PENNA. JOINS MD. IN PASSING NEW CPC LAW FOR PEs

 

Pennsylvania has joined Maryland with a new law requiring Continuing Professional Competency for Professional Engineers. Gov. Ed Rendell signed the bill on May 12. It will take effect in 60  days.

 

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley signed this state’s new CPC bill on April 13. The new law goes into effect on July 1 and applies to those renewing licenses on or after Oct. 1, 2012. The law gives the State PE Board the responsibility of adopting regulations “to require a demonstration of continuing professional competency for a licensee as a condition of renewal of a license.”

 

The Maryland  PE Board is to establish a task force to assist in developing the regulation.  All meetings of the Task Force will be open to the public. The proposed regulation will be published and open  for public comment before it can be adopted. Board member David Mongon, PE, has been tasked with developing a backward-time-line for development of the regulation.

 

Members of the Maryland PE Board have started meeting with members of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey boards, which are also starting the process of writing CPC regulations. The idea is to develop compatible regulations to facilitate reciprocity among neighboring states. Virginia and West Virginia regulations are already in place.

 

In testimony before a Maryland General Assembly committee, MDSPE President Bill Ryan stated that MDSPE reluctantly supported the bill out of necessity, to make it easier, less expensive and more convenient for Maryland Professional Engineers to meet requirements in neighboring states in which they may be licensed through reciprocity. 

 

We reluctantly supported a Maryland requirement for continuing professional competency out of necessity, because the vast majority of other states now require it, he said.

 

Starting in  September, 2011, those with Penna. PE licenses -- including some 2,000 Maryland residents --will need to complete 24 PDH units during the current and future biennial licensing periods.

 

The Penna. Society of Professional Engineers spearheaded the effort to pass a bill which gives professional engineers more flexibility in meeting the CE requirements than was available under the previous law after the licensing board refused to back off proposed regulations that the Society considered excessive.

 

The new Penna. law is modeled after the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) model rules for continuing education. As a result, the language in the law is quite specific as it is based more on model regulations rather than model legislation. 

 

Following is a recap of the most important details of the law:

• Licensees shall comply with the CE requirements during the 2009-2011 biennial renewal cycle.

• That means licensees will be asked to meet the requirements during the current cycle and may have their license renewal denied in September of 2011 if they have not met the requirements.

• Each licensee needs to obtain 24 PDH units during the current and future biennial (every 2 years) licensing periods.

• A PDH (Professional Development Hour) is defined as 50 minutes of instruction or presentation relevant to professional practice.

• The CE requirements can be met by attending educational courses, participating in distance educational courses, teaching, authoring published works or obtaining patents.

• There is no requirement that courses be preapproved by the State Registration Board, but the Board will have final authority to determine if a particular course is relevant or not.

?  The Board also has the authority to approve providers of content.

• The rule of thumb is that courses must “maintain, improve or develop the professional’s skills or knowledge”.

• Courses in ethics and the law are acceptable subject matter for CE credit.

• Courses in practice building or office management are not acceptable subjects for CE credit.

• Up to 12 PDH units may be carried forward from one licensure cycle to the next.

• The Board may grant exemptions from meeting the CE requirements for reasons such as active military duty, physical disability, illness or other extenuating circumstances.

• Newly licensed individuals are exempt from the CE requirement for the licensure period immediately following initial licensure and registration.

 

While the Pennsylvania State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists has ultimate authority over what is considered acceptable education or activities, the new law places most of the responsibility upon the licensee.

 

Within the parameters established in the statute, PEs will determine what courses or activities relate to their professional practice.

 

To access excerpts from the law pertaining to continuing education, click here:

http://www.pspe.org/pdfs/Edited_CE_HB-975.pdf

 

To access excerpts from the Penna.  law pertaining to continuing education, click here:

http://www.pspe.org/pdfs/Edited_CE_HB-975.pdf

 

Remember, all NSPE members are currently eligible for 4 free PDHs from the National Society of Professional Engineers; click here to review available courses: http://www.nspe.org/resources/newpages/fourfreePDHs.html

 

 

http://www.pspe.org/pdfs/Education_Requirements_Legislation_Enacted.pdf