Signed by Governor Josh Shapiro

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that amends the Engineer's Registration Act to remove barriers to becoming a licensed professional engineer in Pennsylvania.

Highlights:

• Defines an engineer intern as a candidate for becoming a professional engineer who has passed a written exam and receives a certificate that denotes them as being an engineer in training who is ready for a license (Sec. 1).

• Requires any engineer who has their license revoked by the board to wait for a period of five years before being able to apply again to obtain a new license (Sec. 4).

• Requires the board to appoint hearing examiners to conduct any hearings that are related to any unprofessional behavior or business practices committed by engineers (Sec. 4).

• Specifies that the governor has the power to approve all hearing examiners appointed by the board (Sec. 4).

• Specifies that any engineers who are candidates for an engineering certificate to complete the following requirements (Sec. 4):

• Graduating from at least a 4-year program with an accredited engineering curriculum 

• At least eight years of experience in work and is showing signs of positive progression 

• Requires candidates for an engineering license to have at least four years of educational experience and at least four years of work experience under an appropriately licensed engineer (Sec. 4).

• Requires each individual with a license to get 24 PDH units for license renewal, which takes place every other year (Sec. 4).

• Requires the fee for obtaining a license to be a fixed amount set by the board (Sec. 9).

• Prohibits individuals without the proper licensing from practicing engineering and other types of geology surveying (Sec. 11).

• Specifies that an individual can be fined up to $1,000 or face a prison sentence of up to 3 months for their first offense (Sec. 11).

• Specifies that any individual found guilty of a felony or committing a second offense receives a fine between $2,000 and $5,000 and a possible prison sentence of no more than 2 years (Sec. 11).

Full Bill Text