On January 1, 2015, changes to both the Professional Land Surveyors’ Act and the Professional Engineers Act that apply to governmental agencies and their employees became effective.
Section 8725.1 was added to the Professional Land Surveyors’ Act (California Business and Professions Code) requiring that all licensure requirements imposed upon private sector professional land surveyors shall be imposed upon individuals performing land surveying for a governmental agency. Section 8725.1 states as follows:
It is the intent of the Legislature that the licensure requirements that are imposed upon private sector professional land surveyors and land surveying partnerships, firms, or corporations shall be imposed upon the state and any city, county, city and county, district, and special district that shall adhere to those requirements. Therefore, for the purposes of Section 8725 and this chapter, at least one person authorized to practice land surveying shall be designated the person in responsible charge of professional land surveying work practiced in any department or agency of the state, city, county, city and county, district, or special district.
This requirement has been a part of the Professional Engineers Act, in Section 6730.2, for many years. The addition of Section 8725.1 has made it clear that professional land surveying services performed for or by a governmental agency are required to be done by a person legally authorized to perform land surveying services. These sections clarify that the requirement for licensure applies to governmental agencies and their employees as well as licensees working in the private sector.
The change to the Professional Engineers Act was an addition to Section 6730.2, which has been amended to add subsection (c) concerning monument preservation. Section 6730.2(c) states as follows:
The designated person in responsible charge of professional civil engineering work of any department or agency of the state, city, county, city and county, district, or special district pursuant to this section is responsible for compliance with subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 8771.
The addition of Section 6730.2(c) identifies that the civil engineer in responsible charge for civil engineering work at a department or agency is responsible for compliance with the laws pertaining to the preservation of monuments that control the location of subdivisions, tracts, boundaries, roads, streets, or highways, or provide horizontal or vertical survey control, and the monuments shall be located and referenced prior to the time when construction of the project begins so monumentation is not lost and that any existing monumentation can be retained or replaced in their original position.
Based on these new requirements, the Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists has created a form to be completed by governmental agencies to identify the professional engineers and land surveyors in responsible charge of performing the respective engineering and land surveying duties for their agency. The Notice of Department Designation form must be filed by all governmental agencies that perform civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering or land surveying services whether that agency is a State, city, county, or city/county agency, or a district or special district. The form will provide the Board with a record of who, whether an agency employee or a contracted individual, is in responsible charge of the engineering and surveying services for each department or agency.
If an individual listed on the form leaves the agency, or is no longer in responsible charge at the agency, the individual must complete the Disassociation Notice form.
Questions regarding this requirement may be directed to the Board’s Enforcement Unit at BPELSG.Enforcement.Information@dca.ca.gov or (916) 999-3593.
The Notice of Department Designation form and the Disassociation Notice form are available on this web site. They may be filled out online, signed, and emailed to BPELSG.Organization.Records@dca.ca.gov or mailed to the Board at the address listed on the forms.
