section 2 gives the board the flexibility to design comparable requirements including both education and experience. Section 3 deletes reference to a council that no longer exists. Section 4 adds the word "or" on line 27 to allow the board to take action against a person meeting any one of the conditions. Section 5 requires that teachers of land surveying at a postsecondary education institution be registered land surveyors. Section 6 adds a definition of the practice of teaching land surveying at an institution of higher learning. This allows a person to use that experience to count toward registration qualifications. It also makes other definitional changes to bring the definition of land surveying current with existing practice. Number 284 MICHAEL KENNY, representing the Technical Engineers of Alaska, Local 959, testified against SB 43, particularly Section 2, which deletes the statutory requirement for an individual to show evidence of no more than eight years of a combination of education, experience or training. He noted in his experience, people with a combination of six or seven years of experience in construction and land surveying are more than minimally qualified to take the land surveyor examination. He stated if this statutory requirement is removed, the comparable amount for engineering is 12 years, and he feels that is an extreme amount of experience to require for the minimal qualifications to take the land surveyor test. He expressed concern that Section 6 would affect contractors installing water and sewer lines, and curbs and gutters, and would require those people to be licensed land surveyors. Gerry Kurtz, a licensed land surveyor, testified in opposition to SB 43. He felt the current board is unnecessarily weighted in favor of engineers. Out of nine board members, only one is a surveyor. He would prefer to see two engineers, two architects, two surveyors and one public member comprise the board. Regarding Section 2, he was opposed to the deletion of the eight year provision. He felt people with eight years of training should be allowed to take the exam. He stated making the work experience requirement 12 years would scare people away from the profession and would discriminate against certain members who, through tradition, have not been college trained, primarily native people. He believed Section 5 is discriminatory to land surveyors and felt college administrators should be given the leeway to hire whomever they feel is qualified. He agreed with Mr. Kenney that Section 6 may take away work traditionally performed well by other people. He felt SB 43 to be unnecessary, and that a good exam and testing procedure designed by the AELS Board would solve any problems. Number 181 STEVE BORELL, representing the Alaska Miners' Association (AMA), commented on Section 1. The AMA opposed the change as there are many ways in which mining applications provide for different aspects of engineering than in other fields. COLIN MAYNARD, Alaska Professional Design Council, testified in support of SB 43 as the bill cleans up problems in the current statute. He noted the change in Section 1 would make it much easier to find people to serve on the board. He commented mining engineers want to secure a spot on the board but they do not want to be governed by their regulations. Regarding the board composition, he felt if all types of engineers were represented, the board would be too large and costly. He commented the land surveyor provisions were requested by the ASPLS to require higher qualifications for land surveyors, possibly because of the large number of claims made to the AELS board. He noted the university requested the provision for teacher qualifications be reinstated in SB 99 after it had been removed four years ago. He agreed teachers in higher level design courses should have experience in design and in the practice. He explained it would still be possible to teach at a postsecondary institution without the qualifications if supervision by a licensed land surveyor is available, and that experience would count toward licensure.