Florida Engineering Laws and Rules

Transcription

1 Florida Engineering Laws and Rules FL Licensure Requirements & Fees To be licensed as an engineer in the state of Florida: o One must apply to the department in writing o An application form shall then be submitted with applicant s social security number included The department is solely responsible for determining any contents required for license application and license renewal Examination The FE Exam tests the basics learned during undergraduate schooling Registration can be done through the: o National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying o Florida Board of Professional Engineers As of January 2014, the FE Exam is a Computer-Based Test and is conducted 8 times a year Endorsement, Status, Renewal, and Reactivation The board records reported continuing education courses on a system that is easily accessed by code enforcement jurisdictions in order to evaluate license status for the purpose of processing design documents In order to renew an engineering license, the board must receive an application and fee A license may be reactivated by meeting the continuing education requirements Exemptions Any person practicing engineering for the improvement of/otherwise affecting, property legally owned by her/him, unless such practice involves a public utility/the public health, safety, or welfare/safety/health of employees is exempt from needing to be licensed Prohibitions The management corporation shall not issue a license by endorsement to any applicant who is under investigation in another state for any act that would constitute a violation of Chapter 455/Chapter 471 of the FL Statutes until investigation is complete Penalties Persons who violate any section of Chapter 471 of the FL Statutes have committed a first degree misdemeanor Page 1 of 5

2 Practicing Engineering BPE and FEMC According to Chapter 471, the board shall consist of 11 members, nine of whom shall be licensed engineers and two of whom shall be laypersons All members are appointed by the Governor and serve for a duration of four-year terms FEMC functions under chapter 61G to regulate performance standards and address legally sufficient complaints Defining Engineering In Florida, engineering means any service/creative work, the adequate performance of which requires engineering education, training, and experience in the application of special knowledge of the mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences A person who practices any branch of engineering; who, by verbal claim, sign, advertisement, letterhead, or card, or in any other way, represents himself/herself to be an engineer Certification of Business Organizations Engineers practicing/offering to practice their services through a business organization are only allowed to do so if the business organization possesses a certification issued by the management corporation and subject to the provisions of Chapter 471 A certification of authorization is required for a business or person practicing under a fictitious name and is offering engineering services to the public Chapter 61G15, FL Admin Code Responsible Charge Rule The Responsible Charge Rule is the degree of control an engineer is required to maintain over engineering decisions made personally/by others which the engineer supervises Engineer in charge is called the Engineer of Record Overall, the Engineer of Record should make decisions concerning permanent/temporary work which could create a danger to the health, safety and welfare of the public Disciplinary Guidelines The purpose of the disciplinary guidelines is to give notice to licensees the range of penalties corresponding to different violations Violations and their penalty ranges can be seen in 61G Ethics and Misconduct Ethics deals with the principles of good and bad behavior In Florida, anyone who faces probation as a penalty must complete: o The Engineering Law and Rules Study Guide o Complete a board-approved course in Engineering Professionalism and Ethics o Appear before the board Page 2 of 5

3 Seal, Signature, Date A professional engineer shall sign by hand the licensee s handwritten signature and affix the licensee s seal: o To all final drawings, specifications, plans, reports, or documents prepared or issued by the licensee and being filed for public record o To all final documents provided to the owner or the owner s representative o In addition, the date that the signature and seal is affixed as provided herein shall be entered Standards for Supervision of Governmental Employees Employees of the government must act under the responsible charge of engineers, based on requirements of Chapter 471 of the Florida Statutes The supervision of professional engineer must be of the same quality as that required of private firms Procedures for a Successor A successor professional engineer seeking to reuse already sealed contract documents under the successor professional engineer's seal must: o Be able to document and prove that he has recreated all the work done o Use his own title block, seal and signature o Required to notify the original professional engineer Certification If any of the following circumstances apply, that engineer shall either: o Modify such certification to limit its scope to those matters which the engineer can properly sign, date and seal, or o Decline to sign, date and seal such certification Engineers who sign, date and seal certifications which are beyond the engineer s technical competence would be subject to discipline Engineering Documents Engineering documents should include information that provides material specifications required for the safe operation of the system They should list federal, state, municipal, and county standards, codes, ordinances and rules applicable to the project Liability and Negligence Definitions and Examples Chapter 768 of the Florida Statutes: o Delineates many cases for which liability can be a cause of concern o Negligence action means, without limitation, a civil action for damages based upon a theory of negligence, strict liability, products liability, professional malpractice Page 3 of 5

4 Limitations on Damages Damages describe what the plaintiff of a court is demanding of a defendant in a civil case involving negligence resulting in personal injury or wrongful death Indemnification Agreements Chapter 725: Unenforceable Contracts, of the Florida Statutes, deals with the concept of indemnification agreements Disciplinary Process Grounds for Disciplinary Action There is a list in section of the FL Statutes which includes the grounds for disciplinary action Due Process Rights Article I in the Declaration of Rights of Florida s Constitution grants due process rights to all of Florida s citizens Violations The board decides what constitutes a violation of the grounds previously listed. Violations have a range of possible attached penalties Process Proceedings should be within the jurisdiction of each department Determination of a probable cause for investigation should be decided by a majority vote of the panel on the board Mediations The board shall determine which violations are appropriate for resolution in mediation The department/an agent may serve as mediators The mediator will notify the department of the terms of the resolution Citations The department has the authority to issue rules on citations The citation should contain the subject s name and address, the subject s license number if applicable, a brief factual statement, the sections of the law allegedly violated and the penalty imposed Hearings A formal hearing before an administrative law judge from the Division of Administrative Hearings shall be held if there are any disputed issues of material fact Recommended Order Chapter 120 of the FL Statutes is the Administrative Procedure Act and addresses the procedures applicable to hearings involving disputed issues of material fact Page 4 of 5

5 This Act identifies rules for how the hearing will proceed, including what type of evidence can be admitted A final order shall be entered by the agency within 30 days of the entry of a recommended order Avoiding Legal and Disciplinary Actions In order to avoid trouble, it is prudent to be: o Familiar with the basic standards for engineers in the state of Florida o Able to categorize the laws that correspond to: Licensure Building codes Professional conduct Legal proceedings o Aware of the ones that apply to you Page 5 of 5