Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 184 First Substitute (2017GS)

Sponsor

Sen. Ipson, D.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/21/2017

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• defines terms;
• provides rulemaking authority to the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL) related to defining unprofessional conduct under the act;
• modifies DOPL's citation authority to include unprofessional conduct under the act; and
• makes technical changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

DIVISION OF OCCUPATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL
LICENSING
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Don L. Ipson
House Sponsor: 
Kay J. Christofferson
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill modifies provisions of the Professional Engineers and Professional Land
Surveyors Licensing Act (the act). 
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ defines terms;
▸ provides rulemaking authority to the Division of Occupational and Professional
Licensing (DOPL) related to defining unprofessional conduct under the act;
▸ modifies DOPL's citation authority to include unprofessional conduct under the act;
and
▸ makes technical changes. 
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
58-22-102
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 278
58-22-503
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 278
ENACTS:
58-22-502.5
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
58-22-102
 is amended to read:
58-22-102.
Definitions.
In addition to the definitions in Section 
58-1-102
, as used in this chapter:
(1) "Board" means the Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors
Licensing Board created in Section 
58-22-201
.
(2) "Building" means a structure which has human occupancy or habitation as its
principal purpose, and includes the structural, mechanical, and electrical systems, utility
services, and other facilities required for the building, and is otherwise governed by the State
Construction Code or an approved code under Title 15A, State Construction and Fire Codes
Act.
(3) "Complete construction plans" means a final set of plans, specifications, and reports
for a building or structure that normally includes:
(a) floor plans;
(b) elevations;
(c) site plans;
(d) foundation, structural, and framing detail;
(e) electrical, mechanical, and plumbing design;
(f) information required by the energy code;
(g) specifications and related calculations as appropriate; and
(h) all other documents required to obtain a building permit.
(4) "EAC/ABET" means the Engineering Accreditation Commission/Accreditation
Board for Engineering and Technology.
(5) "Fund" means the Professional Engineer, Professional Structural Engineer, and
Professional Land Surveyor Education and Enforcement Fund created in Section 
58-22-103
.
(6) "NCEES" means the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and
Surveying.
(7) "Principal" means a licensed professional engineer, professional structural engineer,
or professional land surveyor having responsible charge of an organization's professional
engineering, professional structural engineering, or professional land surveying practice.
(8) "Professional engineer" means a person licensed under this chapter as a
professional engineer.
(9) (a) "Professional engineering
,"
 [
or
] 
"
the practice of engineering
,
" 
or "the practice of
professional engineering"
 means a service or 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 to the service or creative
work as consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, design, and design coordination of
engineering works and systems, planning the use of land and water, facility programming,
performing engineering surveys and studies, and the review of construction for the purpose of
monitoring compliance with drawings and specifications; any of which embraces these services
or work, either public or private, in connection with any utilities, structures, buildings,
machines, equipment, processes, work systems, projects, and industrial or consumer products
or equipment of a mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, or thermal nature, and
including other professional services as may be necessary to the planning, progress, and
completion of any engineering services.
(b) The practice of professional engineering does not include the practice of
architecture as defined in Section 
58-3a-102
, but a licensed professional engineer may perform
architecture work as is incidental to the practice of engineering.
(10) "Professional engineering intern" means a person who:
(a) has completed the education requirements to become a professional engineer;
(b) has passed the fundamentals of engineering examination; and
(c) is engaged in obtaining the four years of qualifying experience for licensure under
the direct supervision of a licensed professional engineer.
(11) "Professional land surveying
"
 or 
"
the practice of land surveying" means a service
or work, the adequate performance of which requires the application of special knowledge of
the principles of mathematics, the related physical and applied sciences, and the relevant
requirements of law for adequate evidence to the act of measuring and locating lines, angles,
elevations, natural and man-made features in the air, on the surface of the earth, within
underground workings, and on the beds of bodies of water for the purpose of determining areas
and volumes, for the monumenting or locating of property boundaries or points controlling
boundaries, and for the platting and layout of lands and subdivisions of lands, including the
topography, alignment and grades of streets, and for the preparation and perpetuation of maps,
record plats, field notes records, and property descriptions that represent these surveys and
other duties as sound surveying practices could direct.
(12) "Professional land surveyor" means an individual licensed under this chapter as a
professional land surveyor.
(13) "Professional structural engineer" means a person licensed under this chapter as a
professional structural engineer.
(14) 
(a)
 "Professional structural engineering
"
 or 
"
the practice of structural engineering"
means a service or creative work [
in the following areas, and may be further defined by rule by
the division in collaboration with the board: (a)
] providing structural engineering services for
significant structures
,
 including:
(i) buildings and other structures representing a substantial hazard to human life, which
include:
(A) buildings and other structures whose primary occupancy is public assembly with an
occupant load greater than 300;
(B) buildings and other structures with elementary school, secondary school, or day
care facilities with an occupant load greater than 250;
(C) buildings and other structures with an occupant load greater than 500 for colleges
or adult education facilities;
(D) health care facilities with an occupant load of 50 or more resident patients, but not
having surgery or emergency treatment facilities;
(E) jails and detention facilities with a gross area greater than 3,000 square feet; [
or
]
and
(F) [
an occupancy
] 
buildings and other structures
 with an occupant load greater than
5,000;
(ii) buildings and other structures designated as essential facilities, including:
(A) hospitals and other health care facilities having surgery or emergency treatment
facilities with a gross area greater than 3,000 square feet;
(B) fire, rescue, and police stations and emergency vehicle garages with a mean height
greater than 24 feet or a gross area greater than 5,000 square feet;
(C) designated earthquake, hurricane, or other emergency shelters with a gross area
greater than 3,000 square feet;
(D) designated emergency preparedness, communication, and operation centers and
other buildings required for emergency response with a mean height more than 24 feet or a
gross area greater than 5,000 square feet;
(E) power-generating stations and other public utility facilities required as emergency
backup facilities with a gross area greater then 3,000 square feet;
(F) structures with a mean height more than 24 feet or a gross area greater than 5,000
square feet containing highly toxic materials as defined by the division by rule, where the
quantity of the material exceeds the maximum allowable quantities set by the division by rule;
and
(G) aviation control towers, air traffic control centers, and emergency aircraft hangars
at commercial service and cargo air services airports as defined by the Federal Aviation
Administration with a mean height greater than 35 feet or a gross area greater than 20,000
square feet; and
(iii) buildings and other structures requiring special consideration, including:
(A) structures or buildings that are[
:
] 
normally occupied by human beings and are five
stories or more in height;
[
(I) normally occupied by human beings; and
]
[
(II) five stories or more in height; or
]
[
(III) that have an average roof height more than 60 feet above the average ground level
measured at the perimeter of the structure; or
]
(B) structures or buildings that are normally occupied by human beings and have an
average roof height more than 60 feet above the average ground level measured at the
perimeter of the structure; and
[
(B)
] 
(C)
 [
all
] buildings 
that are
 over 200,000 aggregate gross square feet in area[
;
and
]
.
(b) "Professional structural engineering" or "the practice of structural engineering":
[
(b)
] 
(i)
 includes the definition of professional engineering or the practice of
professional engineering as provided in Subsection (9)[
.
]
; and
(ii) may be further defined by rules made by the division in collaboration with the
board in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
(15) "Structure" means that which is built or constructed, an edifice or building of any
kind, or a piece of work artificially built up or composed of parts joined together in a definite
manner, and as otherwise governed by the State Construction Code or an approved code under
Title 15A, State Construction and Fire Codes Act.
(16) "Supervision of an employee, subordinate, associate, or drafter of a licensee"
means that a licensed professional engineer, professional structural engineer, or professional
land surveyor is responsible for and personally reviews, corrects when necessary, and approves
work performed by an employee, subordinate, associate, or drafter under the direction of the
licensee, and may be further defined by rule by the division in collaboration with the board.
(17) "TAC/ABET" means the Technology Accreditation Commission/Accreditation
Board for Engineering and Technology.
(18) "Unlawful conduct" [
is
] 
means the same as that term is
 defined in Sections
58-1-501
 and 
58-22-501
.
(19) "Unprofessional conduct" [
as defined in Section 
58-1-501
 may be further defined
by rule by the division in collaboration with the board
] 
means the same as that term is defined
in Sections 
58-1-501
 and 
58-22-502.5
 .
Section 2. Section 
58-22-502.5
 is enacted to read:
 58-22-502.5.
Unprofessional conduct.
Unprofessional conduct includes unprofessional conduct that is defined by rules made
by the division in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
Section 3. Section 
58-22-503
 is amended to read:
58-22-503.
Penalties and administrative actions for unlawful or unprofessional
conduct.
(1) (a) If upon inspection or investigation, the division concludes that a person has
violated [
Subsections 
58-1-501
(1)(a) through (d) or Section
] 
Section 
58-1-501
,
58-22-501
, or
58-22-502.5
,
 or any rule or order issued with respect to Section 
58-22-501
or 
58-22-502.5
 , and
that disciplinary action is appropriate, the director or the director's designee from within the
division for each alternative respectively, shall promptly issue a citation to the person
according to this chapter and any pertinent rules, attempt to negotiate a stipulated settlement, or
notify the person to appear before an adjudicative proceeding conducted under Title 63G,
Chapter 4, Administrative Procedures Act.
(i) A person who violates [
Subsections 
58-1-501
(1)(a) through (d) or Section
] 
Section
58-1-501
,
58-22-501
, or 
58-22-502.5
,
 or any rule or order issued with respect to Section
58-22-501
or 
58-22-502.5
 , as evidenced by an uncontested citation, a stipulated settlement, or
by a finding of violation in an adjudicative proceeding, may be assessed a fine pursuant to this
Subsection (1) and may, in addition to or in lieu of, be ordered to cease and desist from
violating [
Subsections 
58-1-501
(1)(a) through (d) or Section
] 
Section 
58-1-501,
58-22-501
, or 
58-22-502.5
,
 or any rule or order issued with respect to this section.
(ii) Except for a cease and desist order, the licensure sanctions cited in Section
58-22-401
 may not be assessed through a citation.
(b) A citation shall:
(i) be in writing;
(ii) describe with particularity the nature of the violation, including a reference to the
provision of the chapter, rule, or order alleged to have been violated;
(iii) clearly state that the recipient must notify the division in writing within 20
calendar days of service of the citation if the recipient wishes to contest the citation at a hearing
conducted under Title 63G, Chapter 4, Administrative Procedures Act; and
(iv) clearly explain the consequences of failure to timely contest the citation or to make
payment of any fines assessed by the citation within the time specified in the citation.
(c) The division may issue a notice in lieu of a citation.
(d) Each citation issued under this section, or a copy of each citation, may be served
upon a person upon whom a summons may be served in accordance with the Utah Rules of
Civil Procedure and may be made personally or upon the person's agent by a division
investigator or by any person specially designated by the director or by mail.
(e) If within 20 calendar days from the service of the citation, the person to whom the
citation was issued fails to request a hearing to contest the citation, the citation becomes the
final order of the division and is not subject to further agency review. The period to contest a
citation may be extended by the division for cause.
(f) The division may refuse to issue or renew, suspend, revoke, or place on probation
the license of a licensee who fails to comply with a citation after it becomes final.
(g) The failure of an applicant for licensure to comply with a citation after it becomes
final is a ground for denial of license.
(h) No citation may be issued under this section after the expiration of six months
following the occurrence of any violation.
(i) The director or the director's designee shall assess fines according to the following:
(i) for a first offense handled pursuant to Subsection (1)(a), a fine of up to $1,000;
(ii) for a second offense handled pursuant to Subsection (1)(a), a fine of up to $2,000;
and
(iii) for any subsequent offense handled pursuant to Subsection (1)(a), a fine of up to
$2,000 for each day of continued offense.
(2) An action initiated for a first or second offense which has not yet resulted in a final
order of the division shall not preclude initiation of any subsequent action for a second or
subsequent offense during the pendency of any preceding action. The final order on a
subsequent action shall be considered a second or subsequent offense, respectively, provided
the preceding action resulted in a first or second offense, respectively.
(3) Any penalty which is not paid may be collected by the director by either referring
the matter to a collection agency or bringing an action in the district court of the county in
which the person against whom the penalty is imposed resides or in the county where the office
of the director is located. Any county attorney or the attorney general of the state shall provide
legal assistance and advice to the director in any action to collect the penalty. In any action
brought to enforce the provisions of this section, reasonable attorney's fees and costs shall be
awarded to the division.