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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fifth Legislature, First Regular Session
engineering definitions
Purpose
Defines professional engineer and redefines engineer and engineering practice as the terms relate to regulation by the Arizona Board of Technical Registration (AZBTR).
Background
A person must register as an engineer with the AZBTR to practice engineering (A.R.S. § 32‑121). An applicant for professional registration as an engineer must have at least eight years of education or experience, or both (A.R.S. § 32-122.01). An engineer is a person who is qualified to practice engineering by reason of special knowledge of the mathematical and physical sciences and the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design acquired by professional education and practical experience, and is registered as a professional engineer.
Engineering practice is any professional service or creative work requiring engineering education, training and experience and the application of special knowledge of the mathematical, physical and engineering sciences to professional services or creative work, such as consultation, research investigation, evaluation, planning, surveying, design, location, development, and review of construction for conformance with contract documents, in connection with any utility, structure, building, machine, equipment, process, work or project.
A person practices
engineering if the person practices any branch of the engineering profession or
represents that the person is a professional engineer or is able to perform any
engineering service or other service recognized by educational authorities as
engineering. A person is excluded from the definition of engineering
practice if exclusively practicing engineering for an employer engaged in
developing, mining and treating ores and other minerals (A.R.S.
§ 32-101).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Renames an engineer as a professional engineer.
2. Redefines engineer as a person who may apply engineering principles and interpret engineering data by reason of education, training and experience and removes the specifications that an engineer is qualified to practice engineering and is registered as a professional engineer with the AZBTR.
3. Redefines engineering practice as, to the extent that statutory engineering education, training and experience requirements are necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public, any service or creative work requiring engineering education, training and experience in applying engineering principles and interpreting engineering data to engineering activities and the engineering design of buildings, structures, products, machines, processes and systems.
4. Includes, in services or creative work that are engineering practice, providing planning services, studies, designs, design coordination, drawings, specifications and technical submissions, and reviewing construction or other design products for the purposes of monitoring compliance with drawings and specifications related to engineered works.
5. Deems a person is practicing engineering if the person:
a) practices any discipline, rather than any branch, of the engineering profession;
b) holds out to the public or represents in any manner that the person is able and authorized to practice any discipline of engineering, rather than any engineering service or service recognized by educational authorities as engineering; or
c) uses a title that implies the person is a professional engineer.
6. Removes, from the definition of engineering practice, the specification that a full-time employee who exclusively practices engineering for an employer engaged in developing, mining and treating ores and other minerals does not practice engineering.
7. Makes technical and conforming changes.
8. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
January 11, 2021
LB/kja