GA PE & LS Board: Contact Changes Effective May 2024

[racookpe1978]

I was informed by the GA Sec of State Office (via a voice phone reply, no other letter, no email) that the older GA PE on-line renewal website is no longer available.

The only GA PE registration/renewal point is apparently now:

https://gapelsb.evokeplatform.com/app/licensingPortal/licenses

I do not recognize the "Evoke" company nor its national reputation - Clearly it has to be some sub-contractor to the GA Sec State offices. Perhaps other states as well.

Be aware that, by observation, the official GA Sec of State website does not even have PE (nor LS) links nor a physical office address any more for either renewal nor reference or research. I "assume" the physical office address for PE licenses is still in Macon GA. Not up I-75 in downtown ATL.

Robert A Cook

 

[LOTE]

Hi Robert,
I can confirm this is the legitimate website for renewals, and I renewed my firm license using this site a couple months ago and received my new firm certificate. I received the email to renew directly from the GA SoS, using an email address I only use with the GA SoS.

I also received this email last year to notify me of the upcoming change:

Dear Licensee,

When the State Legislature passed House Bill 476 in 2022, the Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (PELS) Board became an independent state agency attached to the Secretary of State (SOS) for administrative purposes only. The Bill became effective upon signature by Governor Kemp on May 9, 2022. Since that time, the Board has been soliciting feedback from licensees, working with professional organizations, and taking the necessary steps toward becoming a fully independent board that provides excellent service for its licensees and the public.

On behalf of the Board, I want to provide this update and thank you for your patience as we progress through this process.

The first step for the Board was to develop an operating budget and petition the state legislature to Allocate the necessary funds. The budget was developed from a bottoms-up analysis of the resources and staff needed to deliver first-in-class services and verified by a top-down comparison of the budget to operating budgets from peer boards in the southeast. The Board approved a renewal fee increase from the bi-annual $50 fee to a $100 fee for the new annual renewal process required by House Bill 476. These new fees were set to generate income to match the proposed annual budget of $2.1 million.

Board members, in collaboration with professional organizations such as ACEC, lobbied for budget approval during the 2023 legislative session. Ultimately, $300,000was approved as part of the Amended FY23 budget, and those funds were made available to the Board in May of this year. A budget of $1.03 million was approved for FY24 and made available for the Board on July 1, 2023. That amount was less than half of the budget that was requested.

To maximize the impact of the available funds, with a primary goal to provide return on investment from the increased fees, the Board started by setting priorities and breaking into separate task forces to advance efforts that included:
1. Selecting new licensing software
2. Developing a public-facing PELS Board website
3. Hiring a new Executive Director
4. Securing a new PELS office location
5. Hiring the remaining staff

Licensing Software and PELS Board website

The task force assigned to select licensing software shortlisted and interviewed three software developers. The decision was made to move forward with System Automation as the software that best met the needs of our licensees and Board staff. This system will allow applications to be completed online, all fees to be paid with a credit card, an d allow status checks to be done online. Verifications of licensure can be ordered and paid for online, and the feature that allows the uploading of information will be much more robust. The Board utilized the FY23amended budget as a down payment and development is underway. The Executive Director signed off on the completion of the first phase of the project on September 25, 2023.The system is scheduled to be active by the first quarter of 2024 and to be ready for the renewal process in Fall of 2024.

The task force has also engaged Oxley Internet Solutions to develop the public-facing website, working in conjunction with the software developer to make sure that the online process is clear and user-friendly. It is the Board’s intention to create a clean, intuitive, and easily to use one- stop shop for all licensing needs. The new website is scheduled to be up and running before the end of 2023.

Executive Director

The Human Resources task force advertised the Executive Director position, and after interviewing multiple candidates, enthusiastically recommended hiring Darren Mickler. Mr. Mickler has served as the Board’s Executive Director since 2002,while also performing as Executive Director for as many as 13 other boards under the SOS office during that time. Mr. Mickler became Executive Director, effective August 1, 2023, and will be devoted to the PELS Board full-time. Mr. Mickler’s priorities as Executive Director include ensuring all correspondence is answered, and all applications processed in a timely manner, engaging with our professional organizations, hiring and training the new staff members, as well as sourcing all software, hardware, and equipment for starting up a new state agency.


PELS Office Location

We have received overwhelming feedback that the PELS Board should be located in Atlanta, closer to the majority of Georgia PE and PLS licensees. The site selection task force, working with the State Properties Commission (SPC),toured several locations throughout metro Atlanta. The task force has selected a location in Peachtree Center as the preferred location and is actively working with the SPC and the building management to secure an acceptable lease. Upon execution of the lease, the Board will focus on acquiring office furniture, computers, and other necessary equipment for the Board to operate effectively. The goal is to move into this new space in Q4 of this year, and we look forward to hosting licensees at a board meeting at our new location.

Although the Board has selected Atlanta as the location for the Board office, we have also prioritized holding board meetings and scheduling outreach throughout the state. On October 19, 2023,the Executive Director, Board members Julie Busbee and Bill Womack had an outreach opportunity with the engineering students at Mercer University.

Hiring Board staff

Selecting the Executive Director was the first step in the Board staffing process. The Board was responsible for this hiring, and now the Executive Director has taken on the responsibility of hiring his staff, which will include a Deputy Director, Customer Service Specialists, and Investigators. The Deputy Director position has been advertised on the Secretary of States website: Deputy Executive Director. A Licensing Analyst position has also been advertised: Licensing Analyst. We will be advertising the remaining positions according to priority and as the available budget allows.

It is our goal to become one of the most efficient and forward-thinking boards in the country. Thank you again for your patience and understanding while we carefully work through the efforts that will allow the Board to meet this goal. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Darren Mickler
Executive Director
dmickler@sos.ga.gov

 

[gte447f]

I am hoping that these changes will ultimately be a good thing, because the GA PE&LS Board has been a bit of a disaster in the past in my opinion. It improved somewhat under Raffensperger as Secretary of State, maybe because he is a licensed PE himself, but I am hopeful that becoming an independent state agency will help them elevate their operation.

 

[racookpe1978]

Update. The GA Board (and their sub-contractor, the Evoke web site) did reset my registration records, and (after several reboots and updates), my GA PE license is confirmed as being listed and recognized as active. And is renewable at the regular interval.

To all - Login to the Evoke website, search for your own license and confirm you have the correct email, the correct license number(s) assigned to your own address and name and renewal date. Do NOT make any assumptions about your license and its assigned data, or you will face expiration fees and loss of license.